m 
 
LIB RARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 GIKT OK 
 
 Received ^DT 271892 , 189 .... 
 Accessions No. l\-*6Q\b S keif No. 
 

THE 
 
 WING-AND-WING; 
 
 OR, 
 
 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 1 Cub. 
 
 BY J. FENIMORE COOPER 
 
 "Know, 
 
 Without star or angel for their guide, 
 Who worship God shall find him." 
 
 CO M P LETE ~f>N f owjf\ VOL UME. 
 
 NEW EDITION. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 STRINGER AND TOWNSEND. 
 
 1867. 
 
WING-AND-WIFQ. 
 
 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 18-32 bv 
 I. FENIMORE COOPEK. 
 
 in the office </ the derk of the district court of the United States in 
 and fur the northern district of New Yorh. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 14 
 
 THE question, of how much of the following legend 
 is severely true, and how much fiction, is left in 
 doubt, with the express intention, that such histo 
 rians, as having nothing useful to do, may employ 
 their time in drawing the lines for their own amuse 
 ment. 
 
 As to the scene chosen for this tale, no apology is 
 deemed necessary. To invent excuses for carrying 
 a man, either physically or in the imagination, into a 
 sea like the Mediterranean, and on a coast like that 
 of Italy, would be an affectation of which we have 
 no idea of being guilty. It is true nay, it is proba 
 ble that we may render the execution unequal to 
 the design, but there can be no great harm in nobly 
 daring, except to him who is injured by his own 
 failure. We hope that they who have ever beheld the 
 scenes we have faintly and so imperfectly described, 
 will pardon our defects, for the good we have intended 
 them ; and that those who have never been so for 
 tunate, will find even our tame pictures so much 
 superior to the realities they have elsewhere witness 
 ed, as to fancy we have succeeded. 
 
 Of Raoul Yvard Ghita Caraccioli, and the Little 
 Folly, we have no more to say than is to be found in 
 the body of the work. As Sancho told the knight, they 
 
iv PREFACE. 
 
 who gave us the facts connected with all three we 
 class a vessel among animals said they were so cer 
 tain, that we might safely swear they were absolutely 
 true. If we are in error, it is a misfortune we share 
 in common with honest Panza, and that, too, on a 
 subject about equal, in moment, to the one in which 
 he was misled. 
 
 After all, the world hears little, and knows less, of 
 the infinity of details that make up the sum of the 
 incidents of the sea. Historians glean a few prom 
 inent circumstances, connected perhaps with battles, 
 treaties, shipwrecks, or chases, and the rest is left 
 a blank to the great bulk of the human race. It has 
 been well said, that the life of every man, if simply 
 and clearly related, would be found to contain a fund 
 of useful and entertaining information ; and it is 
 equally true, that the day of every ship would fur 
 nish something of interest to relate, could the dry 
 records of the log-book be given in the graphic lan 
 guage of observation and capacity. A ship, alone, 
 in the solitude of the ocean, is an object for reflection, 
 and a source of poetical, as well as of moral feeling ; 
 and as we seldom tire of writing about her, we have 
 more than a sympathetic desire, that they who do us 
 the honour to form a sort of literary dientelle, will 
 never tire of reading. 
 
 Our chief concern, on the present occasion, is on 
 the subject of the contrast we have attempted to 
 draw between profound belief and light-hearted in 
 fidelity. We think both pictures true to the periods 
 
PREFACE. V 
 
 and the respective countries, and we have endeavour 
 ed to draw both with due relief, and totally without 
 exaggeration. That strong natural sympathies can 
 exist between those who are widely separated on such 
 a subject, every day s experience proves ; and that 
 some are to be found in whom principle is stronger 
 than even the most insinuating and deceptive of all 
 our passions, we not only hope, but trustfully believe. 
 We have endeavoured to assign the higher and most 
 enduring quality to that portion of the race, in which 
 we are persuaded it is the most likely to be found. 
 
 This is the seventh sea-tale we have ventured to 
 offer to the public. When the first was written, our 
 friends confidently predicted its failure, on account 
 of the meagreness of the subject, as well as of its 
 disagreeable accompaniments. Not only did that pre 
 diction prove untrue, as to our own humble effort, 
 but the public taste has lasted sufficiently long to 
 receive, from other quarters, a very respectable pro 
 geny of that parent of this class of writing. We 
 only hope that, in the present instance, there may be 
 found a sufficient family resemblance, to allow of this 
 particular bantling to pass in the crowd, as one of a 
 numerous family. 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 * Filled with the face of heaven, which from afar, 
 
 Comes down upon the waters ; all its hues, 
 
 From the rich sunset to the rising star, 
 
 Their magical variety diffuse : 
 
 And now they change ; a paler shadow strews 
 
 Its mantle o er the mountains ; parting day 
 
 Dies like the dolphin, whom each pang imbues 
 
 With a new colour as it gasps away, 
 The last still loveliest, till tis gone and all is grey." 
 
 Ctiilde Harold 
 
 THE charms of the Tyrrhenian Sea have been sung since 
 the days of Homer. That the Mediterranean, generally, 
 and its beautiful boundaries of Alps and Apennines, with its 
 deeply indented and irregular shores, forms the most delightful 
 region of the known earth, in all that relates to climate, 
 productions, and physical formation, will be readily enough 
 conceded by the traveller. The countries that border on 
 this midland water, with their promontories buttressing 
 mimic ocean their mountain-sides teeming with the pictu 
 resque of human life their heights crowned with watch 
 towers their rocky shelves consecrated by hermitages, and 
 their unrivalled sheet dotted with sails, -rigged, as it might be, 
 expressly to produce effect in a picture, form a sort of world 
 apart, that is replete with delights to all who have the happy 
 fortune to feel charms, which not only fascinate the beholder, 
 but which linger in the memories of the absent like visions 
 of a glorious past. 
 
 Our present business is with this fragment of a creation 
 that is so eminently beautiful, even in its worst aspects, bin 
 
 (7) 
 
8 LEFEU-FOLLET. 
 
 which is so often marred by the passions of man, in its best. 
 While all admit how much nature has done for the Mediter 
 ranean, none will deny that, until quite recently, it has been 
 the scene of more ruthless violence, and of deeper personal 
 wrongs, perhaps, than any other portion of the globe. With 
 different races, more widely separated by destinies, than even 
 by origin, habits and religion, occupying its northern and 
 southern shores, the outwork, as it might be, of Christianity 
 and Mohammedanism, and of an antiquity that defies history, 
 the bosom of this blue expanse has mirrored more violence, 
 has witnessed more scenes of slaughter, and heard more 
 shouts of victory, between the days of Agamemnon and 
 Nelson, than all the rest of the dominions of Neptune together. 
 Nature and the passions have united to render it like the 
 human countenance, which conceals by its smiles and god 
 like expression, the furnace that so often glows within the 
 heart, and the volcano that consumes our happiness. For 
 centuries, the Turk and the Moor rendered it unsafe for the 
 European to navigate these smiling coasts ; and when the 
 barbarian s power temporarily ceased, it was merely to give 
 place to the struggles of those who drove him from the 
 arena by their larger resources. 
 
 The circumstances which rendered the period that occurred 
 between the years 1790 and 1815, the most eventful of 
 modern times, are familiar to all ; though the incidents which 
 chequered that memorable quarter of a century, have already 
 passed into history. All the elements of strife that then 
 agitated the world, appear now to have subsided as com 
 pletely as if they owed their existence to a remote age ; and 
 living men recall the events of their youth, as they regard 
 the recorded incidents of other centuries. Then, each month 
 brought its defeat, or its victory ; its account of a govern 
 ment overturned, or of a province conquered. The world 
 was agitated like men m a tumult. On that epoch the timid 
 look back with wonder; the young, with doubt; and the 
 restless, with envy. 
 
 The years 1798 and 1799 were two of the most memor 
 able of this ever-memorable period ; and to that stirring and 
 teeming season we must carry the mind of the reader, in 
 order to place it in the midst of the scenes it is our object to 
 portray. 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 Towards the close of a fine day in the month of August, 
 a light fairy-like craft was fanning her way, before a gentle 
 westerly air, into what is called the Canal of Piombino, 
 steering easterly. The rigs of the Mediterranean are pro- 
 verbial for their picturesque beauty and quaintness, em. 
 bracing the xebeque, the felucca, the polacre, and the 
 bombarda, or ketch ; all unknown, or nearly so, to our own 
 seas ; and occasionally the lugger. The latter, a species of 
 craft, however, much less common in the waters of Italy, 
 than in the Bay of Biscay and the British Channel, was the 
 construction of the vessel in question ; a circumstance that 
 the mariners who eyed her from the shores of Elba, deemed 
 indicative of mischief. A three-masted lugger, that spread 
 a wide breadth of canvass, with a low, dark hull, relieved 
 by a single and almost imperceptible line of red beneath her 
 channels, and a waist so deep that nothing was visible above 
 it but the hat of some mariner, taller than common, was 
 considered a suspicious vessel, and not even a fisherman 
 would have ventured out within reach of a shot, so long as 
 her character was unknown. Privateers, or corsairs, as it 
 *vas the fashion to term them, (and the name, with even its 
 English signification, was often merited by their acts,) not 
 unfrequently glided down that coast ; and it was sometimes 
 dangerous for those who belonged to friendly nations to 
 meet them, in moments when the plunder that a relic of 
 barbarism still legalizes, had failed. 
 
 The lugger was actually of about one hundred and fifty 
 tons admeasurement ; but her dark paint, and low hull, gave 
 her an appearance of being much smaller than she really 
 was ; still, the spread of her canvass, as she came down 
 before the wind wing-and-wing, as seamen term it, or with 
 a sail fanning like the heavy pinions of a sea-fowl, on each 
 side, betrayed her pursuits ; and, as has been intimated, the 
 mariners on the shore, who watched her movements, shook 
 their heads in distrust, as they communed among themselves, 
 in very indifferent Italian, concerning her destination and 
 object. This observation, with its accompanying discourse, 
 occurred on the rocky bluff above the town of Porto Ferrajo, 
 in the Island of Elba, a spot that has since become so re 
 nowned as the capital of the mimic dominion of Napoleon. 
 Indeed, the very dwelling which was subsequently used by 
 
10 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 the fallen emperor as a palace, stood within a hundred yards 
 of the speakers, looking out towards the entrance of the 
 canal, and the mountains of Tuscany ; or rather, of the 
 little principality of Piombino, the system of merging tha 
 smaller in the larger states of Europe not having yet been 
 brought into extensive operation. This house, a building 
 of the size of a better sort of country residence of our own, 
 was then, as now, occupied by the Florentine governor of 
 the Tuscan portion of the island. It stands on the extremity 
 of a low rocky promontory that forms the western ramparts 
 of the deep extensive bay, on the side of which, ensconced 
 behind a very convenient curvature of the rocks, which hero 
 incline westward in the form of a hook, lies the small port, 
 completely concealed from the sea, as if in dread of visits 
 like those which might be expected from craft resembling 
 the suspicious stranger. This little port, not as large in 
 itself as a modern dock in places like London or Liverpool, 
 was sufficiently protected against any probable dangers, by 
 suitable batteries ; and as for the elements, a vessel laid upon 
 a shelf in a closet would be scarcely more secure. In this 
 domestic little basin, which, with the exception of a narrow 
 entrance was completely surrounded by buildings, lay a 
 few feluccas, that traded between the island and the adja 
 cent main, and a solitary Austrian ship, which had corne 
 from the head of the Adriatic, in quest of iron, as it was 
 pretended, but as much to assume the appearance of trade 
 with the Italian dependency, as with any other purpose. 
 
 At the moment of which we are writing, however, but a 
 dozen living beings were visible in or about all these craft. 
 The intelligence that a strange lugger, resembling the one 
 described, was in the offing, had drawn nearly all the man 
 ners ashore ; and most of the habitues of the port had fol 
 lowed them up the broad steps of the crooked streets which 
 led to the heights behind the town ; or to the rocky eleva 
 tion that overlooks the sea from north-east to west. The 
 approach of the lugger had produced some such effect on the 
 mariners of this unsophisticated and little-frequented port, 
 as that of the hawk is known to excite among the timid 
 tenants of the barn-yard. The rig of the stranger, in itself 
 a suspicious circumstance, had been noted two hours before, 
 by one or two old coasters, who habitually passed their idle 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. H 
 
 moments on the heights, examining the signs of the weather, 
 and indulging in gossip ; and their conjectures had drawn to 
 the Porto Ferrajo mall some twenty men, who fancied them 
 selves, or who actually were, cognoscenti in matters of the 
 sea. When, however, the low, long, dark hull, which 
 upheld such wide sheets of canvass, became fairly visible, 
 the omens thickened, rumours spread, and hundreds collected 
 on the spot, which, in Manhattanese parlance, would proba 
 bly have been called a battery. Nor would the name havo 
 been altogether inappropriate, as a small battery was estab 
 lished there, and that, too, in a position which would easily 
 throw a shot two-thirds of a league, into the offing ; or about 
 the distance that the stranger was now from the shore. 
 
 Tommaso Tonti was the oldest mariner of Elba, and, 
 luckily, being a sober, and usually a discreet man, he was 
 the oracle of the island, in most things that related to the 
 sea. As each citizen, wine-dealer, grocer, innkeeper, or 
 worker in iron, came upon the height, he incontinently in 
 quired for Tonti, or Maso, as he was generally called ; and 
 getting the bearings and distance of the grey-headed old 
 seaman, he invariably made his way to his side, until a 
 group of some two hundred men, women and children, had 
 clustered near the person of the pilota, as the faithful 
 gather about a favourite expounder of the law, in moments 
 of religious excitement. It was worthy of remark, too, with 
 how much consideration this little crowd of gentle Italians 
 treated their aged seaman, on this occasion ; none bawling 
 out their questions, and all using the greatest care not to get 
 in front of his person, lest they might intercept his means 
 of observation. Five or six old sailors, like himself, were 
 close at his side : these, it is true- did not hesitate to speak 
 as became their experience. But Tonti had obtained no 
 small part of his reputation by exercising great moderation 
 in delivering his oracles, and, perhaps, by seeming to know 
 more than he actually revealed. He was reserved, therefore; 
 and white his brethren of the sea ventured on sundry con 
 flicting opinions concerning the character of the stranger, 
 and a hundred idle conjectures had flown from mouth to 
 mouth, among the landsmen and females, not a syllable that 
 could commit the old man, had escaped his lips. He let the 
 others talk at will ; as for himself, it suited his habits, and 
 
LEFEU-FOLLET. 
 
 possibly his difficulties in deciding, to main .am a grave and 
 portentous silence. 
 
 We have spoken of females : as a matter of course, an 
 event like this, in a town of some three or four thousand 
 souls, would be likely to draw a due proportion of the gentler 
 sex to the heights. Most of them contrived to get as near 
 as possible to the aged seaman, in order to obtain the first 
 intelligence, that it might be the sooner circulated ; but, it 
 would seem, that among the younger of these, there was 
 also a sort of oracle of their own, about whose person 
 gathered a dozen of the prettiest girls ; either anxious to hear 
 what Ghita might have to say in the premises, or, perhaps, 
 influenced by the pride and modesty of their sex and condi 
 tion, which taught them to maintain a little more reserve 
 than was necessary to the less refined portion of their com 
 panions. In speaking of condition, however, the word must 
 be understood with an exceedingly limited meaning. Porto 
 Ferrajo had but two classes of society, the trades-people and 
 the labourers ; although there were, perhaps, a dozen excep 
 tions, in the persons of a few humble functionaries of the 
 government, an av vacate, a medico, and a few priests. The 
 governor of the island was a Tuscan of rank, but he seldom 
 honoured the place with his presence, and his deputy was a 
 professional man, a native of the town, whose original 
 position was too well known to allow him to give himself airs 
 on the spot where he was born. Ghita s companions, then, 
 were daughters of shopkeepers, and persons of that class, 
 who, having been taught to read, and occasionally going to 
 Leghorn, beside being admitted by the deputy to the presence 
 of his housekeeper, had got to regard themselves as a little 
 elevated above the more vulgar curiosity of the less culti 
 vated girls of the port. Ghita herself, however, owed her 
 ascendency to her qualities, rather than to the adventitious 
 advantage of being a grocer s or an inkeeper s daughter, her 
 origin being unknown to most of those around her, as indeed 
 was her family name. She had been landed six weeks 
 before, and left by one who passed for her father, at the inn 
 of Cristoforo Dovi, as a boarder, and had acquired all her 
 influence, as so many reach notoriety in our own simple 
 society, by the distinction of having travelled ; aided, some- 
 what, by her strong sense, great decision of character, per- 
 
LE FEU -POL LET. 13 
 
 feet modesty and propriety of deportment, with a form which 
 was singularly graceful and feminine, and a face, that, while 
 it could scarcely be called beautiful, was, in the highest 
 degree, winning and attractive. No one thought of asking 
 her family name; and she never appeared to deem it necessary 
 to mention it. Ghita was sufficient ; it was familiar to every 
 one ; and, although there were two or three others of the 
 same appellation, in Porto Ferrajo, this, by common consent, 
 got to be the Ghita, within a week after she had landed. 
 
 Ghita, it was known, had travelled, for she had publicly 
 reached Elba in a felucca, coming, as was said, from the 
 Neapolitan states. If this were true, she was probably the 
 only person of her sex in the town, who had ever seen Vesu 
 vius, or planted her eyes on the wonders of a part of Italy 
 that has a reputation second only to that of Rome. Of course, 
 if any girl in Porto Ferrajo could imagine the character of 
 the stranger, it must be Ghita ; and it was on this supposi 
 tion that she had unwittingly, and, if the truth must be owned, 
 unwillingly, collected around her a clientelle of at least a 
 dozen girls of her own age, and apparently of her own class. 
 The laUer, however, felt no necessity for the reserve main 
 tained by the- curious who pressed near Maso ; for, while 
 they respected their guest and friend, and would rather listen 
 to her surmises than those of any other person, they had 
 such a prompting desire to hear their own voices, that not a 
 minute escaped without a question, or a conjecture, both 
 volubly and quite audibly expressed. The interjections, too, 
 were somewhat numerous, as the guesses were crude and 
 . absurd. One said it was a vessel with despatches from 
 Livorno, possibly with " His Eccellenza" on board ; but she 
 was reminded that Leghorn lay to the north, and not to 
 the west. Another thought it was a cargo of priests, going 
 from Corsica to Rome ; but she was told that priests were 
 not in sufficient favour, just then, in France, to get a vessel 
 so obviously superior to the ordinary craft of the Mediterra 
 nean, to carry them about. While a third, more imagina 
 tive than either, ventured to doubt whether it was a vessel 
 at all ; deceptive appearances of this sort not being of rare 
 occurrence, and usually taking the aspect of something out 
 of the ordinary way. 
 
 " Si" said Annma, " but that would be a miracle, Maria; 
 2 
 
14" LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 and why should we have a miracle, now that Lent and most 
 of the holidays are past 1 / believe it is a real vessel." 
 
 The others laughed, and, after a good deal of eager chat- 
 tering on the subject, it was quite generally admitted that 
 the stranger was a bona Jide craft, of some species or an 
 other, though all agreed she was not a felucca, a bombarda, 
 or a sparanara. All this time Ghita was thoughtful and 
 silent ; quite as much so, indeed, as Tommaso himself, though 
 from a very different motive. Notwithstanding all the gossip, 
 and the many ludicrous opinions of her companions, her 
 eyes scarcely turned an instant from the lugger, on which 
 they seemed to be riveted by a sort of fascination. Had 
 there been one, there, sufficiently unoccupied to observe this 
 interesting girl, he might have been struck with the varying 
 expression of a countenance that was teeming with sensibility, 
 and which too often reflected the passing emotions of its 
 mistress s mind. Now an expression of anxiety,. and even 
 of alarm, would have been detected by such an observer, if 
 acute enough to separate these emotions, in the liveliness of 
 sentiment, from the more vulgar feelings of her companions ; 
 and now, something like gleamings of delight and happiness 
 flashed across her eloquent countenance. The colour came 
 and went, often ; and there was an instant, during which the 
 lugger varied her course, hauling to the wind, and then fall- 
 ingoff again, like a dolphin at its sports, when the radiance 
 of the pleasure that glowed about her soft blue eyes, rendered 
 the girl perfectly beautiful. But none of these passing 
 expressions were noted by the garrulous group around the 
 stranger female, who was left very much to the indulgence 
 of the impulses that gave them birth, unquestioned, and 
 altogether unsuspected. 
 
 Although the cluster of girls had, with feminine sensitive- 
 ness, gathered a little apart from the general crowd, there 
 were but a few yards between the spot where it stood, and 
 that occupied by Maso ; so that when the latter spoke, an 
 attentive listener among the former might hear his words. 
 This was an office that Tonti did not choose to undertake, 
 however, until he was questioned by the podesta, Vito Viti, 
 who now appeared on the hill in person, puffing like a whale 
 that rises to breathe, from the vigour of his ascent. 
 
 "What dost thou make of her, good Maso?" demanded 
 
LE FEU-POLLBT. 15 
 
 the magistrate, after he had examined the stranger himself 
 some time in silence, feeling authorized, in virtue of his 
 office, to question whom he pleased. 
 
 " Signore, it is a lugger ;" was the brief, and, certainly, the 
 accurate reply. 
 
 " Ay, a lugger ; we all understand that, neighbour Tonti ; 
 but what sort of a lugger 1 There are felucca-luggers, and 
 polacre-luggers, and bombarda-luggers, and all sorts of lug 
 gers ; which sort of lugger is this ?" 
 
 " Signor Podesta, this is not the language of the port. 
 We call a felucca, a felucca ; a bombarda, a bombarda ; a 
 polacre, a polacre ; and a lugger, a lugger. This is, there- 
 fore, a lugger."" 
 
 Maso spoke authoritatively, for he felt that he was now 
 not out of his depth, and it was grateful to him to let the 
 public know how much better he understood all these mat 
 ters than a magistrate. On the other hand, the podesta was 
 nettled, and disappointed into the bargain, for he really 
 imagined he was drawing nice distinctions, much as it was 
 his wont to do in legal proceedings ; and it was his ambition 
 to be thought to know something of every thing. 
 
 " Well, Tonti," answered Signor Viti, in a protecting 
 manner, and with an affable smile, " as this is not an affair 
 that is likely to go to the higher courts at Florence, your 
 explanations may be taken as sufficient, and I have no wish 
 to disturb them a lugger, is a lugger." 
 
 " Si, Signore ; that is just what we say in the port. A 
 lugger, is a lugger." 
 
 " And yonder strange craft, you maintain, and at need 
 are ready to swear, is a lugger ?" 
 
 Now Maso seeing no necessity for any oath in the affair, 
 and being always somewhat conscientious in such matters, 
 whenever the custom-house officers did not hold the book, 
 was a little startled at this suggestion, and he took another, 
 and a long look at the stranger, before he answered. 
 
 " Si, Signore," he replied, after satisfying his mind once 
 more, through his eyes, " I will swear that the stranger, 
 yonder, is a lugger." 
 
 " And canst thou add, honest Tonti, of what nation ? The 
 nation is of as much moment, in these troubled times, as the 
 
10 LE FEU-FOLLET, 
 
 " You say truly, Signer Podesta ; for if an Algerine, or a 
 Moor, or even a Frenchman, he will be an unwelcome visiter 
 in the Canal of Elba. There are many different signs about 
 him, that sometimes make me think he belongs to one people, 
 and then to another ; and I crave your pardon, if I ask a 
 little leisure, to let him draw nearer, before I give a positive 
 opinion." 
 
 As this request was reasonable, no objection was raised. 
 The podesta turned aside, and observing Ghita, who had 
 visited his niece, and of whose intelligence he entertained 
 a favourable opinion, he drew nearer to the girl, determined 
 to lose a moment in dignified trifling. 
 
 " Honest Maso, poor fellow, is sadly puzzled," he ob 
 served, smiling benevolently, as if in pity for the pilot s embar 
 rassment ; " he wishes to persuade us that the strange craft 
 yonder is a lugger, though he cannot, himself, say to what 
 country she belongs !" 
 
 " It is a lugger, Signore," returned the girl, drawing a long 
 breath, as if relieved by hearing the sound of her own voice. 
 
 " How ! dost thou pretend to be so skilled in vessels, as 
 to distinguisn hese particulars at the distance of a league ?" 
 
 " I do not think it a league, Signore not more than half 
 a league; and- the distance lessens fast, though the wind is 
 so light. As for knowing a lugger from a felucca, it is as 
 easy as to know a house from a church ; or one of the 
 reverend padri, in the streets, from a mariner." 
 
 " Ay, so I would have told Maso on the spot, had the 
 obstinate old fellow been inclined to hear me. The dis 
 tance is just about what you say ; and nothing is easier than 
 to see that the stranger is a lugger. As to the nation ? " 
 
 " That may not be so easily told, Signore, unless the ves 
 sel show us her flag." 
 
 " By San Antonio ! thou art right, child ; and it is fitting 
 she should show us her flag. Nothing has a right to ap 
 proach so near the port of his Imperial and Royal Highness, 
 that does not show its flag, thereby declaring its honest 
 purpose, and its nation. My friends, are the guns in the 
 battery loaded, as usual ?" 
 
 The answer being in the affirmative, there was a hurried 
 consultation among some of the principal men in the crowd, 
 and then the podesta walked towards the government- house 
 
LEPEU-FOLLET 17 
 
 with an important air. In five minutes soldiers were seen 
 in the batteries, and preparations were made for levelling an 
 eighteen-pounder in the direction of the stranger. Most of 
 the females turned aside, and stopped their ears, the battery 
 being within a hundred yards of the spot where they stood ; 
 but Ghita, with a face that was pale, certainly, though with 
 an eye that was steady, and without the least indications of 
 fear, as respected herself, intensely watched every move 
 ment. When it was evident the artillerists were about to 
 fire, anxiety induced her to break silence. 
 
 " They surely will not aim at the lugger !" she exclaimed. 
 " That cannot be necessary, Signor Podesta, to make the 
 stranger hoist his flag. Never have I seen that done in the 
 south." 
 
 " You are unacquainted with our Tuscan bombardiers, 
 Signorina," answered the magistrate, with a bland smile, 
 and an exulting gesture. " It is well for Europe that the 
 grand duchy is so small, since such troops might prove even 
 more troublesome than the French !" 
 
 Ghita, however, paid no attention to this touch of provin 
 cial pride, but pressing her hands on her heart, she stood 
 like a statue of suspense, while the men in the battery exe 
 cuted their duty. In a minute the match was applied, and 
 the gun was discharged. Though all her companions 
 uttered invocations to the saints, and other exclamations, and 
 some even crouched to the earth in terror, Ghita, the most 
 delicate of any, in appearance, and with more real sensibility 
 than all united expressed in her face, stood firm and erect. 
 The flash and the explosion evidently had no effect on her ; 
 not an artillerist among them was less unmoved in frame, at 
 the report, than this slight girl. She even imitated the 
 manner of the soldiers, by turning to watch the flight of the 
 shot, though she clasped her hands as she did so, and ap 
 peared to await the result with trembling. The few seconds 
 of suspense were soon past, when the ball was seen to strike 
 the water fully a quarter of a mile astern of the lugger, and 
 to skip along the placid sea for twice that distance further, 
 when it sunk to the bottom by its own gravity. 
 
 " Santa Maria be praised !" murmured the girl, a smile 
 half pleasure, half irony, lighting her face, as unconsciously 
 2* 
 
18 LE FEU -FOLLET. 
 
 to herself she spoke, " these Tuscan artillerists are no fata) 
 marksmen !" 
 
 u That was most dexterously done, bella Ghita !" ex 
 claimed the magistrate, removing his two hands from his 
 ears ; " that was amazingly well aimed ! Another such 
 shot as far ahead, with a third fairly between the two, and 
 the stranger will learn to respect the rights of Tuscany. 
 What say st thou now, honest Maso will this lugger tel. 
 us her country, or will she further brave our power ?" 
 
 " If wise, she will hoist her ensign ; and yet I see no signs 
 of preparation for such an act." 
 
 Sure enough, the stranger, though quite within effective 
 range of shot from the heights, showed no disposition to 
 gratify the curiosity, or to appease the apprehensions of 
 those in the town. Two or three of her people were visible 
 in her rigging, but even these did not hasten their work, or 
 in any manner seem deranged at the salutation they had 
 just received. After a few minutes, however, the lugger 
 jibed her mainsail, and then hauled up a little, so as to look 
 more towards the head-land, as if disposed to steer for the 
 bay, by doubling the promontory. This movement caused 
 the artillerists to suspend their own, and the lugger had fairly 
 come within a mile of the cliffs, ere she lazily turned aside 
 again, and shaped her course once more in the direction of 
 the entrance of the Canal. This drew another shot, which 
 effectually justified the magistrate s eulogy, for it certainly 
 flew as much ahead of the stranger, as the first had flown 
 astern. 
 
 " There, Signore," cried Ghita eagerly, as she turned to 
 the magistrate, " they are about to hoist their ensign, for 
 now they know your wishes. The soldiers surely will not 
 fire again !" 
 
 " That would be in the teeth of the law of nations, Signo- 
 rina, and a blot on Tuscan civilization. Ah ! you perceive 
 the artillerists are aware of what you say, and are putting 
 aside their tools. Cospetto ! tis a thousand pities, too, they 
 couldn t fire the third shot, that you might see it strike the 
 lugger ; as yet, you have only beheld their preparations." 
 
 " It is enough, Signor Podesta," returned Ghita, smiling, 
 for she could smile now that she saw the soldiers intended 
 no further mischief; " we have all heard of your Elba gunners, 
 
LEFEU-FOLLET. 19 
 
 and what I have seen convinces me of what they can do, 
 when there is occasion. Look, Signore ! the lugger is about 
 f o satisfy our curiosity." 
 
 Sure enough, the stranger saw fit to comply with the 
 usages of nations. It has been said, already, that the lug 
 ger was coming down before the wind wing-and-wing, or 
 with a sail expanded to the air on each side of her hull, a 
 disposition of the canvass that gives to the felucca, and to 
 the lugger in particular, the most picturesque of all their 
 graceful attitudes. Unlike the narrow-headed sails that a 
 want of hands has introduced among ourselves, these foreign, 
 we might almost say classical mariners, send forth their 
 long pointed yards aloft, confining the width below by the 
 necessary limits of the sheet, making up for the difference 
 in elevation, by the greater breadth of their canvass. The 
 idea of the felucca s sails, in particular, would seem to have 
 been literally taken from the wing of the large sea-fowl, the 
 shape so nearly corresponding, that, with the canvass spread 
 in the manner just mentioned, one of those light craft has a 
 very close resemblance to the gull or the hawk, as it poises 
 itself in the air, or is swooping down upon its prey. The 
 lugger has less of the beauty that adorns a picture, perhaps, 
 than the strictly latine rig ; but it approaches so near it as 
 to be always pleasing to the eye, and, in the particular evo 
 lution described, is scarcely less attractive. To the seaman, 
 however, it brings with it an air of greater service, being a 
 mode of carrying canvass that will buffet with the heaviest 
 gales, or. the roughest seas, while it appears so pleasant to 
 the eye in the blandest airs, and smoothest water. 
 
 The lugger that was now beneath the heights of Elba had 
 three masts, though sails were spread only on the two that 
 were forward. The third mast was stepped on the taffrail ; 
 it was small, and carried a little sail, that, in English, is 
 termed a jigger, its principal use being to press the bows of 
 the craft up to the wind, when close hauled, and render her 
 what is termed weatherly. On the present occasion, there 
 could scarcely be said to be anything deserving the name of 
 wind, though Ghita felt her cheek, which was warmed with 
 the rich blood of her country, fanned by an air so gentle, 
 that occasionally it blew aside tresses, that seemed to vie 
 vith the floss silk of her native land. Had the natural 
 
20 LE FEU-POL LET. 
 
 ringlets been less light, however, so gentle a respiration of 
 the sea air could scarcely have disturbed them. But the 
 lugger had her lightest duck spread reserving the heavier 
 canvass for the storms and it opened like the folds of a 
 balloon, even before these gentle impulses ; occasionally col 
 lapsing, it is true, as the ground-swell swung the yards to 
 and fro, but, on the whole, standing out and receiving the 
 air, as if guided more by volition than any mechanical power. 
 The effect on the hull was almost magical ; for, notwith 
 standing the nearly imperceptible force of the propelling 
 power, owing to the lightness and exquisite mould of the 
 craft, it served to urge her through the water at the rate of 
 some three or four knots in the hour ; or quite as fast as an 
 ordinarily active man is apt to walk. Her motion was 
 nearly unobservable to all on board, and might rather be 
 termed gliding than sailing, the ripple under her cut-water 
 not much exceeding that which is made by the finger, as it 
 is moved swiftly through the element ; still the slightest 
 variation of the helm changed her course, and this so easily 
 and gracefully, as to render her deviations and inclinations 
 like those of the duck. In her present situation, too, the 
 jigger, which was brailed, and hung festooned from its light 
 yard, ready for use, should occasion suddenly demand it, 
 added singularly to the smart air which everything wore 
 about this craft, giving her, in the seaman ? s eyes, that par 
 ticularly knowing and suspicious look, which had awakened 
 Maso s distrust. 
 
 The preparations to show the ensign, which had caught 
 the quick and understanding glance of Ghita, and which had 
 not escaped even the duller vision of the artillerists, were 
 made at the outer end of this jigger-yard. A boy had 
 appeared on the taffrail, and he was evidently clearing the 
 ensign-halyards for that purpose. In half a minute, how 
 ever, he disappeared, and then a flag rose steadily, and by 
 a continued pull, to its station. At first the bunting hung 
 suspended in a line, so as to evade all examination ; but, as 
 if everything on board this light craft were on a scale as 
 airy and buoyant as herself, the folds soon expanded, show 
 ing a white field, traversed at right angles with a red cross, 
 and having a union of the same tint in its upper and inner 
 corner. 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 21 
 
 " Inglese /" exclaimed Maso, infinitely aided in this con 
 jecture by the sight of the stranger s ensign " Si, Signore ; 
 it is an Englishman ; I thought so, from the first, but as the 
 lugger is not a common rig for vessels of that nation, I did 
 not like to risk anything, by saying it." 
 
 " Well, honest Tommaso, it is a happiness to have a man 
 ner as skilful as yourself, in these troublesome times, at one s 
 elbow ! I do not know how else we should ever have found 
 out the stranger s country. An Inglese! Corpo di Bacco! 
 Who would have thought that a nation so maritime, and 
 which lies so far off, would send so small a craft this vast 
 distance ! Why, Ghita, it is a voyage from Elba to Livorno, 
 and yet, I dare say, England is twenty times farther." 
 
 " Signore, I know little of England, but I have heard that 
 it lies beyond our own sea. This is the flag of the country, 
 however ; for that have I often beheld. Many ships of that 
 nation come upon the coast, further south." 
 
 " Yes, it is a great country for mariners ; though they 
 tell me it has neither wine nor oil. They are allies of the 
 emperor, too, and deadly enemies of the French, who have 
 done so much harm in upper Italy. That is something, 
 Ghita, and every Italian should honour the flag. I fear this 
 stranger does not intend to enter our harbour !" 
 
 " He steers as if he did not, certainly, Signor Podesta," 
 said Ghita, sighing so gently that the respiration was audible 
 only to herself. " Perhaps he is in search of some of the 
 French, of which they say so many were seen, last year, 
 going east." 
 
 "Ay, that was truly an enterprise !" answered the magis 
 trate, gesticulating on a large scale, and opening his eyes 
 by way of accompaniments. " General Bonaparte, he who 
 had been playing the devil in the Milanese, and the states 
 of the Pope, for the last two years, sailed, they sent us word, 
 with two or three hundred ships, the saints, at first, knew 
 whither. Some said, it was to destroy the holy sepulchre; 
 some, to overturn the Grand Turk; and some thought, to 
 seize the islands. There was a craft in here, the same 
 week, which said he had got possession of the Island of 
 Malta ; in which case we might look out for trouble in Elba. 
 had my suspicions, from the first !" 
 
22 LEFEU-FOLLET. 
 
 " All this I heard, at the time, Signore, and my uncle proba 
 bly could tell you more how we all felt at the tidings !" 
 
 " Well, that is all over now, and the French are in Egypt. 
 Your uncle, Ghita, has gone upon the main, I hear?" this 
 was said inquiringly, and it was intended to be said care 
 lessly ; but the podesta could not prevent a glance of suspicion 
 from accompanying the question. 
 
 " Signore, I believe he has ; but I know little of his affairs. 
 The time has come, however, when I ought to expect him. 
 See, Eccellenza," a- title that never failed to mollify the 
 magistrate, and turn his attention from others entirely to 
 himself, " the lugger really appears disposed to look into 
 your bay, if not actually to enter it !" 
 
 This sufficed to change the discourse. Nor was it said 
 altogether without reason ; the lugger, which by this time 
 had passed the western promontory, actually appearing dis 
 posed to do as Ghita conjectured. She had jibed her main 
 sail brought both sheets of canvass on her larboard side, 
 and luffed a little, so as to cause her head to look towards 
 the opposite side of the bay, instead of standing in, as before, 
 in the direction of the canal. This change in the lugger s 
 course produced a general movement in the crowd, which 
 began to quit the heights, hastening to descend the terraced 
 streets, in order to reach the haven. Maso and the podesta 
 led the van, in this descent ; and the girls, with Ghita in their 
 midst, followed with equal curiosity, but with eager steps. 
 By the time the throng was assembled on the quays, in the 
 streets, on the decks of feluccas, or at other points that 
 commanded the view, the stranger was seen gliding past, in 
 the centre of the wide and deep bay, with his jigger hauled 
 out, and his sheets aft, looking up nearly into the wind s eye, 
 if that could be called wind, which was still little more than 
 .the sighing of the classical zephyr. His motion was neces 
 sarily slow, but it continued light, easy, and graceful. After 
 passing the entrance of the port a mile or more, he tacked 
 and looked up towards the haven. By this time, however, 
 he had got so near in to the western cliffs, that their lee de 
 prived him of all air ; and after keeping his canvass open 
 half an hour in the little roads, it was all suddenly drawn to 
 tb*j yards, and the lugger anchored. 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 "His stock, a few French phrases, got by heart, 
 With much to learn, but nothing to impart; 
 The youth obedient to his sire s commands, , 
 
 Sets off a wanderer into foreign lands." 
 
 COWPER. 
 
 IT was now nearly dark, and the crowd, having satisfied 
 its idle curiosity, began slowly to disperse. The Signor 
 Viti remained till the last, conceiving it to be his duty to be 
 on the alert, in such troubled times ; but with all his bustling 
 activity, it escaped his vigilance and means of observation 
 to detect the circumstance that the stranger, who, while he 
 steered into the bay with so much confidence, had contrived 
 to bring up at a point where not a single gun from the bat 
 teries could be brought to bear on him ; while his own shot, 
 had he been disposed to hostility, would have completely 
 raked the little haven. But Vito\ 7 iti, though so enthusiastic 
 an admirer of the art, was no gunner himself, and little 
 liked to dwell on the effect of shot, except as it applied to 
 others, and not at all to himself. 
 
 Of all the suspicious, apprehensive and curious, who had 
 been collected in and about the port, since it was known the 
 lugger intended to come into the bay, Ghita and Maso 
 alone remained on watch, after the vessel anchored. A loud 
 hail had been given by those entrusted with the execution 
 of the quarantine laws, the great physical bug-bear and 
 moral mystification of the Mediterranean ; and the questions 
 put had been answered in a way to satisfy all scruples for 
 the moment. The " From whence came ye 7" asked, how 
 ever, in an Italian idiom, had been answered by " Inghilterra, 
 touching at Lisbon and Gibraltar," all regions beyond dis 
 trust, as to the plague, and all happening, at that moment, 
 to give clean bills of health. But the name of the craft, her 
 self, had been given in a way to puzzle all the proficients in 
 Saxon English that Porto Ferrajo could produce. It had 
 been distinctly enough pronounced by some one on board, 
 and at the request of the quarantine department, had beer. 
 
24 LBTEU-FOLLET. 
 
 three times slowly repeated, very much after the following 
 form ; viz. 
 
 " Come chiamate il vostro bastimento ?" 
 
 " The Wing-And-Wing." 
 
 Come r 
 
 The Wing-And-Wing." 
 
 A long pause, during which the officials put their heads 
 together, first to compare the sounds of each with those of 
 his companions ears, and then to inquire of one who pro 
 fessed to understand English, but whose knowledge was such 
 as is generally met with in a linguist of a little-frequented 
 port, the meaning of the term. 
 
 11 Ving-y-ving !" growled this functionary, not a little 
 puzzled, " what ze devil sort of name is zat ! Ask zem 
 again." 
 
 " Come si chiama la vostra barca, Signori Inglesi ?" 
 repeated he who hailed. 
 
 " Diable /" growled one back, in French, " she is called 
 ze Wing-And-Wing, Ala e Ala, " giving a very literal 
 translation of the name, in Italian. 
 
 " Ala e ala /" repeated they of the quarantine, first look- 
 ing at each other in surprise, and then laughing, though ill 
 a perplexed and doubtful manner ; " Ving-y-Ving !" 
 
 This passed just as the lugger anchored, and the crowd 
 had be,un to disperse. It caused some merriment, and it 
 was soon spread in the little town that a craft had just 
 arrived from Inghilterra, whose name, in the dialect of that 
 island, was " Ving-y-Ving ;" which meant " Ala e Z," in 
 Italian ; a cognomen that struck the listeners as sufficiently 
 absurd. In confirmation of the fact, however, the lugger 
 hoisted a small square flag, at the end of her main-yard, on 
 wh .ch were painted, or wrought, two large wings, as they 
 are sometimes delineated in heraldry, with the beak of a 
 gaLey between them ; giving the whole conceit something 
 very like the appearance that the human imagination has 
 assigned to those heavenly beings, cherubs. This emblem 
 seemed to satisfy the minds of the observers, who were too 
 much accustomed to the images of art, not to obtain some 
 tolerably distinct notions, in the end, of what " Ala e ala" 
 meant. 
 
 But Maso, as has been said, remained after the rest had 
 
L E F E U - F O L L E T 2,") 
 
 departed to their homes and their suppers, as did Chita. 
 The pilot, for such was Tonti s usual appellation, in conse 
 quence of his familiarity with the coast, and his being prin 
 cipally employed to direct the navigation of the different 
 craft in which he served, kept his station on board a felucca 
 to which he belonged, watching the movements of the lugger, 
 while the girl had taken her stand on the quay, in a position 
 that better became her sex, since it removed her from imme 
 diate contact with the rough spirits of the port, while it ena 
 bled her to see what occurred about the Wing-And-Wing. 
 More than half an hour elapsed, however, before there were 
 any signs of an intention to land ; but, by the time it was 
 dark, a boat was ready, and it was seen making its way to 
 the common stairs, where one or two of the regular officials 
 were ready to receive it. 
 
 It is unnecessary to dwell on the forms of the pratique 
 officers. These troublesome persons had their lanterns, and 
 were vigilant in examining papers, as is customary ; but it 
 would seem, the mariner in the boat had everything en 
 rgle, for he was soon suffered to land. At this instant 
 Ghita passed near the group, and took a close and keen sur 
 vey of the stranger s form and face, her own person being 
 so enveloped in a mantle, as to render a recognition of it 
 difficult, if not impossible. The girl seemed satisfied with 
 this scrutiny, for she immediately disappeared. Not so with 
 Maso, who by this time had hurried round from the felucca, 
 and was at the stairs in season to say a word to the stranger. 
 
 " Signore," said the pilot, " his Eccellenza, the podesta, 
 has bidden me say to you, that he expects the honour of your 
 company, at his house, which stands so near us, hard by 
 here, in the principal street, as will make it only a pleasure 
 to go there ; I know he wuuld be disappointed, if he failed 
 of the happiness of seeing you." 
 
 " His Ecceilenza is a man not to be disappointed," re 
 turned the stranger, in very good Italian, " and five minutes 
 shall prove to him how eager I am to salute him ;" then 
 turning to the crew of his boat, he ordered them to return on 
 board the lugger, and not to fail to look out for the signal by 
 which he might call them ashore. 
 
 Maso, as he led the way to the dwelling of Vito Viti, 
 3 
 
26 LFFEU-FOLLET. 
 
 would fain ask a few questions, in the hope of appeasing 
 certain doubts that beset him. 
 
 " Since when, Signor Capitano," he inquired, " have you 
 English taken to sailing luggers ? It is a novel rig for one 
 of your craft." 
 
 " Corpo di Bacco !" answered the other, laughing, "friend 
 of mine, if you can tell the precise day when brandy and laces 
 were first smuggled from France into my country I will 
 answer your question. I think you have never navigated 
 as far north as the Bay of Biscay and our English Channel, 
 or you would know that a Guernsey-man is better acquainted 
 with the rig of a lugger, than with that of a ship." 
 
 " Guernsey is a country I never heard of," answered 
 Maso, simply ; " is it like Holland or more like Lisbon ?" 
 
 " Very little of either. Guernsey is a country that was 
 once French, and where many of the people still speak the 
 French language, but of which the English have been mas 
 ters this many an age. It is an island subject to King 
 George, but which is still half Gallic in names and usages. 
 This is the reason why we like the lugger better than the 
 cutter, which is a more English rig. 5 
 
 Maso was silent, for, if true, the answer at once removed 
 many misgivings. He had seen so much about the strange 
 craft which struck him as French, that doubts of her charac 
 ter had obtruded ; but, if her captain s account could only 
 be substantiated, there was an end of distrust. What could 
 be more natural than the circumstance that a vessel fitted 
 out in an island of French origin, should betray some of the 
 peculiarities of the people who built her? 
 
 The podesta was at home, in expectation of this visit, and 
 Maso was first admitted to a private conference, leaving the 
 stranger in an outer room. During this brief conference, 
 the pilot communicated all he had to say both his suspi 
 cions and the seeming solution of the difficulties ; and then 
 he took his leave, after receiving the boon of a paul. Vito 
 Viti now joined his guest, but it was so dark, lights not 
 having yet been introduced, that neither could distinguish 
 the other s countenance. 
 
 " Signer Capitano," observed the magistrate, " the deputy- 
 governor is at his residence, on the hill, a id he will expect 
 
LEFEU-FOLLET. 21 
 
 me to do him the favour to bring you thither, that he may 
 do you the honours of the port." 
 
 This was said so civilly, and was, in itself, both so reason 
 able and so much in conformity with usage, that the other 
 had not a word to say against it. Together, then, they left 
 the house, and proceeded towards the government-dwelling 
 a building which has since become celebrated as having 
 been the residence of a soldier who came so near subjugating 
 Europe. Vito Viti was a short, pursy man, and he took his 
 time to ascend the stairs-resembling street ; but his com 
 panion stepped from terrace to terrace with an ease and 
 activity that, of themselves, would have declared him to be 
 young, had not this been made apparent by his general 
 bearing and his mien, as seen through the obscurity. 
 
 Andrea Barrofaldi, the vice-governatore, was a very dif 
 ferent sort of person from his friend the podesta. Although 
 little more acquainted with the world, by practice, the vice- 
 governatore was deeply read in books ; owing his situation, 
 in short, to the circumstance of his having written several 
 clever works, of no great reputation, certainly, for genius, 
 but which were useful in their way, and manifested scholar 
 ship. It is very seldom that a man of mere letters is quali 
 fied for public life ; and yet there is an affectation, in all 
 governments, most especially in those which care so little 
 for literature in general, as to render some professions of 
 respect for it necessary to their own characters, of protecting 
 it ; and thus it is, that among ourselves, where the laws are so 
 indifferent to the rights and interests of men of this class as 
 to subject them to costs and penalties, in the prosecution of 
 their ordinary labours, that no other Christian nation dreams 
 of exacting, we hear high-sounding pretensions to this spe 
 cies of liberality, although the system of rewards and punish 
 ments* that prevails, usually requires that its beneficiary 
 
 * So much is said in the journals of this country concerning 1 the 
 patronage the public beStows on letters, a patronage which is very much 
 confined to buying such works as the reader wants, and not purchasing 1 
 those for which lie feels no occasion, that it forcibly reminds one of the 
 story of the Creole woman, who was descanting on the subject of ruling- 
 negroes, among some friends. " If you will gouverne negres," she 
 aid, " you moost have systeme. I have systeme. Mon systeme & moi, 
 is systemc of reward and poonishwen*." Then she turns to her ne, 
 groes, und addresses them, dftiiring her friends to note the effect. 
 
28 LEFEU-FOLLET. 
 
 should first rat, in order to prove his adaptation to the duty. 
 Andrea Barrofaldi, however, had thrown no political summer 
 set, and had consequently been inducted into his present 
 office without even the sentimental profession of never having 
 asked for it. The situation had been given to him by the 
 Fossombrone of his day, without a word having been said 
 in the journals of Tuscany of his doubts about accepting it, 
 and everything passed, as things are apt to pass when there 
 are true simplicity and good faith at the bottom, without 
 pretension or comment. He had now been ten years in 
 office, and had got to be exceedingly expert in discharg 
 ing all the ordinary functions of his post, which he cer 
 tainly did with zeal and fidelity. Still, he did not desert 
 his beloved books, and, quite apropos of the matter about to 
 come before him, the Signer Barrofaldi had just finished a 
 severe, profound, and extensive course of study in geo 
 graphy. 
 
 The stranger was left in the ante-chamber, while Vito 
 Viti entered an inner room, and had a short communication 
 with his friend, the vice-governatore. As soon as this was 
 ended, the former returned, and ushered his companion into* 
 the presence of the substitute for a grand duke, if not for a 
 king. As this was the sailor s first appearance within the 
 influence of a light sufficiently strong to enable the podesta 
 to examine his person, both he and Andrea Barrofaldi turned 
 their eyes on him with lively curiosity, the instant the rays 
 of a strong lamp enabled them to scrutinize his appearance. 
 Neither was disappointed, in one sense, at least ; the counte 
 nance, figure, and mien of the mariner much more than 
 equalling his expectations. 
 
 The stranger was a man of six-and-twenty, who stood five 
 feet ten in his stockings, and whose frame was the very 
 figure of activity, united to a muscle that gave very fair 
 indications of strength. He was attired in an undress nava) 
 uniform, which he wore with a smart air, that one who 
 understood these matters, more by means of experience, and 
 
 " Mes amis" she begins, " zo-morrow ze cane will be roipe, and you 
 moost tnoosh vork. You know me you know mon systeme it is 
 sysleme of reward and poonishment. If you shall not vork, you shall 
 be flog; zat is poonishment; mais if you shall very nioosh f^J 
 moosh vork ; you shall no be flog zat*s ze reward . " 
 
LEFEU-FOLLET. 29 
 
 less by means of books, than Andrea Barrofaldi, would at 
 once have detected did not belong to the manly simplicity of 
 the English wardrobe. Nor were his features, in the slight 
 est degree, those of one of the islanders, the outline being 
 beautifully classical, more especially about the mouth and 
 chin, while the cheeks were colourless, and the skin swarthy. 
 His eye, too, was black as jet, and his cheek was half covered 
 in whiskers of a hue dark as the raven s wing. His face, 
 as a whole, was singularly beautiful for handsome is a 
 word not strong enough to express all the character that 
 was conveyed by a conformation that might be supposed to 
 have been copied from some antique medal, more especially 
 when illuminated by a smile that, at times, rendered the 
 whole countenance almost as bewitching as that of a lovely 
 woman. There was nothing effeminate in the appear 
 ance of the young stranger, notwithstanding ; his manly, 
 though sweet voice, well-knit frame, and firm look, afford 
 ing every pledge of resolution and spirit. 
 
 Both the vice-governatore and the podesta were struck 
 with the unusual personal advantages and smart {jir of the 
 stranger, and each stood looking at him half-a-minute in 
 silence, after the usual salutations had passed, and before the 
 party was seated. Then, as the three took chairs, on a 
 motion from Signer Barrofaldi, Ijie latter opened the dis 
 course. 
 
 " They tell me that we have the honour to receive into 
 our little haven a vessel of Inghilterra, Signor Capitano," 
 observed the vice-governatore, earnestly regarding the other 
 through his spectacles as he spoke, and that, too, in a man 
 ner not altogether free from distrust. 
 
 " Signor Vice-governatore, such is the flag under which I 
 have the honour to serve ;" returned the mariner. 
 
 " You are an Inglese, yourself, I trust, Signor Capitano 
 what name shall I enter in my book, here?" 
 
 " Jaques Smeet," answered the other, betraying what 
 might have proved two very fatal Shibboleths, in the ears 
 of those who were practised in the finesse of our very un 
 musical language, by attempting to say " Jack Smith." 
 
 " Jaques Smeet !" repeated the vice-governatore " that 
 is, Giacomo, in our Italian " 
 
 " No no Signore," hastily interrupted Captain Smeet, 
 3* 
 
30 LEFEU-FOLLET. 
 
 " not Jaqueomo, but Jaques Giovanni, turned into Jaquea 
 by the aid of a little salt water." 
 
 Ah ! I begin to understand you, Signore ; you Eng 
 lish have this usage in your language, though you have 
 softened the word a little, in mercy to our ears. But we 
 Italians are not afraid of such sounds ; and I know the name. 
 Giac Smeet II Capitano Giac Smeet I have long 
 suspected my English master of ignorance, for he was 
 merely one of our Leghorn pilots, who has sailed in a bas- 
 timento de guerra of your country he called your honour 
 able name Smees, Signore." 
 
 " He was very wrong, Signer Vice-governatore," an 
 swered the other, clearing his throat by a slight effort; " we 
 always call our family Smeet. " 
 
 " And the name of your lugger, Signor Capitano Smeet 1" 
 suspending his pen over the paper in expectation of the 
 answer. 
 
 " Ze Ving-And-Ving ;" pronouncing the itfs in a very 
 different way from what they had been sounded in answer 
 ing the hails. 
 
 " Ze "Ving-y-Ving," repeated Signor Barrofaldi, writing 
 the name in a manner to show it was not the first time ho* 
 had heard it ; " ze Ving-y-Ving ; that is a poetical appella 
 tion, Signor Capitano ; may I presume to ask what it sig 
 nifies?" 
 
 " Ala e ala, in your Italian, Mister Vice-governatore. 
 When a craft like mine has a sail spread on each side, re 
 sembling a bird, we say, in English, that she marches Ving- 
 and-Ving. " 
 
 Andrea Barrofaldi mused, in silence, near a minute. 
 During this interval, he was thinking of the improbability 
 of any but a bona fide Englishman s dreaming of giving a 
 vessel an appellation so thoroughly idiomatic, and was fast 
 mystifying himself, as so often happens by tyros in any 
 particular branch of knowledge, by his own critical acumen. 
 Then he half whispered a conjecture on the subject to Vito 
 Viti, influenced quite as much by a desire to show his neigh 
 bour his own readiness in such matters, as by any other 
 feeling. The podesta was less struck by the distinction than 
 his superior ; but, as became one of his limited means, he 
 did not venture an objection. 
 
LE FEU- FOLLET . 31 
 
 " Signer Capitano," resumed Andrea Barrofaldi, " since 
 when have you English adopted the rig of the lugger 1 it 
 is an unusual craft for so great a naval nation, they tell me." 
 
 " Bah ! I see how it is, Signor Vice-governatore you 
 suspect me of being a Frenchman, or a Spaniard, or some 
 thing else than I claim to be.. On this head, however, you 
 may set your heart at rest, and put full faith in what I tell 
 you. My name is Capitaine Jaques Smeet ; my vessel is 
 ze Ving-and-Ving ; and my service that of the king of Eng 
 land." 
 
 " Is your craft, then, a king s vessel ; or does she sail 
 with the commission of a corsair ?" 
 
 " Do I look like a corsair, Signor ?" demanded le Capi 
 taine Smeet, with an offended air ; " I have reason to feel 
 myself injured by so unworthy an imputation!" 
 
 "Your pardon, Signor Capitano Smees but our duty 
 is a very delicate one, on this unprotected island, in times as 
 troubled as these in which we live. It has been stated to 
 me, as coming from the most experienced pilot of our haven, 
 that your lugger has not altogether the appearance of a 
 vessel of the Inglese, while she has many that belong to the 
 corsairs of France ; and a prudent caution imposes on me 
 the office of making certain of your nation. Once assured 
 of that, it will be the delight of the Elbans to prove how 
 much we honour and esteem our illustrious allies." 
 
 " This is so reasonable, and so much according to what I 
 do myself, when I meet a stranger at sea," cried the captain, 
 stretching forth both arms in a frank and inviting manner, 
 " that none but a knave would object to it. Pursue your 
 own course, Signor Vice-governatore, and satisfy all your 
 scruples, in your own manner. How shall this be done 
 will you go on board ze Ving-and-Ving, and look for your 
 self send this honourable magistrate, or shall I show you 
 my commission ? Here is the last, altogether at your ser 
 vice, and that of his Imperial Highness, the Grand Duke." 
 
 " I flatter myself with having sufficient knowledge of 
 Inghilterra, Signor Capitano, though it be by means of books, 
 to discover an impostor, could I believe you capable of ap 
 pearing in so unworthy a character; and that, too, in a 
 very brief conversation. We book-worms," added Andrea 
 Barrofaldi, with a glance of triumph at his neighbour, for he 
 
LEFEU-FOLLET. 
 
 iow expected to give the podesta an illustration of the p rac- 
 lical benefits of general learning, a subject that had often 
 reen discussed between them, " we book-worms can manage 
 ihese trifles in our own way ; and if you will consent to 
 : nter into a short dialogue on the subject of England, her 
 iiabits, language and laws, this question will be speedily put 
 nt rest." 
 
 " You have me at command ; and nothing would delight 
 me more than to chat for a few minutes about that little 
 island. It is not large, Signore, and is doubtless of little 
 worth ; but, as my country, it is much in my eyes." 
 
 " This is natural. And now, Signor Capitano, added 
 Andrea, glancing at the podesta, to make sure that he was 
 listening, " will you have the goodness to explain to me 
 what sort of a government this Inghilterra possesses 
 whether monarchy, aristocracy or democracy?" 
 
 " Peste ! that is not so easily answered. There is a king, 
 and yet there are powerful lords; and a democracy, too, that 
 sometimes gives trouble enough. Your question might 
 puzzle a philosopher, Signor Vice-governatore." 
 
 " This may be true enough, neighbour Vito Viti, for the 
 constitution of Inghilterra is an instrument of many strings ! 
 Your answer convinces me you have thought on the subject 
 of your government, Capitano, and I honour a reflecting 
 man, in all situations in life. What is the religion of the 
 country ?" 
 
 " Corpo di Bacco ! that is harder to answer than all the 
 rest ! We have as many religions, in England, as we have 
 people. It is true, the law says one thing, on this head, but 
 then the men, women and children say another. Nothing 
 has troubled me more than this same matter of religion." 
 
 " Ah ! you sailors do not disquiet your souls with such 
 thoughts, if the truth must be said. Well, we will be indul 
 gent on this subject though, out of doubt, you and all your 
 people are Luterani ?" 
 
 " Set us down as what you please," answered the captain, 
 with an ironical smile. " Our fathers, at any rate, were 
 ill good Catholics once. But seamanship and the altar are 
 .he best of friends, living quite independent of each other." 
 
 " That I will answer for. It is much the same here, caro 
 
I.BFEU-FOLLET. 33 
 
 Vito Viti, though our mariners do burn so many lamps, and 
 offer up so many aves." 
 
 " Your pardon, Signor Vice-governatore," interrupted the 
 Signor Smeet, with a little earnestness ;" this is the great 
 mistake of your seamen, in general. Did they pray less, 
 and look to their duties more, their voyages would be shorter, 
 and the profits more certain." 
 
 " Scandalous !" exclaimed the podesta, in hotter zeal than 
 it was usual for him to betray 
 
 " Nay, worthy Vito Viti, it is even so," interrupted the 
 deputy, with a wave of the hand, that was as authoritative as 
 the concession was liberal and indicative of a spirit en 
 lightened by study ; " the fact must be conceded. There 
 is the fable of Hercules and the wagoner, to confirm it. Did 
 our men first strive, and then pray, more would be done, 
 than by first praying and then striving ; and now, Signor 
 Capitano, a word on your language, of which I have some 
 small knowledge, and which doubtless you speak like a 
 native." 
 
 " SairtainZee," answered the captain, with perfect self- 
 composure, changing the form of speech from the Italian to 
 the English with a readiness that proved how strong he felt 
 himself on this point ,* " one cannot fail to speak ze tongue 
 of his own mozair." 
 
 This was said without any confusion of manner, and with 
 an accent that might very well mislead a foreigner, and it 
 sounded imposing to the vice-go vernatore, who felt a secret 
 consciousness that he could not have uttered such a sentence, 
 to save his own life, without ven-turing out of hi depth : 
 therefore, he pursued the discourse in Italian. 
 
 "Your language, Signore," observed Andrea Barrofaldi, 
 with warmth, " is no doubt a very noble one, for the Ian 
 guage in which Shakspeare and Milton wrote cannot be else 
 but, you will permit me to say that it has a uniformity of 
 sound, with words of different letters, that I find as unreason 
 able as it is embarrassing, to a foreigner." 
 
 " I have heard such complaints before," answered the 
 captain, not at all sorry to find the examination, which had 
 proved so awkward to himself, likely to be transferred to a 
 language about which he cared not at all, " and have littln 
 
34 LEFEU-FOLLET. . 
 
 to say in its defence. But, as an example of what you 
 mean M 
 
 " Why, Signore, here are several words that I have writ- 
 ten on this bit of paper, which sound nearly alike, though, a* 
 you perceive, they are quite differently spelled. Bix, bax, 
 box, bux, and bocks," continued Andrea, endeavouring to 
 pronounce, " big," " bag," " bug," " bog," and " box," all 
 of which, it seemed to him, had a very close family resem 
 blance, in sound, though certainly spelled with different 
 letters ; " these are words, Signore, that are enough to drive 
 a foreigner to abandon your tongue in despair." 
 
 " Indeed they are ; and I often told the person who taught 
 me the language " 
 
 " How ; did you not learn your own tongue as we all get 
 our native forms of speech, by ear, when a child ?" demanded 
 the vice-governatore, his suspicions suddenly revived. 
 
 " Without question, Signore, but I speak of books, and of 
 learning to read. When * big, bag, bug, bog, and 
 * box, " reading from the paper, in a steady voice, and a 
 very tolerable pronunciation, " first came before me, I felt 
 all the embarrassment of which you speak." 
 
 " And did you only pronounce these words when first 
 taught to read them ?" 
 
 This question was an awkward one to answer ; but Vito 
 Viti began to weary of a discourse in which he could take 
 no part, and, most opportunely, he interposed an objection 
 of his own. 
 
 " Signor Barrofaldi," he said, " stick to the lugger. All 
 our motives of suspicion came from Tommaso Tonti, and all 
 of his from the rig of Signor Smees vessel. If the lugger 
 can be explained, what do we care about bixy, buxy, boxy !* 
 
 The vice-governatore was not sorry to get creditably out 
 of the difficulties of the language, and, smiling on his friend, 
 he made a gentle bow of compliance. Then he reflected a 
 moment, in order to plan another mode of proceeding, and 
 pursued the inquiry. 
 
 " My neighbour Vito Viti is right," he said, " and we will 
 stick to the lugger. Tommaso Tonti is a mariner of experi 
 ence, and the oldest pilot of Elba. He tells us that the 
 lugger is a craft much in use among the French, and not at 
 all among the English, so far as he has ever witnessed." 
 
L E P.E U-FOLLET. 35 
 
 " In that To. nmaso Tonti is no seaman. Many luggers are 
 to be found among the English; though more, certainly, 
 among the French. But I have already given the Signor 
 Viii to understand that there is such an island as Guernsey, 
 which was once French, but which is now English, and that 
 accounts for the appearances he has observed. We are 
 Guernsey-men the lugger is from Guernsey and, no 
 doubt, we have a Guernsey look. This is being half French, 
 I allow." 
 
 " That alters the matter, altogether. Neighbour Viti, 
 this is all true about the island, and about its habits and its 
 origin ; and if one could be as certain about the names, 
 why nothing more need be said. Are Giac Smees, and 
 Ving-y-Ving, Guernsey rmmes?" 
 
 " They are not particularly so," returned the sailor, with 
 difficulty refraining from laughing in the vice-governatore s 
 face ; " Jaques Smeet being so English, that we are the 
 largest family, perhaps, in all Inghilterra. Half the nobles 
 of the island are called Smeet , and not a few are named 
 Jaques. But little Guernsey was conquered ; and our an 
 cestors, who performed that office, brought their names with 
 them, Signore. As for Ving-And-Ving, it is capital English." 
 
 " I do not see, Vito, but this is reasonable. If the capi- 
 tano, now, only had his commission with him, you and I 
 might go to bed in peace, and sleep till morning." 
 
 " Here, then, Signore, are your sleeping potions," con 
 tinued the laughing sailor, drawing from his pocket several 
 papers. " These are my orders from the admiral ; and, as 
 they are not secret, you can cast your eyes over them. 
 This is my commission, Signor Vice-governatore this is 
 the signature of the English minister of marine and here 
 is my own, * Jaques Smeet , as you see, and here is the 
 order to me, as a lieutenant, to take command of the Ving- 
 And-Ving." 
 
 All the orders and names were there, certainly, written in 
 a clear, fair hand, and in perfectly good English. The only 
 thing that one who understood the language perfectly would 
 have been apt to advert to, was the circumstance that the 
 words which the sailor pronounced " Jaques Smeet ," were 
 written, plainly enough, " Jack Smith" an innovation on 
 the common practice, which, to own the truth, had proceeded 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 from his own obstinacy, and had been done in the very teeth 
 of the objections of the scribe who had forged the papers. 
 But Andrea was still too liitle of an English scholar to un 
 derstand the blunder, and the Jack passed, with him, quite 
 as currently as would " John," " Edward," or any other 
 appellation. As to the Wing- And- Wing, all was right; 
 though, as the words were pointed out and pronounced by 
 both parties, one pertinaciously insisted on calling them 
 " Ving-And-Ving," and the other, " Ving-y-Ving." All this 
 evidence had a great tendency towards smoothing down 
 every difficulty, and Maso Tonti s objections were pretty 
 nearly forgotten by both the Italians, when the papers were 
 returned to, and pocketed again by, their proper owner. 
 
 " It was an improbable thing that an enemy, or a corsair, 
 would venture into this haven of ours, Vito Viti," said the 
 vice-governatore, in a self-approving manner ; " for we have 
 a reputation for being vigilant, and for knowing our business, 
 as well as the authorities of Livorno, or Geneva, or Napoli." 
 
 " And that too, Signore, with nothing in the world to gain 
 but hard knocks and a prison," added the Captain Smeet , 
 with one of his most winning smiles a smile that even 
 softened the heart of the podesta, while it so far warmed that 
 of his superior, as to induce him to invite the stranger to 
 share his owfa frugal supper. The invitation was accepted 
 as frankly as it had been given, and, the table being ready 
 in an adjoining room, in a few minutes II Capitano Smees 
 and Vito Viti were sharing the vice-governatore s evening 
 meal. 
 
 From this moment, if distrust existed any longer in the 
 breasts of the two functionaries of Porto Ferrajo, it was so 
 effectually smothered as to be known only to themselves. 
 The light fare of an Italian- kitchen, and the light wines of 
 Tuscany, just served to strengthen the system, and enliven 
 the spirits ; the conversation becoming general and lively, 
 as the business of the moment proceeded. At that day, tea 
 was known throughout southern Europe as an ingredient 
 only for the apothecary s keeping ; nor was it often to be 
 found among his stores ; and the convives used, as a substi 
 tute, large draughts of the pleasant mountain liquors of the 
 adjacent main, which produced an excitement scarcely 
 greater, while it may be questioned if it did as much injury 
 
LEFEU-FOLLET. 37 
 
 to the health. The stranger, however, both eat and drank 
 sparingly, for, while he affected to join cordially in the dis 
 course and the business of restoration, he greatly desired^to 
 be at liberty to pursue his own designs. 
 
 Andrea Barrofaldi did not let so excellent an opportunity 
 to show his acquirements to the podesta go by neglected. 
 He talked much of England, its history, its religion, govern 
 ment, laws, climate, and industry; making frequent appeals 
 to the Capitano Smees for the truth of his opinions. In 
 most cases the parties agreed surprisingly, for the stranger 
 started with a deliberate intention to assent to everything ; 
 but even this compliant temper had its embarrassments, since 
 the vice-governatore so put his interrogatories as occasion 
 ally to give to acquiescence the appearance of dissent. The 
 other floundered through his difficulties tolerably well, not 
 withstanding; and so successful was he, in particular, in flat 
 tering Andrea s self-love by expressions of astonishment 
 that a foreigner should understand his own country so well 
 better, indeed, in many respects, than he understood it 
 himself and that he should be so familiar with its habits, 
 institutions and geography, that, by the time the flask was 
 emptied, the superior functionary whispered to his inferior, 
 that the stranger manifested so much information and good 
 sense, he should not be surprised if he turned out, in the 
 long run, to be some secret agent of the British government, 
 employed to make philosophical inquiries as to the trade and 
 navigation of Italy, with a view to improve the business 
 relations between- the two countries. 
 
 " You are an admirer of nobility, and a devotee of aristo 
 cracy," added Andrea Barrofaldi, in pursuit of the subject 
 then in hand ; " if the truth were known, a scion of some 
 noble house, yourself, Signorel" 
 
 "I? Peste ! I hate an aristocrat, Signer Vice-gover 
 natore, as I do the devil !" 
 
 This was said just after the freest draught the stranger 
 had taken, and with an unguarded warmth that he himself 
 .mmediately regretted. 
 
 " This is extraordinary, in an Inglese ! Ah I see how 
 
 it is you are in the opposizione, and find it necessary to 
 
 say this. It is most extraordinary, good Vito Viti, that these 
 
 inglese are divided into two political castes, that contradict 
 
 4 
 
38 LEFEU-FOLLET. 
 
 each other in everything. If one maintains that an object 
 is white, the other side swears it is black ; and so vice versA. 
 Both parties profess to love their country better than any 
 thing else ; but the one that is out of power abuses even 
 power itself, until it falls into its own hands." 
 
 " This is so much like Giorgio Grondi s course towards 
 me, Signore, that I could almost swear he was one of these 
 very opposizione ! I never approve of a thing that he 
 does not condemn, or condemn, that he does not approve. 
 Do you confess this much, Signer Capitano ?" 
 
 * II vice-governatore knows us better than we know our 
 selves, I fear. There is too much truth in his account of 
 our politics ; but, Signori," rising from his chair, " I now 
 crave your permission to look at your town, and to return 
 to my vessel. The darkness has come, and discipline must 
 be observed." 
 
 As Andrea Barrofaldi had pretty well exhausted his stores 
 of knowledge, no opposition was made ; and, returning his 
 thanks, the stranger took his departure, leaving the two 
 functionaries to discuss his appearance and character over 
 the remainder of the flask. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 
 
 There s Jonathan, that lucky lad, 
 Who knows it from the root, sir; 
 He sucks in all that s to be had, 
 And always trades for boot, sir. 
 
 14,763d verse of Yankee Doodle. 
 
 IL CAPITANO SHEET was not sorry to get out of the 
 government-house palazzo, as some of the simple people 
 of Elba called the unambitious dwelling. He had been well 
 badgered by the persevering erudition of the vice-governa 
 tore ; and, stored as he was with nautical anecdotes, and a 
 tolerable personal acquaintance with sundry sea-ports, for 
 any expected occasion of this sort, he had never anticipated 
 a conversation which would aspire as high as the institutions^ 
 
LEFEU-FOLLET. 39 
 
 religion and laws of his adopted country. Had the worthy 
 Andrea heard the numberless maledictions, that the stranger 
 muttered between his teeth, as he left the house, it would 
 have shocked all his sensibilities, if it did not revive his sus 
 picions. 
 
 It was now night ; but a starry, calm, voluptuous evening, 
 such as are familiar to those who are acquainted with the 
 Mediterranean and its shores. There was scarcely a breath 
 of wind, though the cool air, that appeared to be a gentle 
 respiration of the sea, induced a few idlers still to linger on 
 the heights, where there was a considerable extent of land, 
 that might serve for a promenade. Along this walk the 
 mariner proceeded, undetermined, -for the moment, what to 
 do next. He had scarcely got into the open space, however 
 before a female, with her form closely enveloped in a mantle 
 brushed near him, anxiously gazing into his face. Hex 
 motions were too quick and sudden for him to obtain a look 
 in return ; but, perceiving that she held her way along the 
 heights, beyond the spot most frequented by the idlers, he 
 followed until she stopped. 
 
 " Ghita !" said the young man, in a tone of delight, when 
 he had got near enough to the female to recognise a face 
 and form she no longer attempted to conceal ; " this is being 
 fortunate, indeed, and saves a vast deal of trouble. A thou 
 sand, thousand thanks, dearest Ghita, for this one act of 
 kindness. I might have brought trouble on you, as well as 
 on myself, in striving to find your residence." 
 
 " It is for that reason, Raoul, that I have ventured so 
 much more than is becoming in my sex, to meet you. A 
 thousand eyes, in this gossiping little town, are on your 
 lugger, at this moment, and be certain they will also be on 
 its captain, as soon as it is known he has landed. I fear 
 you do not know for what you and your people are sus 
 pected, at this very instant!" 
 
 " For nothing discreditable, I hope, dear Ghita, if it be 
 only not to dishonour your friends !" 
 
 " Many think, and say, you are Frenchmen, and that the 
 English flag is only a disguise." 
 
 "If that be all, we must bear the infamy," answered 
 Raoul Yvard, laughing. " Why, this is just what we are, 
 to a man, a single American excepted ; who is an excellent 
 
40 LEFEU-FOLLET. 
 
 fellow to make out British commissions, and help us to a 
 little English when harder pushed than common ; and why 
 should we be offended, if the good inhabitants of Porto Fer- 
 rajo take us for what we are !" 
 
 " Not offended, Raoul, but endangered. If the vice-go ver- 
 natore gets this notion, he will order the batteries to fire 
 upon you, and will destroy you as an enemy." 
 
 " Not he, Ghita. He is too fond of le Capitaine Smeet , 
 to do so cruel a thing ; and then he must shift all his guns, 
 before they will hurt le Feu-Follet, where she lies. I never 
 leave my little Jack-o Lantern* within reach of an enemy s 
 hand. Look here, Ghita; you can see her through this 
 opening in the houses that dark spot on the bay, there 
 and you will perceive no gun from any battery in Porto 
 Ferrajo can as much as frighten, much less harm her." 
 
 " I know her position, Raoul, and understood why you 
 anchored in that spot. I knew, or thought I knew you, 
 from the first moment you came in plain sight ; and so long 
 as you remained outside, I was not sorry to look on so old 
 a friend nay, I will go farther, and say I rejoiced, for it 
 seemed to me, you passed so near the island, just to let some, 
 whom you knew to be on it, understand you had not for 
 gotten them ; but when you came into the bay, I thought 
 you mad !" 
 
 " Mad I should have been, dearest Ghita, had I lived 
 longer without seeing you. What are these miserables of 
 El bans, that I should fear them ! They have no cruiser 
 only a few feluccas, all of which are not worth the trouble 
 of burning. Let them but point a finger at us, and we will 
 tow their Austrian polacre out into the bay, and burn her 
 before their eyes. Le Feu-Follet deserves her name ; she 
 is here, there, and everywhere, before her enemies suspect 
 her." 
 
 " But her enemies suspect her now, and you cannot be 
 too cautious. My heart was in my throat a dozen times, 
 while the batteries were firing at you, this evening." 
 
 " And what harm did they ? they cost the Grand Duke 
 two cartridges, and two shot, without even changing the 
 lugger s course ! You have seen too much of these things, 
 Ghita, to be alarmed by smoke and noise." 
 
 The English of Feu-Follet. 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 41 
 
 " I have seen enough of these things, Raoul, to know- 
 that a heavy shot, fired from these heights, would have 
 gone through your little Feu-Follet, and, coming out under 
 water, would have sunk you to the bottom of the Mediterra 
 nean." 
 
 " We should have had our boats, then," answered Raoul 
 iTvard, with an indifference that was not affected, for reck- 
 less daring was his vice, rather than his virtue ; " besides, 
 a shot must first hit, before it can harm, as the fish must be 
 taken, before it can be cooked. But enough of this, Ghita ; 
 I get quite enough of shot, and ships, and sinkings, in every 
 day life, and, now I have at last found this blessed moment, 
 we will not throw away the opportunity by talking of such 
 matters " 
 
 " Nay, Raoul, I can think of nothing else, and therefore 
 can talk of nothing else. Suppose the vice-governatore 
 should suddenly take it into his head to send a party of sol 
 diers to le Feu-Follet, with orders to seize her what would 
 then be your situation ?" 
 
 " Let him ; and I would send a boat s crew to his palazzo, 
 here," the conversation was in French, which Ghita spoke 
 fluently, though with an Italian accent, " and take him on 
 a cruise after the English, and his beloved Austrians ! 
 Bah ! the idea will not cross his constitutional brain, and 
 there is little use in talking about it. In the morning, I will 
 send my prime minister, mon Barras, mon Garnet, mon 
 Cambaceres, mon Ithuel Bolt, to converse with him on poli 
 tics and religion." 
 
 " Religion," repeated Ghita, in a saddened tone ; " the 
 less you say on that holy subject, Raoul, the better I shall 
 like it, and the better it will be for yourself, in the end. 
 The state of your country makes your want of religion 
 matter of regret, rather than of accusation, but it is none the 
 less a dreadful evil." 
 
 " Well, then," resumed the sailor, who felt he had touched 
 a dangerous ground, " we will talk of other things. Even 
 supposing we are taken, what great evil have we to appre 
 hend ? We are honest corsairs, duly commissioned, and 
 acting under the protection of the French Republic, one and 
 undivided, and can but be made prisoners of war. That is 
 a fortune which has once befallen me, and no greater calam- 
 4* 
 
42 LEFEL-FOLLET. 
 
 ity followed than my having to call myself le Capitaine 
 Smeet , and finding out the means of mystifying le vice- 
 governatori." 
 
 Ghita laughed, in spite of the fears she entertained, for 
 it was one of the most powerful of the agencies the sailor 
 employed in making others converts to his opinions, to cause 
 them to sympathize with his light-hearted gaiety, whether 
 it suited their natural temperaments or not. She knew that 
 Raoul had already been a prisoner in England two years, 
 where, as he often said himself, he staid just long enough to 
 acquire a very respectable acquaintance with the language, 
 
 iinot with the institutions, manners, and religion, when he 
 tfiade his escape, aided by the American, called Ithuel Bolt, 
 an impressed seaman of our own Republic, who fully enter 
 ing into all the plans imagined by his more enterprising 
 friend and fellow-sufferer, had cheerfully enlisted in the 
 execution of his future schemes of revenge. States, like 
 powerful individuals in private life, usually feel themselves 
 too strong to allow any considerations of the direct conse 
 quences of departures from the right to influence their policy, 
 and a nation is apt to fancy its power of such a character, 
 as to despise all worldly amends, while its moral responsi 
 bility is divided among too many to make it a matter of much 
 moral concernment to its particular citizens. Nevertheless, 
 
 he truth will show that none are so low, but they may be 
 come dangerous to the highest ; and even powerful commu 
 nities seldom fail to meet with their punishment for every 
 departure from justice. It would seem, indeed, that a prin 
 ciple pervades nature, which renders it impossible for man 
 to escape the consequences of his own evil deeds, even in 
 this life ; as if God had decreed the universal predominance 
 of truth, and the never-failing downfall of falsehood, from 
 the beginning ; the success of wrong being ever temporary, 
 while the triumph of the right is eternal. To apply these 
 consoling considerations to the matter more immediately 
 before us ; the practice of impressment, in its day, raised a 
 feeling among the seamen of other nations, as well as, in 
 fact, among those of Great Britain herself, that probably has 
 had as much effect in destroying the prestige of her nautical 
 invincibility, supported, as was that prestige, by a vast 
 existing force, as any other one cause whatever. It was 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 43 
 
 necessary, to witness the feeling of hatred and resentment 
 that was raised by the practice of this despotic power, more 
 especially among those who felt that their foreign birth ought 
 at least to have assured them impunity from the abuse, in 
 order fully to appreciate what might so readily become its 
 consequences. Ithuel Bolt, the seaman just mentioned, was 
 a proof, in a small way, of the harm that even an insignifi 
 cant individual can effect, when his mind is fully and wholly 
 bent on revenge. Ghita knew him well; and, although she 
 little liked either his character or his appearance, she had 
 often been obliged to smile at the narrative of the deceptions 
 he practised on the English, and of the thousand low inven 
 tions he had devised to do them injury. She was not slow, 
 now, to imagine that his agency had not been trifling in 
 carrying on the present fraud. 
 
 " You do not openly call your lugger le Feu-Follet, Ra- 
 oul ;" she answered, after a minute s pause; " that would 
 be a dangerous name to utter, even in Porto Ferrajo. It is 
 not a week since I heard a mariner dwelling on her mis 
 deeds, and the reasons that all good Italians have to detest 
 her. It is fortunate the man is a\vay, or he could not fail 
 to know you." 
 
 " Of that I am not so certain, Ghita. We alter our paint 
 often, and, at need, can aker our rig. You may be certain, 
 however, that we hide our Jack-o Lantern, and sail under 
 another name. The lugger, now she is in the English ser 
 vice, is called the " Ving-And-Ving." 
 
 " I heard the answer given to the hail from the shore, but 
 it sounded different from this." 
 
 "Non Ving-And-Ving. Ithuel answered for us, and 
 you may be sure he can speak his own tongue. Ving-And- 
 Ving is the word, and he pronounces it as I do." 
 
 " Ving-y-Ving !" repeated Ghita, in her pretty Italian 
 tones, dropping naturally into the vice-governatore s fault of 
 pronunciation " it is an odd name, and I like it less than 
 Feu-Follet." 
 
 "I wish, dearest Ghita, I could persuade you to like the 
 name of Yvard," rejoined the young man, in a half- reproach 
 ful, half-tender manner, " and I should care nothing for any 
 other. You accuse me of disrespect for priests ; but no son 
 could ever kneel to a father for his blessing, half so readily 
 
44 LEFEU-FOLLET. 
 
 or half so devoutly, as I could kneel with thee, before any 
 friar in Italy, to receive that nuptial benediction which 1 
 have so often asked at your hand, but which you have so 
 constantly and so cruelly refused." 
 
 " I am afraid the name would not then be Feu-Follet, but 
 Ghita-Folie," said the girl, laughing, though she felt a bitter 
 pang at the heart, that cost her an effort to control ; " no 
 more of this now, Raoul ; we may be observed, and watched; 
 it is necessary that we separate." 
 
 A hurried conversation, of more interest to the young 
 couple themselves, than it would prove to the reader, though 
 it might not have been wholly without the latter, but which 
 it would be premature to relate, now followed, when Ghita 
 left Raoul on the hill, insisting that she knew the town too 
 well to have any apprehensions about threading its narrow 
 and steep streets, at any hour, by herself. This much, in 
 sooth, must be said in favour of Andrea Barrofaldi s adminis 
 tration of justice ; he had made it safe for the gentle, the 
 feeble and the poor, equally, to move about the island by 
 day or by night ; it seldom happening that so great an enemy 
 to peace and tranquillity appeared among his simple depend 
 ants, as was the fact at this precise moment. 
 
 In the mean time, there was not quite as much tranquillity 
 hvPorto Ferrajo, as the profound silence which reigned in 
 the place might have induced a stranger to imagine. Tom- 
 maso Tonti was a man of influence, within his sphere, as 
 well as the vice-governatore ; and having parted from Vito 
 Viti, as has been related, he sought the little clientelle of 
 padroni, and piloti, who were in the habit of listening to his 
 opinions as if they were oracles. The usual place of resort 
 of this set, after dark, was a certain house kept by a widow 
 of the name of Benedetta Galopo, the uses of which were 
 plainly enough indicated by a small bush that hung dangling 
 from a short pole, fastened above the door. If Benedetta 
 knew anything of the proverb, that " good wine needs no 
 bush," she had not sufficient faith in the contents of her own 
 casks, to trust their reputation ; for thi.* bush of hers was as 
 regularly renewed, as its withering leaves required. Indeed, 
 it was a common remark, among her customers, that her 
 bush was always as fresh as her face, and that the latter 
 was one of the most comely that was to be met with on tho 
 
LEFEU-FOLLET. 45 
 
 island ; a circumstance that aided much indifferent wine, in 
 finding a market. Benedetta bore a reasonably good name, 
 nevertheless, though it was oftener felt, perhaps, than said, 
 that she was a confirmed coquette. She tolerated Maso 
 principally on two accounts ; because, if he were old and 
 unattractive in his own person, many of his followers were 
 among the smartest seamen of the port, and because he not 
 only drank his full proportion, but paid with punctuality. 
 These inducements rendered the pilot always a welcome 
 guest at La Santa Maria Degli Venti, as the house was called, 
 though- it had no other sign than the often-renewed bush, 
 already mentioned. 
 
 At the very moment, then, when Raoul Yvard and Ghita 
 parted on the hill, Maso was seated in his usual place, at 
 the table in Benedetta s upper room, the windows of which 
 commanded as full a view of the lugger as the hour permit- 
 ted ; that craft being anchored about a cable s length distant, 
 and, as a sailor mi-ght have expressed it, just abeam. On 
 this occasion he had selected the upper room, and but three 
 companions, because it was his wish that as few should 
 enter into his counsels, as^at all comported with the love of 
 homage to his own experience. The party had been assem 
 bled a quarter of arThour, and there had been time to cause 
 the tide to ebb materially in the flask, which it may be well 
 to tell the reader at once, contained very little less than half 
 a gallon of liquor, such as it was. 
 
 "" I have told it all to the podesta," saitl Maso, with an 
 important manner, as he put down his glass, after potation 
 the second, which quite equalled potation the first, in quan 
 tity ; " yes, I have told it all to Vito Viti, and no doubt he 
 has told it to II Signer Viee-governatore, who now knows as 
 much about the whole matter as either of us four. Cospetto ! 
 to think such a thing dare happen in a haven like Porto 
 Ferrajo ! Had it come to pass over on the other side of the 
 island, at Porto Longone, one wouldn t think so much of it, 
 for they are never much on the look-out ; but, to take place 
 here, in the very capital of Elba, I should as soon have 
 expected it in Livorno !" 
 
 " Bet, Maso," put in Daniele Bruno, in the manner of one 
 who was a little sceptical, " I have often seen the pavilion 
 of the Inglese, and this is as much like that which all their 
 
.46 LEFEU-FOLLET. 
 
 frigates and corvettes wear, "as one of our feluccas is like 
 another. The flag, at least, is right." 
 
 " What signifies a flag, Daniele, when a French hand can 
 hoist an English ensign as easily as the king of Inghilterra, 
 himself? If that lugger was not built by the Francese, you 
 were not built by an Italian father and mother. But, I 
 should not think so much of the hull, for that may have been 
 captured, as the English take many of their enemies on the 
 high seas ; but look at the rigging and sails Santa Maria ! 
 I could go to the shop of the very sail-maker, in Marseilles, 
 who made that foresail ! His name is Pierre Benoit, and a 
 very good workman he is, as all will allow who have had 
 occasion to employ him." 
 
 This particularity greafly aided the argument ; common 
 minds being seldom above yielding to the circumstances 
 which are so often made to corroborate imaginary facts. 
 Tommaso To-nti, though so near the truth as to his main point 
 the character of the visiter was singularly out as to the 
 sail, notwithstanding ; le Feu-Follet having been built, 
 equipped, and manned at Nantes, and Pierre Benoit never 
 having seen her or her foresail either ; but, it mattered not, 
 in the way of discussion and assertion, one sail-maker being 
 as good as another, provided he was French. 
 
 " And hr\ve you mentioned this to the podesta ?" in 
 quired Benedetta, who stood with the empty flask in her 
 hand, listening to^the discourse ; " I should think that sail 
 would open his eyes." 
 
 " I cannot say I have ; but then I told him so many other 
 things, more to the point, that he cannot do less than believe 
 this, when he hears it. Signer Viti promised to meet me 
 here, after he has had a conversation with the vioe-gover- 
 natore ; and we may now expect him every minute." 
 
 " II Signer Podesta will be welcome," said Benedetta, 
 wiping off a spare table, and bustling round the room to 
 make things look a little smarter than they ordinarily did ; 
 " he may frequent grander wine-houses than this, but he 
 will hardly find better liquor." 
 
 " Poverina ! Don t think that the podesta comes here on 
 any such errand ; he comes to meet me ;" answered Maso, 
 with an indulgent srnile ; " he takes his wine too often on 
 the heights, to wish to come as low as this after a glass. 
 
LBFEU-FOLLET. 47 
 
 Friends of mine (amigi mii), there is wine up at that house, 
 that, when the oil is once out of the neck of the flask,* goes 
 down a man s throat as smoothly as if it were all oil itself! 
 I could drink a flask of it without once stopping to take 
 breath. It is that liquor which makes the nobles so light 
 and airy." 
 
 " I know the washy stuff," put in Benedetta, with more 
 warmth than she was used to betray to her customers ; 
 " well may you call it smooth, a good spring running near 
 each of the wine-presses that have made it. I have seen 
 some of it that even oil would not float on !" 
 
 This assertion was a fair counterpoise to that of the sail 
 being about as true. But Benedetta had too much experi 
 ence in the inconstancy of men, not to be aware that if the 
 three or four customers who were present, should seriously 
 take up the notion that the island contained any better liquoi 
 than that she habitually placed before them, her value might 
 be sensibly diminished, in their eyes. As became a wo 
 man who had to struggle singly with the world, too, her 
 native shrewdness taught her, that the best moment to refute 
 a calumny was to stop it as soon as it began to circulate, 
 and her answer was as warm in manner, as it was positive 
 in terms. This was an excellent opening for an animated 
 discussion, and one would have been very likely to occur, 
 had there not fortunately been steps heard without, that 
 induced Maso to expect the podesta. Sure enough, the door 
 opened, and Vito Viti appeared, followed, to the astonishment 
 of all the guests, and to the absolute awe of Benedetta, by 
 the v ice-go vernatore himself. 
 
 The solution of this unexpected isit is very easily given. 
 After the departure of the Capitano Smees, Vito Viti returned 
 to the subject of Maso s suspicions, and by suggesting cur 
 tain little circumstances in the mariner s manner, that he had 
 noted during the interview, he so far succeeded in making 
 an impression on himself, that, in the end, his own distrust 
 revived, and with it that of the deputy-governor. Neither, 
 however, could be said to be more than uneasy, and the 
 podesta happening to mention his appointment with the pilot, 
 Andrea determined to accompany him, in order to recon- 
 
 * It is a practice of Tuscany, to put a ftw drops of oil in the neck 
 of each flask of the more delicate wines, to exclude the air. 
 
4:8 LEFEU-FOLLET. 
 
 noitre the strange craft in person. Both the functionaries 
 wore their cloaks, by no means an unusual thing in the cool 
 night air of the coast, even in midsummer, which served 
 them for all the disguise that circumstances required. 
 
 " II Signer Vice-governatore !" almost gasped Benedetta, 
 dusting a chair, and then the table, and disposing of the 
 former near the latter by a sort of mechanical process, as if 
 only one errand could ever bring a guest within her doors ; 
 " your eccellenza is most welcome ; and it is an honour I 
 could oftener ask. We are humble people, down here at the 
 water side, but I hope we are just as good Christians as if 
 we lived upon the hill." 
 
 "Doubt it not, worthy Bettina " 
 
 " My name is Benedetta, at your eccellenza s command 
 Benedettina, if it please the vice-governatore ; but not Bettina. 
 We think much of our names, down here at the water side, 
 eccellenza." 
 
 " Let it be so, then, good Benedetta, and I make no doubt 
 you are excellent Christians. A flask of your wine, if it 
 be convenient." 
 
 The woman dropped a curtsy that was full of gratitude ; 
 and the glance of triumph that she cast at her other guests, 
 may be said to have terminated the discussion that was about 
 to commence, as the dignitaries appeared. It disposed of 
 the question of the wine at once, and for ever silenced cavil 
 ling. If the vice-governatore could drink her liquor, what 
 mariner would henceforth dare calumniate it? 
 
 " Eccellenza, with a thousand welcomes," Benedetta con- 
 tinued, as she placed the flask on the table, after having 
 carefully removed the cotton and the oil with her own plump 
 hand ; this being one of half-a-dozen flasks of really sound, 
 well-flavoured, Tuscan liquor, that she kept for especial 
 occasions ; as she well might, the cost being only a paul, or 
 ten cents for near half a gallon ; " Eccellenza, a million 
 times welcome. This is an honour that don t befall the 
 Santa Maria Degli Venti more than once in a century ; and 
 you, too, Signer Podesta, once before, only, have you ever 
 had leisure to darken my poor door." 
 
 " We bachelors" the podesta, as well as the vice-gover 
 nor, belonged to the fraternity " we bachelors are afraid to 
 trust ourselves too often in the company of sprightly widows, 
 
LEFEU-FOLLET. 4 J 
 
 like yourself, whose beauty has rather improved than less 
 ened, by a few years." 
 
 This brought a coquettish answer, during which time 
 Andrea Barrofaldi, having first satisfied himself that the 
 wine might be swallowed with impunity, was occupied in 
 surveying the party of silent and humble mariners, who 
 \vere seated at the other table. His object was to ascertain 
 how far he might have committed himself, by appearing in 
 such a place, when his visit could not well be attributed to 
 more than one motive. Maso he knew, as the oldest pilot 
 of the place ; and he had also some knowledge of Daniele 
 Bruno, but the three other seamen were strangers to him. 
 
 " Inquire if we are among friends, here, and worthy sub 
 jects of the Grand Duke, all ;" observed Andrea to Vito 
 Viti, in a low voice. 
 
 "Thou nearest, Maso," observed the podesta; "canst 
 thou answer for all of thy companions ?" 
 
 " Every one of them, Signore ; this is Daniele Bruno, 
 whose father was killed in a battle with the Algerines, and 
 whose mother was the daughter of a mariner, as well known 
 in Elba, as" 
 
 " Never mind the particulars, Tommaso Tonti," interrupted 
 the vice-governatore " it is sufficient that thou knowest 
 all thy companions to be honest men, and faithful servants 
 of the sovrano. " You all know, most probably, the errand 
 which has brought the Signor Viti and myself to this house, 
 to-night?" 
 
 The men looked at each other, as the ill-instructed are 
 apt to do, when it becomes necessary to answer a question 
 that concerns many; assisting the workings of their minds, 
 as it might be, with the aid of the senses ; and then Daniele 
 Bruno took on himself the office of spokesman. 
 
 " Signore, vostro eccellenza, we think we do," answered 
 the man. " Our fellow, Maso here, has given us to under 
 stand that he suspects the Inglese that is anchored in the 
 bay, to be no Inglese at all, but either a pirate or a French 
 man. The blessed Maria preserve us ! but in these troubled 
 times it does not make much difference which." 
 
 " I will not say as much as that, friend, for one would be 
 an outcast among all people, while the other would have the 
 rights which shield the servants of civilized nations ;" re- 
 5 
 
50 LEFEU-FOLLET. 
 
 turned the scrupulous and just-minded functionary. " The 
 time was when His Imperial Majesty, the emperor, and his 
 illustrious brother, our sovereign, the Grand Duke, did not 
 allow that the republican government of France was a law 
 ful government ; but the fortune of war removed his scruples, 
 and a treaty of peace has allowed the contrary. Since the 
 late alliance, it is our duty to consider all Frenchmen as 
 enemies, though it by no means follows that we are to con 
 sider them as pirates." 
 
 u But their corsairs seize all our craft, Signore, and treat 
 their people as if they were no better than dogs : then, they 
 tell me that they are not Christians no, not even Lute- 
 rani, or heretics !" 
 
 " That religion does not flourish among them, is true," 
 answered Andrea, who loved so well to discourse on such 
 subjects, that he would have stopped to reason on religion 
 or manners, with the beggar to whom he gave a pittance, 
 did he only meet with encouragement ; " but it is not as bad 
 in France, on this important head, as it has been ; and we 
 may hope that there will be further improvement, in due 
 time." 
 
 " But, Signer Yice-governatore," put in Maso, " these 
 people have treated the holy father, and his states, in a way 
 that one would not treat an Infidel or a Turk !" 
 
 " Ay, that is it, Signori," observed Benedetta " a poor 
 woman cannot go to mass without having her mind disturbed 
 by the thoughts of the wrongs done the head of the church. 
 Had these things come from Luterani, it might have been 
 borne, but they say the Francese were once all good Catho 
 lics r 
 
 " So were the Luterani, bella Benedetta, to their chief 
 schismatic and leader, the German monk himself." 
 
 This piece of information caused great surprise, even the 
 podesta himself turning an inquiring glance at his superior, 
 as much as to acknowledge his own wonder that a Protest 
 ant should ever have been anything but a Protestant or 
 rather, a Lutheran, anything but a Lutheran the word 
 Protestant being too significant to be in favour among those 
 who deny there were any just grounds for a protest at all. 
 That Luther had ever been a Romanist, was perfectly won 
 derful, even in the eyes of Vito Viti. 
 
LEFEU-FOLLET. 51 
 
 " Signore, you would hardly mislead these honest people, 
 01 a matter as grave as this !" exclaimed the podesla. 
 
 " 1 do but tell you truth ; and one of these days you shall 
 hear the whole story, neighbour Viti. Tis worth an hour 
 of leisure, to any man, and is very consoling and useful to 
 a Christian. But who have you below, Benedetta I hear 
 steps on the stairs, and wish not to be seen." 
 
 The widow stepped promptly forward to meet her new 
 guests, and to show them into a commoner room, below 
 stairs, when her movement was anticipated by the door s 
 opening, and a man s standing on the threshold. It was now 
 too late to prevent the intrusion, and a little surprise at the 
 appearance of the new-comer, held all mute and observant 
 for a minute. 
 
 The person who had followed his ears, and thus reached 
 the sanctum sanctorum of Benedetta, was no other than 
 Ithuel Bolt, the American seaman, already named in the 
 earlier part of this chapter. He was backed by a Genoese, 
 who had come in the double capacity of interpreter and boon 
 companion. That the reader may the better understand the 
 character he has to deal with, however, it may be necessary 
 to digress, by giving a short account of the history, appear 
 ance and peculiarities of the former individual. 
 
 Ithuel Bolt was a native of what, in this great Union, is 
 called the granite state. Notwithstanding he was not abso 
 lutely made of the stone in question, there was an absence 
 of the ordinary symptoms of natural feeling about him, that 
 had induced many of his French acquaintances in particular 
 to affirm that there was a good deal more of marble in his 
 moral temperament, at least, than usually fell to the lot of 
 human beings. He had the outline of a good frame, but it 
 was miserably deficient in the filling up. The bone pre 
 dominated ; the sinews came next in consideration ; nor was 
 the man without a proper share of muscle ; but this last was 
 so disposed of as to present nothing but angles, whichever 
 way he was viewed. Even his thumbs and fingers were 
 nearer square than round, and his very neck, which was 
 bare, though a black silk kerchief was tied loosely round the 
 throat, had a sort of pentagon look about it, that defied all 
 symmetry or grace. His stature was just six feet and an 
 inch, when he straightened himself; as he did from time to 
 
52 LEFEU-FOLLET. 
 
 time, seemingly with a desire to relieve a very inveterate 
 stoop in his shoulders ; though it was an inch or two less in 
 the position he most affected. His hair was dark, and his 
 skin had got several coats of confirmed brown on it, by ex 
 posure, though originally rather fair, while the features were 
 good, the forehead being broad and full, and the mouth 
 positively handsome. This singular countenance was illu 
 minated by two keen, restless, whitish eyes, that resembled, 
 not spots on the sun, but rather suns on a spot. 
 
 Ithuel had gone through all the ordinary vicissitudes of 
 an American life, beneath those pursuits which are com 
 monly thought to be confined to the class of gentlemen. He 
 had been farmer s boy, printer s devil, schoolmaster, stage- 
 driver, and tin-pedlar, before he ever saw the sea. In the 
 way of what he called " chores," too, he had practised all 
 the known devices of rustic domestic economy ; having 
 assisted even in the washing and house-cleaning, besides 
 having passed the evenings of an entire winter in making 
 brooms. 
 
 Ithuel had reached his thirtieth year before he dreamed 
 of going to sea. An accident, then, put preferment in this 
 form before his eyes, and he engaged as the mate of a small 
 coaster, on his very first voyage. Fortunately, the master 
 never found out his deficiencies, for Ithuel had a self-pos 
 sessed, confident way with him, that prevented discovery, 
 until they were outside of the port from which they sailed, 
 when the former was knocked overboard by the main boom, 
 and drowned. Most men, so circumstanced, would have 
 returned, but Bolt never laid his hand to the plough and 
 looked back. Besides, one course was quite as easy to him 
 as another. Whatever he undertook he usually completed, 
 in some fashion or other, though it were often much better 
 had it never been attempted. Fortunately it was summer, 
 the wind was fair, and the crew wanted little ordering ; and 
 as it was quite a matter of course to steer in the right direction, 
 until the schooner was carried safely into her proper port, 
 she arrived safely ; her people swearing that the new mate 
 was the easiest and cleverest officer they had ever sailed 
 with. And well they might, for Ithuel took care not to issue 
 an order, until he had heard it suggested in terms by one 
 of the hands, and then he never failed to repeat it, word for 
 
LEFEU-FOLLET. f)3 
 
 word, as if it were a suggestion of his own. As for the 
 reputation of" cleverest" officer, which he so easily obtained, 
 it will be understood, of course, that the term was used in 
 the provincial signification that is so common in the part of 
 the world from which Ithuel came. He was " clever" in 
 this sense, precisely in proportion as he was ignorant. His 
 success, on this occasion, gained him friends, and he was 
 immediately sent out again as the regular master of the 
 craft, in which he had so unexpectedly received his promo 
 tion. He now threw all the duty on the mate ; but so ready 
 was he in acquiring, that, by the end of six months, he was 
 a much better sailor than most Europeans would have made 
 in three years. As the pitcher that goes too often to the 
 well is finally broken, so did Ithuel meet with shipwreck, at 
 last, in consequence of gross ignorance on the subject of 
 navigation. This induced him to try a long voyage, in a 
 more subordinate situation, until, in the course of time, he 
 was impressed by the commander of an English frigate, who 
 had lost so many of his men by the yellow fever, that he 
 seized upon all he could lay his hands on, to supply their 
 places, even Ithuel being acceptable in such a strait. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 "The ship is here put in, 
 A Veronese ; Michael Cassio, 
 Lieutenant to the warlike Moor Othello, 
 Is come on shore: " 
 
 Othello. 
 
 THE glance which Ithuel cast around him was brief, but 
 comprehensive. He saw that two of the party in the room 
 were much superior to the other four, and that the last were 
 common Mediterranean mariners. The position which 
 Benedetta occupied in the household could not be mistaken, 
 for she proclaimed herself its mistress by her very air ; whe 
 ther it were in the upper or in the lower room. 
 
 " Vino," said Ithuel, with a flourish of the hand, to help 
 
54 LEFEU-FOLLET. 
 
 along his Italian, this and one or two more being the only 
 words of the language he ventured to use directly, or with 
 out calling in the assistance of his interpreter; "vino 
 vino, vino, Signora." 
 
 * Si, si, si, Signore," answered Benedetta, laughing, and 
 this with her meaning eyes so keenly riveted on the person 
 of her new guest, as to make it very questionable whether 
 she were amused by anything but his appearance ; " your 
 eccellenza shall be served ; but whether at a paul, or a half- 
 paul the flask, depends on your own pleasure. We keep 
 wine at both prices, and," glancing towards the table of 
 Andrea Barrofaldi, " usually serve the first to signori of 
 rank and distinction." 
 
 " What does the woman say ?" growled Ithuel to his 
 interpreter, a Genoese, who from having served several 
 years in the British navy, spoke English with a very toler 
 able facility " you know what we want, arid just tell her 
 to hand it over, and I will fork out her St. Paul, without 
 more words. What a desperate liking your folks have for 
 saints, Philip-o," for so Ithuel pronounced Filippo, the name 
 of his companion " what a desperate liking your folks 
 have for saints, Philip-o, that they must even call their 
 money after them." 
 
 " It not so in America, Signor Bolto ?" asked the Genoese, 
 after he had explained his wishes to Benedetta, in Italian ; 
 " it no ze fashion in your country to honour ze saints ?" 
 
 " Honour the saints !" repeated Ithuel, looking curiously 
 around him, as he took a seat at a third table, shoving aside 
 the glasses at the same time, and otherwise disposing of 
 every thing within reach of his hand, so as to suit his own 
 notions of order, and then leaning back on his chair until 
 the two ends of the uprights dug into the plaster behind him, 
 while the legs on which the fabric was poised cracked with 
 his weight ; " honour the saints ! we should be much more 
 like to dishonour them ! What does any one want to honour 
 a saint for ? A saint is but a human a man like you and 
 me, after all the fuss you make about em. Saints abound 
 in my country, if you d believe people s account of them 
 selves." 
 
 "Not quite so, Signor Bolto. You and me no great saint. 
 Italian honour saint because he holy and good." 
 
LEFEU-FOLLET. 55 
 
 By this time Ithuel had got his two feet on the round of 
 his seat, his knees spread so as to occupy as much space 
 as an unusual length of leg would permit, and his arms 
 extended on the tops of two chairs, one on each side of him, 
 in a way to resemble what is termed a spread eagle. 
 
 Andrea Barrofaldi regarded all this with wonder. It is 
 true, he expected to meet with no great refinement in a 
 wine-house like that of Benedetta s ; but he was unaccustomed 
 to see such nonchalance of manner in a man of the stranger s 
 class ; or, indeed, of any class ; the Italian mariners present 
 occupying their chairs in simple and respectful attitudes, as 
 if each man had the wish to be as little obtrusive as possible. 
 Still he let no sign of his surprise escape him, noting all that 
 passed in a grave but attentive silence. Perhaps he saw 
 traces of national peculiarities, if not of national history, in 
 the circumstances. 
 
 " Honour saint because he holy and good !" said Ithuel, 
 with a very ill-concealed disdain ** why, that is the very 
 reason why we don t honour em. When you honour a 
 holy man, mankind may consait you do it on that very 
 account, and so fall into the notion you worship him, which 
 would be idolatry, the awful lest of all sins, and the one to 
 which every ra al Christian gives the widest bairth. I would 
 rayther worship this flask of wine, any day, than worship 
 the best saint on your parson s books." 
 
 As Filippo was no casuist, but merely a believer, and 
 Ithuel applied the end of the flask to his mouth, at that mo 
 ment, from an old habit of drinking out of jugs and bottles, 
 the Genoese made no answer; keeping his eyes on the 
 flask, which, by the length of time it remained at the other s 
 mouth, appeared to be in great danger of being exhausted ; 
 a matter of some moment to one of his own relish for the 
 liquor. 
 
 " Do you call this wine !" exclaimed Ilhuel, when he 
 stopped, literally to take breath ; " there isn t as much true 
 
 granite in a gallon on t, as in a pint of our cider. I could 
 
 swallow a butt, and then walk a plank as narrow as your 
 
 elision, Philip-o !" 
 
 This was said, nevertheless, with a look of happiness 
 which proved how much the inward man was consoled by 
 
 vhat it had received, and a richness of expression about the 
 
56 LEFEU-FOLLET. 
 
 handsome mouth, that denoted a sort of consciousness thai 
 it had been the channel of a most agreeable communication 
 .o the stomach. Sooth to say, Benedetta had brought up a 
 lisisk at a paul, or at about four cents a bottle ; a flask of thu 
 very quality which she had put before the vice-governatore j 
 jjtid this was a liquor that flowed so smoothly over the. 
 i : 1 1 ate, and of a quality so really delicate, that Ithuel was by 
 no means aware of the potency of the guest which he had 
 admitted to his interior. 
 
 All this time the vice-governatore was making up his 
 mind concerning the nation and character of the strange*. 
 That he should mistake Bolt for an Englishman, was natu 
 ral enough, and the fact had an influence in again unsettling 
 his opinion as to the real flag under which the lugger sailed. 
 Like most Italians of that day, he regarded all the families 
 of the northern hordes as a species of barbarians ; an opin 
 ion that the air and deportment of Ithuel had no direct 
 agency in changing; for, while this singular being was not 
 brawlingly rude and vulgar, like the coarser set of his own 
 rountrymen, with whom he had occasionally been brought 
 in contact, he was so manifestly uncivilized, in many mate 
 rial points, as to put his claim to gentility much beyond a 
 cavil, and that in a negative way. 
 
 " You are a Genoese ? said Andrea to Filippo, speaking 
 with the authority of one who had a right to question. 
 
 " Signore, I am, at your eccellenza s orders, though in? 
 foreign service at this present moment." 
 
 " In what service, friend ? I am in authority, here in 
 Elba, and ask no more than is my duty." 
 
 " Eccellenza, I can well believe this," answered Filippo, 
 rising and making a respectful salutation, and one, too, that 
 was without any of the awkwardness of the same act in a 
 more northern man, " as it is to be seen in your appearance. 
 I am now in the service of the king of England." 
 
 Filippo said this steadily, though his eyes dropped to the 
 floor, under the searching scrutiny they endured. The 
 answer of the vice-governatore was delivered coolly, though 
 it was much to the point. 
 
 " You are happy," he said, " in getting so honourable 
 masters ; more especially as your own country has again 
 fallen into the hands of the French. Every Italian hear* 
 
LEFEU-FOLLET. 5? 
 
 must yearn for a government that has its existence and its 
 motives on this side of the Alps/" 
 
 " Signore, we are a republic to-day, and ever have been, 
 you know." 
 
 Ay such as it is. But your companion speaks no 
 Italian he is an Inglese ?" 
 
 * No, Signore an Americano : a sort of an Inglese, and 
 yet no Inglese, after all. He loves England very little, if 
 I can judge by his discourse." 
 
 " Un Americano !" repeated Andrea Barrofaldi ; " Ameri 
 cano !" exclaimed Vito Viti ; " Americano !" said each of 
 the mariners in succession, all eyes turning with lively 
 curiosity towards the sutject of the discourse, who bore it 
 all with appropriate steadiness and dignity. The reader is 
 not to be surprised that an American was then regarded 
 with curiosity, in a country like Italy ; for, two years later, 
 when an American ship of war anchored suddenly before 
 the town of Constantinople, and announced her nation, the 
 authorities of the Sublime Porte were ignorant that such a 
 country existed. It is true, Leghorn was beginning to be 
 much frequented by American ships, in the year 1799 ; but 
 even with these evidences before their eyes, the people of 
 the very ports into which these traders entered, were accus 
 tomed to consider their crews a species of Englishmen, who 
 managed to sail the vessels for the negroes at home.* In a 
 word, two centuries and a half of national existence, and 
 more than half a century of national independence, have not 
 yet sufficed to teach all the inhabitants of the old world, that 
 the great modern Republic is peopled by men of a European 
 origin, and possessing white skins. Even of those who are 
 aware of the fact, the larger proportion, perhaps, have ob 
 tained their information through works of a light character, 
 similar to this of our own, rather than by the more legiti 
 mate course of regular study, and a knowledge of history. 
 
 " Si," repeated Ithuel, with emphasis, as soon as he heard 
 
 * As recently as 1828, the author of this book was at Leghorn. 
 The Delaware, 80, had just left there; and speaking of her appearance 
 to a native of the place, who supposed the writer to be an Englishman, 
 the latter observed "Of course, her people were all blacks." "I 
 thought so, too, signore, until I went on board the ship," was the an 
 swer ; " but they are as white as you and I are." 
 
58 LEFEU-FOLLET. 
 
 his nationality thus alluded to, and found all eyes on himself 
 " Si, oon Americano I m not ashamed of my country ; and 
 if you re any way partic lar in such matters, I come from 
 New Hampshire or, what we call the Granite State. Tell 
 em this, Philip-o, and let me know their idees, in answer." 
 
 Filippo translated this speech, as well as he could, as he 
 did the reply ; and it may as well be stated here, once for 
 all, that in the dialogue which succeeded, the instrumentality 
 of this interpreter was necessary that the parties might 
 understand each other. The reader will, therefore, give 
 Filippo credit for this arrangement, although we shall fur 
 nish the different speeches very much as if the parties fully 
 comprehended what was said. 
 
 " Uno stato di granito /" repeated the vice-governatore, 
 looking at the podesta with some doubt in the expression of 
 his countenance " it must be a painful existence which 
 these poor people endure, to toil for their food in such a 
 region. Ask him, good Filippo, if they have any wine in 
 his part of the world." 
 
 " Wine !" echoed Ithuel ; " tell the Signore that we 
 shouldn t call this stuff wine at all. Nothing goes down our 
 throats that doesn t rasp like a file^ and burn like a chip out 
 of Vesuvius. I wish, now, we had a drink of New England 
 rum here, in order to show him the difference. I despise 
 the man who thinks all his own things the best, just because 
 they re his n ; but taste is taste, a ter all, and there s no 
 denying it." 
 
 " Perhaps the Signer Americano can give us an insight 
 into the religion of his country or are the Americani pa 
 gans 1 I do not remember, Vito, to have read anything of 
 the religion of that quarter of the world." 
 
 " Religion, too ! well a question like this, now, would 
 make a stir among our folks in New Hampshire ! Look 
 here, Signore ; we don t call your ceremonies, and images, 
 and robes, and ringing of bells, and bowing and scraping, a 
 religion at all ; any more than we should call this smooth 
 liquor, wine." 
 
 Ithuel was more under the influence of this " smooth liquor" 
 than he was aware of, or he would not have been so loud in 
 the expression of his dissent ; as experience had taught him 
 the necessity of reserve on such subjects, in most Catholic 
 
LEFEU-FOLLET. 59 
 
 communities. But of all this the Signor Barrofaldi was ig 
 norant, and he made his answer with the severity of a good 
 Catholic, though it was with the temper of a gentleman. 
 
 " What the Americano calls our ceremonies, and images, 
 and ringing of bells, are probably not understood by him," 
 he said ; " since a country as little civilized as his own, 
 cannot very well comprehend the mysteries of a profound 
 and ancient religion." 
 
 " Civilized ! I calculate that it would stump this part of 
 the world to produce such a civilization as our very young 
 est children are brought up on. But it s of no use talking, 
 and so we will drink." 
 
 Andrea perceiving, indeed, that there was not much use 
 in talking, more especially as Filippo had been a good deal 
 mystified by the word " stump" was now disposed to aban 
 don the idea of a dissertation on " religion, manners and 
 laws," to come at once to the matter that brought him into 
 the present company. 
 
 " This Americano is also a servant of the English king, it 
 would seem," he carelessly remarked : " I remember to have 
 heard that there was a war between his country and that of 
 the Inglesi, in which the French assisted the Americani to 
 obtain a sort of a national independence. What that inde 
 pendence is, I do not know ; but it is probable that the people 
 of the New World are still obliged to find mariners to serve 
 in the navy of their former masters." 
 
 Ithuel s muscles twitched, and an expression of Intene 
 bitterness darkened his countenance. Then he smiled in a 
 sort of derision, and gave vent to his feelings in words. 
 
 " Perhaps you re right, Signore ; perhaps this is the ra al 
 truth of the matter ; for the British do take our people, just 
 the same as if they had the best right in the world to em. 
 A ter all, we may be serving our masters ; and all we say 
 and think at home, about independence, is just a flash in the 
 pan ! Notwithstanding, some on us contrive, by hook or 
 by crook, to take our revenge, when occasion offers ; and 
 if I don t sarve Master John Bull an ill turn, whenever luck 
 throws a chance in my way, may I never see a bit of the 
 old State again granite or rotten wood." 
 
 This speech was not very closely translated, but enough 
 was said to awaken curiosity in the vice-governatore, who 
 
00 LBFEU-FOLLET. 
 
 thought it odd one who served among the English should 
 entertain such feelings towards them. As for Ithuel, himself, 
 he had not observed his usual caution ; but, unknown to him 
 self, the oily wine had more " granite" in it than he imagined, 
 and then he seldom spoke of the abuse of impressment with 
 out losing more or less of his ordinary self-command. 
 
 * Ask the Americano when he first entered into the service 
 of the king of Inghilterra," said Andrea, "and why he stays 
 in it, if it is unpleasant to him, when so many opportunities 
 of quitting it offer ?" 
 
 " I never entered," returned Ithuel, taking the word in its 
 technical meaning ; " they pressed me, as if I had been a 
 dog they wanted to turn a spit, and kept me seven long 
 years, fighting their accursed battles, and otherwise sarving 
 their eends. I was over here, last year, at the mouth of the 
 Nile, in that pretty bit of work and off Cape St. Vincent, 
 too and in a dozen more of their battles, and sorely against 
 my will, on every account. This was hard to be borne, but 
 the hardest of it has not yet been said ; nor do I know that 
 
 1 shall tell on t at all." 
 
 " Anything the Americano may think proper to relate, 
 will be listened to with pleasure." 
 
 Ithuel was a good deal undecided whether to go on, or 
 not ; but taking a fresh pull at the flask, it warmed his feel- 
 ings to the sticking point. 
 
 " Why, it was adding insult to injury* It s bad enough 
 to injure a man, but when it comes to insulting him into the 
 bargain, there must be but little grit in his natur , if it don t 
 strike fire." ^^: 
 
 " And yet few are wronged who are not calumniated," 
 observed the philosophical vice-governatore. " This is only 
 too much the case with our Italy, worthy neighbour, Vito 
 Viti." 
 
 " I calculate the English treat all mankind alike, whether 
 it s in Italy or Ameriky, r for so Ithuel would pronounce 
 this word, notwithstanding he had now been cruising in and 
 near the Mediterranean several years ; " but what I found 
 hardest to be borne, was their running their rigs on me 
 about my language and ways, which they were all the time 
 laughing at as Yankee conversation and usages, while they 
 pretended that the body out of which all on it come, was an 
 
LEFEU-FOLLET. 61 
 
 English body, and so they set it up to be shot at, by any of 
 their inimies that might happen to be jogging along our road. 
 Then, squire, it is generally consaited among us in Ameriky, 
 that we speak much the be^t English a-going ; and sure am 
 I, that none on us call a hog, an og, an * anchor, a 
 1 hanchor, or a horse, an orse. What is thought of 
 that matter in this part of the world, Signer Squire ?" 
 
 " We are not critics in your language, but it is reasonable 
 to suppose that the English speak their own tongue better 
 than any other people. That much must be conceded to 
 them, at least, Signer Bolto." 
 
 " I shall acknowledge no such advantage as belonging to 
 them. I have not been to school for nothing, not I. The 
 English call c-1-e-r-k, dark ; and c-u-c-u-m-b-e-r, cowcum- 
 ber ; an a-n-g-e-1, aingel ; and no reasoning can convince 
 me that s right. I ve got a string of words, of this sort, 
 that they pronounce out of all reason, that s as long as a 
 pair of leading-lines, or a ship s tiller-rope. You must 
 know, Signor Squire, I kept school, in the early part of my 
 life." 
 
 * Non e possibile /" exclaimed the vice-governatore, 
 astonishment actually getting the better of his habitual good 
 breeding ; " you must mean, Signor Americano, that you 
 gave lessons in the art of rigging and sailing luggers." 
 
 " You never was more mistaken, Signore. I taught, on 
 the general system, all sorts of things in the edication way ; 
 and had one of my scholars made such a blunder as to say, 
 dark, or aingel, or harth, or cowcumber, he wouldn t 
 have heard the last of it, for that week, at least. But I 
 despise an Englishman, from the very bottom of my soul ; 
 for heart isn t deep enough for my feelings." 
 
 Absurd as Ithuel s critical dissertations must appear to all 
 who have any familiarity with real English, they were not 
 greatly below many criticisms on the same subject that often 
 illustrate the ephemeral literature of the country ; and, in his 
 last speech, he had made a provincial use of the word " de 
 spise," that is getting to be so common, as almost to sup 
 plant the true signification. By " despising," Ithuel meant 
 that he " hated ;" the passion, perhaps, of all others, the 
 most removed from the feeling described by the word he 
 had used, inasmuch as it is not easy to elevate those for 
 6 
 
62 LEFEU-FOLLET. 
 
 whom we have a contempt, to the level necessary to be 
 hated. 
 
 " Notwithstanding, * the Inglese are not a despicable 
 people," answered Andrea, who. was obliged to take the 
 stranger literally, since he knew nothing of his provincial 
 use of terms ; " for a nation of the north, they have done 
 marvellous things, of late years, especially on the ocean." 
 
 This was more than Ithuel could bear. All his personal 
 wrongs, and sooth to say they had been of a most grievous 
 nature, arose before his mind, incited and inflamed by 
 national dislike; and he broke out in such an incoherent 
 tirade of abuse, as completely set all Filippo s knowledge 
 of English at fault, rendering a translation impossible. By 
 this time, Ithuel had swallowed so much of the wine, a liquor 
 which had far more body than he supposed, that he was ripe 
 for mischief, and it was only his extreme violence that pre 
 vented him from betraying more, than, just at the moment, 
 would have been prudent. The vice-goverriatore listened 
 with attention, in the hope of catching something useful ; but 
 it all came to his ears a confused mass of incoherent vitupe 
 ration, from which he could extract nothing. The scene, 
 consequently, soon became unpleasant, and Andrea Barro- 
 faldi took measures to put an end to it. Watching a favour 
 able occasion to speak, he put in a word, as the excited 
 Bolt paused an instant, to take breath. 
 
 " Signore," observed the vice-go vernatore, " all this may 
 be very true ; but as coming from one who serves the In 
 glese, to one who is the servant of their ally, the Grand 
 Duke of Tuscany, it is quite as extraordinary as it is un 
 called for ; and we will talk of other things. This lugger, 
 on board which you sail, is out ol all question English, not 
 withstanding what you tell us of the nation." 
 
 " Ay, she is English," answered Ithuel, with a grim smile, 
 " and a pretty boat she is. But then it is no fault of hers, 
 and what can t be cured must be endured. A Guernsey 
 craft, and a desperate goer, when she wakes up and puts on 
 her travelling boots." 
 
 "These mariners have a language of their own," re 
 marked Andrea to Vito Viti, smiling as in consideration of 
 Ithuel s nautical habits ; " to you and me, the idea of a ves 
 sel s using boots, neighbour, seems ridiculous; but the sea- 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 63 
 
 men, in their imaginations, bestow all sorts of objects on 
 them. It is curious to hear them converse, good Vito : and 
 now I am dwelling here on our island, I have often thought 
 of collecting a number of their images, in order to aid in 
 illustrating the sort of literature that belongs to their calling. 
 This idea of a lugger s putting on her boots, is quite heroic!" 
 
 Now Vito Viti, though an Italian with so musical a name, 
 was no poet, but a man so very literal, withal, as to render 
 him exceedingly matter of fact, in most of his notions. 
 Accordingly, he saw no particular beauty in the idea of a 
 vessel s wearing boots; and, though much accustomed to 
 defer to the vice-governatore s superior knowledge, and 
 more extensive reading, he had the courage, on this occa 
 sion, to put in an objection to the probability of the circum 
 stance mentioned. 
 
 " Signer Vice-governatore," he replied, " all is not gold 
 that glitters. " Fine words sometimes cover poor thoughts, 
 and, I take it, this is an instance of what I mean. Long as 
 I have lived in Porto Ferrajo, and that is now quite fifty 
 years, seeing that I was born here, and have been off the 
 island but four times in my life and long, therefore, as I 
 have lived here, I never saw a vessel in the harbour that 
 wore boots, or even shoes." 
 
 "This^is metaphorical, good Vito, and must be looked at 
 in a poetical point of view. Homer speaks of goddesses 
 holding shields before their favourite warriors ; while Ariosto 
 makes rats and asses hold discourse together, as if they were 
 members of an academy. All this is merely the effect of 
 imagination, Signore; and he who has the most, is the aptest 
 at inventing circumstances, which, though not strictly true, 
 are vastly agreeable." 
 
 " As for Homer and Ariosto, Signor Vice-governatore, I 
 doubt if either ever saw a vessel with a boot on, or if either 
 ever knew as much about craft, in general, as we who live 
 here in Porto Ferrajo. Harkee, friend Filippo, just ask 
 this Americano if, in his country, he ever saw vessels wear 
 boots. Put the question plainly, and without any of your 
 accursed poetry." 
 
 Filippo did as desired, leaving Ithuel to put his own con 
 struction on the object of the inquiry ; all that had just 
 
64 LE FEU-FO LLET. 
 
 passed being sealed to him, in consequence of its having 
 been uttered in good Tuscan. 
 
 " Boots !" repeated the native of the granite State, looking 
 round him drolly ; " perhaps not exactly the foot-part, and 
 the soles, for they ought, in reason, to be under water ; but 
 every vessel that isn t coppered shows her boot-top of them, 
 I 11 swear I ve seen ten thousand, more or less." 
 
 This answer mystified the vice-governatore, and com 
 pletely puzzled Vito Viti, The grave mariners at the other 
 table, too, thought it odd, for in no other tongue is the lan 
 guage of the sea as poetical, or figurative, as in the English ; 
 and the term of boot-top, as applied to a vessel, was Greek 
 to them, as well as to the other listeners. They conversed 
 among themselves on the subject, while their two superiors 
 were holding a secret conference on the other side of the 
 room, giving the American time to rally his recollection, and 
 remember the precise circumstances in which not only he 
 himself, but all his shipmates, were placed. No one could 
 be more wily and ingenious than this man, when on his 
 guard, though the inextinguishable hatred with which he 
 regarded England, and Englishmen, had come so near 
 causing him to betray a secret which it was extremely im 
 portant, at that moment, to conceal. At length a general 
 silence prevailed, the different groups of speakers ceasing to 
 converse, and all looking towards the vice-governatore, as 
 if in expectation that he was about to suggest something that 
 might give a turn to the discourse. Nor was this a mistake, 
 for, after inquiring of Benedetta if she had a private room, 
 he invited Ithuel and the interpreter to follow him into it, 
 leading the way, attended by the podesta. As soon as these 
 four were thus separated from the others, the door was 
 closed, and the two Tuscans came at once to the point. 
 
 " Signer Americano," commenced the vice-governatore, 
 " between those who understand each other, there is little 
 need of many words. This is a language which is compre 
 hended all over the world, and I put it before you in the 
 plainest manner, that we may have no mistake." 
 
 "It is tolerable plain, sartain !" exclaimed Ithuel " two 
 four six eight ten all good-looking gold pieces, that, in 
 this part of the world you call zecchini or sequins, as we 
 name em, in English. What have I done, Signor Squire, or 
 
LEFEU-FOLLET. 65 
 
 what am I to do for these twenty dollars? Name your 
 terms ; this working in the dark is ag in the grain of my 
 natur ." 
 
 " You are to tell the truth ; we suspect the lugger of being 
 French ; and by putting the proof in our hands, you will 
 make us your friends, and serve yourself." 
 
 Andrea Barrofaldi knew little of America and Americans, 
 but he had imbibed the common European notion that money 
 was the great deity worshipped in this hemisphere, and that 
 all he had to do was to offer a bribe, in order to purchase a 
 man of IthuePs deportment and appearance. In his own 
 island, ten sequins would buy almost any mariner of the 
 port, to do any act short of positive legal criminality ; and 
 the idea that a barbarian of the west would refuse such a 
 sum, in preference to selling his shipmates, never crossed 
 his mind. Little, however, did the Italian understand the 
 American. A greater knave than Ithuel, in his own way, 
 it was not easy to find ; but it shocked all his notions of 
 personal dignity, self-respect, and republican virtue, to be 
 thus unequivocally offered a bribe ; and had the lugger not 
 been so awkwardly circumstanced, he would have been apt 
 to bring matters to a crisis, at once, by throwing the gold 
 into the vice-governatore s face ; although, knowing where 
 it was to be found, he might have set about devising some 
 means of cheating the owner out of it, at the very next in 
 stant. Boon or bribe, directly and unequivocally offered 
 in the shape of money, as coming from the superior to the 
 inferior, or from the corrupter to the corrupted, had he never 
 taken ; and it would have appeared, in his eyes, a species 
 of degradation to receive the first, and of treason to his 
 nationality, to accept the last, though he would lie, invent, 
 manage and contrive, from morning till night, in order to 
 transfer even copper from the pocket oF his neighbour to his 
 own, under the forms of opinion and usage. In a word, 
 Ithuel, as relates to such things, is what is commonly called 
 iaw-honest, with certain broad salvoes, in favour of smug 
 gling of all sorts, in foreign countries (at home he never 
 dreamed of such a thing), custom-house oaths, and legal 
 . trickery ; and this is just the class of men apt to declaim the 
 loudest" against the roguery of the rest of mankind. Had 
 there been a law giving half to the informer, he might not 
 6* 
 
66 LEFEU-FOLLET. 
 
 have hesitated to betray the lugger, and all she contained 
 more especially in the way of regular business ; but he had 
 long before determined that every Italian was a treacherous 
 rogue, and not at all to be trusted like an American rogue ; 
 and then his indomitable dislike of England would have kept 
 him true in a case of much less complicated risk than this. 
 Commanding himself, however, and regarding the sequins 
 with natural longing, he answered with a simplicity of man 
 ner that both surprised and imposed on the vice-governatore. 
 
 " No no Signer Squire," he said ; " in the first place, 
 I ve no secret to tell ; and it would be a trickish thing to 
 touch your money, and not give you its worth in return ; 
 and then the lugger is Guernsey built, and carries a good 
 King George s commission. In my part of the world, we 
 never take gold unless we sell something of equal valie. 
 Gifts and begging we look upon as mean and unbecoming, 
 and the next thing to going on to the town as a pauper ; 
 though if I can sarve you lawfully, like, I m just as willing 
 to work for your money, as for that of any other man s. 
 I ve no preference for king s, in that partic lar." 
 
 Ail this time Ithuel held out the sequins, with a show of 
 returning them, though in a very reluctant manner, leaving 
 Andrea, who comprehended his actions much better than 
 his words, to understand that he declined selling his secret. 
 
 " You can keep the money, friend," observed the vice- 
 governatore, " for when we give, in Italy, it is not our 
 practice to take the gift back again. In the morning, per- 
 haps, you .will remember something that it may be useful 
 for me to know." 
 
 " I ve no occasion for gifts, nor is it exactly accordin to 
 the granite rule to accept em," answered Ithuel, a little 
 sharply. " Handsome conduct is handsome conduct ; and 
 I call the fellow-creetur that would oppress and overcome 
 another with a gift, little better than an English aristocrat. 
 Hand out the dollars in the way of trade, in as large 
 amounts as you will, and I 11 find the man, and that, too, in 
 the lugger, who will see you out in t, to your heart s con 
 tent. Harkee, Philip-o ; tell the gentleman, in an under 
 tone, like, about the three kegs of tobacco we got out of 
 the Virginy ship, the day we made the north end of Corsica, 
 and perhaps that will satisfy him we are not his inimies. 
 
LEFEU-FOLLET. 67 
 
 Theie is no use in bawling it out, so that the woman can 
 hear what you say, or the men who are drinking in the 
 other room." 
 
 " Signer Ithuello," answered the Genoese, in English, " it 
 will no do to let these gentlemen know anything of them 
 kegs one being the deputy -governor and the other a magis 
 trate. The* lugger will be seized for a smuggler, which 
 will be the next thing to being seized for an enemy." 
 
 ." Yet I ve a longing for them ere sequins, to tell you the 
 truth, Philip-o ! I see no other means of getting at em, 
 except it be through them three kegs of tobacco." 
 
 " Why you don t take em, when the Signore put em 
 into your very hand ? All you do is put him in your pocket, 
 and say, Eccellenza, what you please to wish V " 
 
 " That isn t granite, man, but more in the natur of you 
 Italians. The most disgraceful thing on airth is a paupe" 
 so Ithuel pronounced " pauper" "the next is a street beg 
 gar ; after him comes your chaps who take sixpences and 
 shillin s, in the way of small gifts ; and last of all an Eng- 
 lishman. All these I despise ; but let this Signore say but 
 the word, in the way of trade, and he 11 find me as ready 
 and expairt as he can wish. I d defy the devil in a trade !" 
 
 Filippo shook his head, positively declining to do so foolish 
 a thing as to mention a contraband article to those whose 
 duty it would be to punish a violation of the revenue laws. 
 In the meanwhile the sequins remained in the hands of An 
 drea Barrofaldi, who seemed greatly at a loss to understand 
 the character of the strange being whom chance had thus 
 thrown in his way. The money was returned to his purse, 
 but his distrust and doubts were by no means removed* 
 
 " Answer me one thing, Signor Bolto," asked the vice- 
 govcrnatore, after a minute of thought ; " if you hate the 
 English so much, why do you serve in their ships ? why 
 not quit them, on the first good occasion ? The land is as 
 wide as the sea, and you must be often on it." 
 
 " I calculate, Signer Squire, you don t often study charts, 
 or you wouldn t fall into such a consait. There s twice as 
 much water as solid ground, on this airth, to begin with ; as 
 in reason there ought to be, seeing that an acre of good 
 productive land is worth five or six of oceans ; and then you 
 have little knowledge of my character and prospects to ask 
 
68 LEFEU-FOLLET. 
 
 such a question. I sarve the king of England to make him 
 pay well for it. If you want to take an advantage of a 
 man, first get him in debt ; then you can work your will on 
 him, in the most profitable and safe manner !" 
 
 All this was unintelligible to the vice-governatore, who, 
 after a few more questions and answers, took a civil leave 
 of the strangers, intimating to Benedetta that tj|ey were not 
 to follow him back into the room he had just quitted. 
 
 As for Ithuel, the disappearance of the two gentlemen 
 gave him no concern ; but as he felt that it might be unsafe 
 to drink any more wine, he threw down his reckoning, and 
 strolled into the street, followed by his companion. Within 
 an hour from that moment, the three kegs of tobacco were 
 in the possession of a shop-keeper of the place, that brief 
 interval sufficing to enable the man to make his bargain, and 
 to deliver the articles, which was his real object on shore. 
 This little smuggling transaction was carried on altogether 
 without the knowledge of Raoul Yvard, who was to all 
 intents and purposes the captain of his own lugger, and in 
 whose character there were many traits of chivalrous honour, 
 mixed up with habits and pursuits that would not seem to 
 promise qualities so elevated. But this want of a propensity 
 to turn a penny in his own way, was not the only distin 
 guishing characteristic between the commander of the little 
 craft, and the being he occasionally used as a mask to hia 
 true purposes. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 tt The great contention of the sea and skies 
 Parted our fellowship : But, hark ! a sail." 
 
 Cassio. 
 
 WHATEVER may have been the result of the vice-gover 
 natore s further inquiries and speculations, that night, they 
 were not known. After consuming an hour in the lower 
 oart of the town, in and around the port, he and the podesla 
 sought their homes and their pillows, leaving the lugger 
 riding quietly at her anchor, in the spot where she was last 
 
LEFEU-FOLLET. 09 
 
 presented to the reader s attention. If Raoul Yvard and 
 Ghita had another interview, too, it was so secretly managed 
 as to escape all observation, and can form no part of this 
 
 A Mediterranean morning, at midsummer, is one of those 
 bdlmy and soothing periods of the day, that affect the mind 
 as well as the body. Everywhere we have the mellow and 
 advancing light that precedes the appearance of the sun 
 the shifting hues of the sky that pearly softness that seems 
 to have been invented to make us love the works of God s 
 hand, and the warm glow of the brilliant sun; but, it is not 
 everywhere that these fascinating changes occur, on a sea 
 whose blue vies with the darkest depths of the void of soace, 
 beneath a climate that is as winning as the scenes it adorns, 
 and amid mountains whose faces reflect every varying shade 
 of light, with the truth and the poetry of nature. Such a 
 morning as this last, was that which succeeded the night 
 with which our tale opened, bringing with it the reviving 
 movements of the port and town. Italy, as a whole, is 
 remarkable for an appearance of quiet and repose, that are 
 little known in the more bustling scenes of the greedier 
 commerce of our own quarter of the world, or, indeed, in 
 those of most of the northern nations of Europe. There is 
 in her aspect, modes of living, and even in her habits of 
 business, an air of decayed gentility, that is wanting to the 
 ports, shops, and marts of the more vulgar parts of the world ; 
 as if conscious of having been so long the focus of human 
 refinement, it was unbecoming, in these later days, to throw 
 aside all traces of her history and power. Man, and the 
 climate, too, seem in unison ; one meeting the cares of life 
 with a far niente manner, that is singularly in accordance 
 with the dreamy and soothing; atmosphere he respires. 
 
 Just as day dawned, the fall of a billet of wood, on the 
 deck of the Feu-Follet, gave the first intimation that iny 
 one was stirring in or near the haven. If there had been a 
 watch on board that craft, throughout the night and doubt 
 less such had been the case it had been kept in so quief 
 and unobtrusive a manner, as to render it questionable to 
 the jealous eyes which had been riveted on her from the 
 shorn, until long past midnight. Now, however, everything 
 was in motion, and in less than five minutes after that billet 
 
70 LEFEU-FOLLKT. 
 
 of wood had fallen from the hands of the cook, as he was 
 about to light his galley-fire, the tops of the hats and caps of 
 some fifty or sixty sailors were seen moving to and fro, just 
 above the upper edge of the bulwarks. Three minutes later, 
 and two men appeared near the knight-heads, each with his 
 arms folded, looking at the vessel s hawse, arid taking a 
 survey of the state of the harbour, and of objects on the sui> 
 rounding shore. 
 
 The two individuals who were standing in the conspicuous 
 position named, were Raoul Yvard, himself, and Ithuel Bolt. 
 Their conversation was in French, the part borne by the 
 last being most execrably pronounced, and paying little or 
 no attention to grammar ; but, it is necessary that we should 
 render what was said by both into the vernacular, with the 
 peculiarities that belonged to the men. 
 
 " I see only the Austrian that is worth the trouble of a 
 movement," quietly observed Raoul, whose eye was scan 
 ning the inner harbour, his own vessel lying two hundred 
 yards without it, it will be remembered " and she is light, 
 and would scarce pay for sending her to Toulon. These 
 feluccas would embarrass us, without affording much reward, 
 and then their loss would ruin the poor devils of owners, and 
 bring misery into many a family." 
 
 " Well, that s a new idee, for a privateer !" said Ithuel 
 sneeringly ; " luck s luck, in these matters, and every man 
 must count on what war turns up. I wish you d read the 
 history of our revolution, and then you d ha seen that 
 liberty and equality are not to be had without some ups and 
 downs in fortin s and chances." 
 
 1 * The Austrian might do," added Raoul, who paid little 
 attention to his companion s remarks, " if he were a streak 
 or two lower in the water but, after all, E-too-eZZ," for so 
 he pronounced the other s name " I do not like a capture 
 that is made without any eclat, or spirit, in the attack and 
 defence." 
 
 " Well," this word Ithuel invariably pronounced, 
 " wa-a-1" " well, to my notion, the most profitable and 
 the most agreeable battles, are the shortest ; and the pleasant- 
 est victories are them in which there s the most prize-money. 
 Hovvsrver, as that brig is only an Austrian, I care little what 
 you may detairmine to do with her ; was she English, I d 
 
LE PEU-FOLLET. 71 
 
 head a boat myself, to go in and tow her out here, expressly 
 to have the satisfaction of burning her. English ships make 
 a cheerful fire !" 
 
 " And that would be a useless waste of property, and per- 
 haps of blood, and would do no one any good, EtooeZZ." 
 
 " But it would do the accursed English harm, and that 
 counts for a something, in my reckoning. Nelson wasn t so 
 over-scrupulous, at the Nile, about burning your ships, Mr. 
 Rule" 
 
 " Tonnere ! why do you always bring in that malheureux 
 Nile ? Is it not enough that we were beaten; disgraced 
 destroyed that a friend must tell us of it so often 1" 
 
 " You forget, Mr. Rule, that I was an inimy, then /" re 
 turned Ithuel, with a grin and a grim smile. " If you 11 
 take the trouble to examine my back, you 11 find on it the 
 marks of the lashes I got for just telling my captain that it 
 went ag in the grain for me, a republican as I was by idee 
 and natur , to fight other republicans. He told me he would 
 first try the grain of my skin, and see how that would agree 
 with what he called my duty ; and I must own, he got the 
 best on t ; I fit like a tiger ag in you, rather than be flogged 
 twice the same day. Flogging on a sore back is an awful 
 argument !" 
 
 " And now has come the hour of revenge, pauvre Etooell; 
 this time you are on the right side, and may fight with heart 
 and mind those you so much hate." 
 
 A long and gloomy silence followed, during which Raoul 
 turned his face aft, and stood looking at the movements of 
 the men, as they washed the decks, while Ithuel seated him 
 self on a knight-head, and, his chin resting on his hand, he 
 sat ruminating, in bitterness of spirit, like Milton s devil, in 
 some of his dire cogitations, on the atrocious wrong of 
 which he had really been the subject. Bodies of men are 
 proverbially heartless. They commit injustice without reflec 
 tion, and vindicate their abuses without remorse. And yet 
 it may be doubtful if either a nation, or an individual, ever 
 tolerated, or was an accessary in, a wrong, that the act 
 sooner or later did not recoil on the offending party, through 
 that mysterious principle of right, which is implanted in the 
 nature of things, bringing forth its own results as the seed 
 produces its grain, and the tree its fruits ; a supervision of 
 
72 LEFEU-FOLLET. 
 
 holiness that it is usual to term (and rightly enough, when 
 we remember who created principles) the providence of God. 
 Let that people dread the future, who, in their collected 
 capacity, systematically encourage injustice of any sort ; 
 since their own eventual demoralization will follow as a 
 necessary consequence, even though they escape punishment 
 in a more direct form. 
 
 We shall not stop to relate the moody musings of the 
 New-Hampshire man. Unnurtured, and, in many respects, 
 unprincipled as he was, he had his clear conceptions of the 
 injustice of which he had been one, among thousands of 
 other victims ; and, at that moment, he would have held life 
 itself as a cheap sacrifice, could he have had his fill of re 
 venge. Time and again, while a captive on board the 
 English ship in which he had been immured for years, had 
 he meditated the desperate expedient of blowing up the ves 
 sel ; and had not the means been wanting, mercenary and 
 selfish as he ordinarily seemed, he was every way equal to 
 executing so dire a scheme, in order to put an end to the 
 lives of those who were the agents in wronging him, and his 
 own sufferings, together. The subject never recurred to his 
 mind, without momentarily changing the current of its 
 thoughts, and tinging all his feelings with an intensity of 
 bitterness that it was painful to bear. At length, sighing 
 heavily, he rose from the knight-head, and turned towards 
 the mouth of the bay, as if to conceal from Raoul the ex 
 pression of his countenance. This act, however, was 
 scarcely done, ere he started, and an exclamation escaped 
 him, that induced his companion to turn quickly on his heel, 
 and face the sea. There, indeed, the growing light enabled 
 both to discover an object that could scarcely be other than 
 one of interest to men in their situation. 
 
 It has been said already, that the deep bay, on the side of 
 which stands the town of Porto Ferrajo, opens to the north, 
 looking in the direction of the headland of Piombino. On 
 the right of the bay, the land, high and broken, stretches 
 several miles ere it forms what is called the Canal, while on 
 the left, it terminates with the low bluff on which stands the 
 residence then occupied by Andrea Barrofaldi ; and which 
 has since become so celebrated as the abode of one far 
 greater than the worthy vice-governatore. The haven lying 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 73 
 
 under these heights, on the left of the bay, and by the SUK.- 
 cf the town, it followed, as a matter of course, that the 
 anchorage of the lugger was also in this quarter of the bay, 
 commanding a clear view to the north, in the direction of 
 the main land, as far as eye could reach. The width of the 
 Canal, or of the passage between Elba and the Point of 
 Piombino, may be some six or seven miles ; and at the dis 
 tance of less than one mile from the northern end of the 
 former, stands a small rocky islet, which has since become 
 known to the world as the spot on which Napoleon stationed 
 a corporal s guard, by way of taking possession, when he 
 found his whole empire dwindled to the sea-girt mountains 
 in its vicinity. With the existence and position of this 
 island, both Raoul and Ithuel were necessarily acquainted, 
 for they had seen it and noted its situation the previous 
 night, though it had escaped their notice that, from the place 
 where the Feu-Follet had brought up, it was not visible. In 
 their first look to seaward, that morning, which was ere the 
 light had grown sufficiently strong to render the houses on 
 the opposite side of the bay distinct, an object had been seen 
 in this quarter, which had then been mistaken for the rock ; 
 but, by this time, the light was strong enough to show that 
 it was a very different thing. In a word, that which both 
 Raoul and Ithuel had fancied an islet, was neither more nor 
 less than a ship. 
 
 The stranger s head was to the northward, and his mo 
 tion, before a light southerly air, could not have exceeded a 
 knot an hour. He had no other canvass spread than his 
 three topsails and jib ; though his courses were hanging in 
 the brails. His black hull was just beginning to show its 
 details ; and along the line of light-yellow, that enlivened his 
 side, were visible the dark intervals of thirteen ports ; a real 
 gun frowning in eac i. Although the hammocks were not 
 stowed, and the hammock-cloths had that empty and un 
 dressed-look which is so common to a man-of-war in the 
 night, it was apparent that the ship had an upper-deck, with 
 quarter-deck and forecastle batteries ; or, in other words, 
 that she was a frigate. As she had opened the town of Porto 
 Ferrajo several minutes before she was herself seen from the 
 Feu-Follet. an ensign was hanging from the end of her gaff, 
 
74 LEFEU-FOLLET. 
 
 though there was not sufficient air to open its folds, in a way 
 to let the national character of the stranger be known. 
 
 " Peste !" exclaimed Raoul Yvard, as soon he had gazed 
 a minute at the stranger, in silence : " a pretty cul de sac 
 are we in, if that gentleman should happen to be an English 
 man ! What say you, Etooell ; can you make out any- 
 thing of that ensign your eyes are the best in the lugger ?" 
 
 * It is too much for any sight to detairmine, at this dis 
 tance, and that before the sun is risen ; but, by having a 
 glass ready,- we shall soon know. Five minutes will bring 
 us the Great Luminary, as our minister used to call him." 
 
 Ithuel had descended from the bulwark, while speaking ; 
 and he now went ail in quest of a glass, returning to his old 
 station, bringing two of the instruments ; one of which he 
 handed to his commander, while he kept the other himself. 
 In another minute both had levelled their glasses at the 
 stranger, whom each surveyed attentively, for some time, in 
 profound silence. 
 
 " Par die!" exclaimed Raoul, "that ensign is the tri 
 color, or my eyes are untrue to my own country. Let me 
 see, Etooell, what ship of forty-two, or forty-four, has the 
 republic on this coast ?" 
 
 " Not that, Monsieur Yvard," answered Ithuel, with a 
 manner so changed, and an emphasis so marked, as at once 
 to draw his companion s attention from the frigate to his own 
 countenance ; " not that, Monsieur Capitaing. It is not easy 
 for a bird to forget the cage in which he was shut up for 
 two years ; if that is not the accursed Proserpine, I have 
 forgotten the cut of my own jib !" 
 
 " La Proserpine !" repeated Raoul, who was familiar with 
 his shipmate s adventures, and did not require to be told his 
 meaning; " if you are not mistaken, Etooell, le Feu-Follec 
 needs put her lantern under a shade. This is only a forty, 
 if I can count her ports." 
 
 "I care nothing for ports, or guns ; it is the Proserpine ; 
 and the only harm I wish her is, that she were at the bot 
 tom of the ocean. The Proserpine, thirty-six, Captain Cuffe , 
 though Captain Flog would have been a better name for him. 
 Yes, the Proserpine, thirty-six, Captain Cuffe, Heaven bless 
 hor " 
 
LEFEU-FOLLET. 75 
 
 " Bah ! this vessel has forty-four guns now 1 can seo 
 to count them; I make twenty-two of a side." 
 
 "Ay, that s just her measure a thirty-six on the list 
 and by rate, and forty-four by count; twenty-six long 
 eighteens below; twelve thirty-two s, carronades, on her 
 quarter-deck ; and four more carronades, with two barkers, 
 for ard. She d just extinguish your Jack-o Lantern, Mon 
 sieur Rule, at one broadside ; for what are ten twelve-pound 
 carronades, and seventy men, to such a frigate ?" 
 
 " I am not madman enough, Etooell, to dream of fighting 
 a frigate, or even a heavy sloop-of-war, with the force you 
 have just mentioned ; but I have followed the sea too long to 
 be alarmed before I am certain of my danger. La Rail- 
 leuse is just such a ship as that." 
 
 " Hearken to reason, Monsieur Rule," answered Ithuel, 
 earnestly ; " La Railleuse, nor no other French frigate, 
 would show her colours to an enemy s port ; for it would be 
 uselessly telling her errand. Now, an English ship might 
 show a French ensign, for she always has it in her power 
 to change it ; and then she might be benefited by the cheat. 
 The Proserpine is French built, and has French legs, too, 
 boots or no boots" here Ithuel laughed a little, involun 
 tarily, but his face instantly became serious again "and 
 I have heard she was a sister vessel of the other. So much 
 for size and appearance ; but every shroud, and port, and 
 sail, about yonder craft, is registered on my. back in a way 
 that no sponge will ever wash out." 
 
 " Sa-a-c-r-r-r-e," muttered Raoul between his teeth ; 
 "Etooell, if an Englishman, he may very well take it into 
 his head to come in here, and perhaps anchor within half-a- 
 cable s length of us! What think you of that, mon brave 
 Americain ?" . i 
 
 " That it may very well come to pass ; though one hardly 
 sees, either, what is to bring a cruiser into such a place as 
 this. Every one hasn t the curiosity of a Jack-o Lantern." 
 
 " Mais que diable allait-il faire dans cette galcre ! 
 Bien ; we must take the weather as it comes ; sometimes 
 a gale, and sometimes a calm. As he shows his own en 
 sign so loyally, let us return the compliment, and show ours. 
 Hoist the ensign there, aft." 
 
 " Which one, Monsieur ?" demanded an old demure- 
 
76 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 looking quarter-master, who was charged with that duty 
 and who was never known to laugh ; " the captain will 
 remember we came into port under the drapeau oPMonsieur 
 Jean Bull." 
 
 " Bien hoist the drapeau "of Monsieur Jean Bull, again. 
 We must brazen it out, now we have put on the masque. 
 Monsieur Lieutenant, clap on the hawser, and run the lug 
 ger ahead, over her anchor, and see everything clear for 
 spreading our pocket-handkerchiefs. No one knows when 
 le Feu-Follet may have occasion to wipe her face. Ah ! 
 now, Etooell, we can make out his broadside fairly, he is 
 heading more to the westward." 
 
 The two seamen levelled their glasses, and renewed their 
 examinations. Ithuel had a peculiarity that not only charac 
 terized the man, but, which is so common among Americans 
 of his class, as, in a sense, to be national. On ordinary occa 
 sions he was talkative, and disposed to gossip ; but, whenever 
 action and decision became necessary, he was thoughtful, 
 silent, and, though in a way of his own, even dignified. This 
 last fit was on him, and he waited for Raoul to lead the 
 conversation. The other, however, was disposed to be as 
 reserved as himself,. for he quitted the knight-head, and took 
 refuge from the splashing of the water, used in washing the 
 decks, in his own cabin. 
 
 Two hours, though they brought the sun, with the activity 
 and hum of the morning, had made no great change in the 
 relative positions of things within and without the bay. The 
 people of le Feu-Follet had breakfasted, had got everything 
 on board their little craft in its proper place, and were moody, 
 observant and silent. One of the lessons that Ithuel had 
 succeeded in teaching his shipmates, was to impress on them 
 he necessity of commanding 1 their voluble propensities, if 
 they would wish to pass for Englishmen. It is certain, more 
 words would have been uttered, in this little lugger, in one 
 hour, had her crew been indulged to the top of their bent, 
 than would have been uttered in an English first-rate, in 
 two ; but the danger of using their own language, and the 
 English peculiarity of grumness, had been so thoroughly 
 taught them, that her people rather caricatured, than other 
 wise, ce grand talent pour le silence, that was thought to 
 distinguish their enemies. Ithuel, who had a waggery of his 
 
LEFEU-POLLET. 77 
 
 own, smiled as he saw the seamen folding their arms, throw- 
 aig discontent and surliness into their countenances, and 
 pacing the deck singly, as if misanthropical and disdaining 
 to converse, whenever a boat came alongside from the shore. 
 Several of these visitors arrived, in the course of the two 
 hours mentioned ; but the sentinel at the gangway, who had 
 his orders, repulsed every attempt to come on board, pre 
 tending not to understand F.vench, when permission was 
 asked in that language. 
 
 Raoul had a boat s crew of four, all of whom had acquired 
 the English, like himself, in a prison-ship, and with these 
 men he now prepared to land ; for, as yet, he had made 
 little progress in the business which brought him into his 
 present awkward predicament, and he was not a man to 
 abandon an object so dear to him, lightly. Finding himself 
 in a dilemma, he was resolved to make an effort to reap, if 
 possible, some advantage from his critical situation. Accord 
 ingly, after he had taken his coffee, and given his orders, 
 the boat s crew was called, and he left the lugger s side. 
 All this was done tranquilly, as if the appearance of the 
 stranger in the offing gave no trouble to any in le Feu- 
 Follet. 
 
 On this occasion, the boat pulled boldly into the little 
 harbour, its officer touching the shore at the common land 
 ing. Nor were the men in any haste to return. They 
 lounged about the quay, in waiting for their captain, cheapen 
 ing fruits, chatting with the women, in such Italian as they 
 could muster, and affecting to understand the French of the 
 old sea-dogs that drew near them, all of whom knew more or 
 less of that universal language, with difficulty. That they 
 were the objects of suspicion. *heir captain had sufficiently 
 warned them, and practice rendered them all good actors. 
 The tune they remained in waiting for Raoul, was conse 
 quently spent in eluding attempts to induce them to betray 
 themselves, and in caricaturing Englishmen. Two of the 
 four folded their arms, endeavoured to look surly, and 
 paced the quay in silence, refusing even to unbend to the 
 blandishments of the gentler sex, three or four of whom 
 endeavoured to insinuate themselves into their confide ic<?, 
 by offerings of fruit and flowers. 
 
 " Amico," said Annunziate, one of the prettiest girls of 
 7* 
 
78 LEFEU-FOLLET. 
 
 her class in Porto Ferrajo, and who had been expressly 
 employed by Vito Viti to perform this office, " here are figs 
 from the main-land. Will you please to eat a few, that 
 when you go back to Inghilterra, you may tell your country 
 men how we poor Eibans live T 
 
 "Bad fig" sputtered Jacques, Raoul s cockswain, to 
 whom this offering was made, and speaking in broken Eng 
 lish ; " better at ome. Pick up better in ze street of Ports 
 mouth !" 
 
 " But, Signore, you need not look as if they would hurt 
 you. or bite you ; you can eat them, and, take my word for 
 it, you will find them as pleasant as the melons of Napoli." 
 
 "No melon good, but English melon. English melon 
 plenty as pomme de terres bah !" 
 
 " Yes, Signore, as the melons of Napoli," continued An- 
 nunziate, who did not understand a syllable of the ungra 
 cious answers she received ; " Signer Vito Viti, our podestA, 
 ordered me to offer these figs to the forestieri the Inglesi, 
 who are in the bay " 
 
 " God-dam," returned Jacques, in a quick, sententious 
 manner, that was intended to get rid of the fair tormentor, 
 and which, temporarily, at least, was not without its effect. - 
 
 But, leaving the boat s crew to be badgered in this man 
 ner, until relief came, as will be hereafter related, we must 
 follow our hero in his way through the streets of the town. 
 Raoul, guided by an instinct, or having some special object 
 before his eyes, walked swiftly up the heights, ascending to 
 the promontory, so often mentioned. As he passed, every 
 eye was turned on him, for, by this time, the distrust in the 
 place was general ; and the sudden appearance of a frigate, 
 wearing a French ensign, before the port, had given rise to 
 apprehensions of a much more serious nature than any which 
 could possibly attend the arrival of a craft as light as the 
 lugger, by herself. Vito Viti had long before gone up the 
 street, to see the vice-governatore ; and eight or ten of the 
 principal men of the place had been summoned to a council, 
 including the two senior military dignitaries of the island. 
 The batteries, it was known, were manned ; and, although 
 it would have puzzled the acutest mind of Elba to give a 
 reason why the French should risk so unprofitable an attack, 
 as one on their principal port, long ere Raoul was seen 
 
LEFEU-FOLLET. 79 
 
 among them, such a result was not only dreaded, but, in a 
 measure, anticipated with confidence. As a matter of course, 
 then, every eye followed his movements, as he went with 
 bounding steps up the narrow terraces of the steep street, 
 and the least of his actions was subjected to the narrowest 
 and most jealous scrutiny. 
 
 The heights were again thronged with spectators, of all 
 ages and classes, and of both sexes. The mantles and flow 
 ing dresses- of females prevailed as usual ; for whatever is 
 connected with curiosity, is certain to collect an undue pro 
 portion of a sex whose imaginations are so apt to get the 
 start of their judgments. On a terrace, in front of the palace, 
 as it was the custom to designate the dwelling of the gover 
 nor, was the group of magnates, all of them paying the 
 gravest attention to the smallest change in the direction of 
 the ship, which had now become an object of general solici 
 tude and apprehension. So intent, indeed, were they in 
 gazing at this apprehended enemy, that Raoul stood in front 
 of Andrea Barrofaldi, cap in hand, and bowing his saluta 
 tion, before his approach was even anticipated. This sudden 
 and unannounced arrival created great surprise, and some 
 little confusion; one or two of the group turning away, 
 instinctively, as it might be, to conceal the flushes that 
 mounted to their cheeks, at being so unexpectedly confronted 
 by the very man, whom, the minute before, they had been 
 strongly denouncing. 
 
 "Bon giorno, Signer Vice-governatore," commenced 
 Raoul, in his gay, easy and courteous manner, and certainly 
 with an air that betrayed any feeling but those of apprehen 
 sion and guilt ; " we have a fine morning, on the land, here ; 
 and apparently a fine frigate, of the French republic, in the 
 offing, yonder." 
 
 " We were conversing of that vessel, Signer Smees," 
 answered Andrea, " as you approached. What, in your 
 judgment, can induce a Frenchman to appear before our 
 town, in so menacing a manner ?" 
 
 " Cospetto ! you might as well ask me, Signore, what 
 induces these republicans to do a thousand other out-of-the- 
 way things. What has made them behead Louis XVI. ? 
 What has made them overrun half of your Italy ; conquer 
 Egypt, and drive the Austrians back upon their Danube ?" 
 
SO LEFEU-FOLLET. 
 
 " To say nothing of their letting Nelsoni destroy them at 
 Aboukir," added Vito Viti, with a grunt. 
 
 " True, Signore, or let Nelson, my gallant countryman, 
 dnnihilate them near the mouth of the Nile. I did not 
 consider it proper to boast of English glory, though that 
 rase, too, may very well be included. We have several 
 men, in ze Ving-And-Ving, who were in that glorious battle, 
 particularly our sailing-master, Etooell Bolt, who was on 
 board Nelson s own ship, having been accidentally sent on 
 service from the frigate to which he properly belonged, and 
 carried off expressly to share, as it might be, in the glory 
 of this famous battle." 
 
 " I have seen the Signore," drily remarked Andrea Bar- 
 rofaldi " e uno Americano ?" *, 
 
 " An American !" exclaimed Raoul, starting a little in 
 spite of his assumed indifference of manner ; " why, yes, I 
 believe Bolt was born in America English America, you 
 know, Signori, and that is much the same thing as having 
 been born in England, herself. We look upon ze YanlteSj 
 as but a part of our own people, and take them into our 
 service most cheerfully." 
 
 "SotheSignor Ituello has given us reason to believe? 
 he is seemingly a great lover of the English nation." 
 
 Raoul was uneasy, for he was entirely ignorant of all 
 that had passed in the wine-house, and he thought he de 
 tected irony in the manner of the vice-governatore. 
 
 " Certainly, Signore," he answered, however, with un 
 moved steadiness ; " certainly, Signore, the Americani adore 
 Inghilterra ; and well they may, considering all that great 
 nation has done for them. But, Signer Vice-governatore, I 
 have come to offer you the service of my lugger, should this 
 Frenchman really intend mischief. We are small, it is 
 true ; and our guns are but light ; nevertheless we may break 
 the frigate s cabin-windows, while you are doing him still 
 greater injury, from these heights. I trust you will assign 
 ze Ving-And-Ving some honourable station, should you 
 come to blows with the republicans." 
 
 " And what particular service would it be most agreeable 
 to you to undertake, Signore," inquired the vice-governa 
 tore, with considerate courtesy ; " we are no mariners, and 
 must leave the choice to yourself. The colonello, here 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 81 
 
 expects some firing, and has his artillerists already at their 
 guns." 
 
 " The preparation of Porto Ferrajo is celebrated among 
 the mariners of the Mediterranean, and, should the French 
 man venture within reach of your shot, I expect to see him 
 unrigged faster than if he were in a dock-yard. As for ze 
 leetP Ving-And-Ving, in my opinion, while the frigate is 
 busy with these batteries, it might be well for us to steer 
 along the shore on the east side of the bay, until we can get 
 outside of her, when we shall have the beggars between two 
 fires. That was just what Nelson did at Aboukir, Signer 
 Podesta, a battle you seem so much to admire." 
 
 " That would be a manoeuvre worthy of a follower of 
 Nelsoni, Signore," observed the colonel, " if the metal of 
 your guns were heavier. With short pieces of twelve, 
 however, you would hardly venture within reach of long 
 pieces of eighteen; although the first should be manned by 
 Inglese, and the last by Franc^ese ?" 
 
 " One never knows. At the Nile, one of our fifties laid 
 the Orient, a three-decker, athwart-hawse, and did her lots of 
 injury. The vaisseau, in fact, was blown up. Naval com 
 bats are decided on principles altogether different from en 
 gagements on the land, Signer Colonello." 
 
 " It must be so, truly," answered the soldier ; " but what 
 means this movement 1 you, as a seaman, may be able to 
 tell us, Capitano." 
 
 This drew all eyes to the frigate again, where, indeed, 
 were movements that indicated some important changes. 
 As these movements have an intimate connexion with the 
 incidents of the tale, it will be necessary to relate them in a 
 manner to render them more intelligible to the reader. 
 
 The distance of the frigate from the town, might now have 
 been five English miles. Of current there was none ; and 
 there being no tides in the Mediterranean, the ship would 
 have lain perfectly stationary all the morning, but for a very 
 light air from the southward. Before this air, however, she 
 had moved to the westward about a couple of miles, until 
 she had got the government-house nearly abeam. At the 
 same time, she had been obliquely drawing nearer, which 
 was the circumstance that produced the alarm. With the 
 sun had arisen the wind, and a few minutes before the colo- 
 
82 LEFEU-FOL^ET. 
 
 nel interrupted himself, in the manner related, the topsails 
 of the stranger had swelled, and he began to move through 
 the water at the rate of some four or five knots the hour. 
 The moment her people felt that they had complete com 
 mand of their vessel, as if waiting only for that assurance, 
 they altered her course, and made sail. Putting her helm 
 a-starboard, the ship came close by the wind, with her head 
 looking directly in for the promontory, while her tacks were 
 hauled on board, and her light canvass aloft was loosened 
 and spread to the breeze. Almost at the same instant, for 
 everything seemed to be done at once, and as by instinct, 
 the French flag was lowered, another went up in its place, 
 and a gun was fired to leeward a signal of amity. As 
 this second emblem of nationality blew out, and opened to 
 the breeze, the glasses showed the white field and St. George s 
 cross of the noble old ensign of England. 
 
 An exclamation of surprise and delight, escaped the spec 
 tators on the promontory, as their doubts and apprehensions 
 were thus dramatically relieved. No one thought of Raoul 
 at that happy moment, though to him there was nothing of 
 new interest in the affair, with the exception of the apparent 
 intention of the stranger to enter the bay. As le Feu-Follet 
 lay in plain view from the offing, he had his doubts, indeed, 
 whether the warlike appearance of that craft was Hot the 
 true reason of this sudden change in the frigate s course. 
 Still, lying as he did, in a port hostile to France, there was 
 a probability that he might yet escape without a very criti 
 cal or close examination. 
 
 " Signor Smees, I felicitate you on this visit of a country 
 man," cried Andrea Barrofaldi, a pacific man by nature, and 
 certainly no warrior, and who felt too happy at the prospects 
 of passing a quiet day, to feel distrust at such a moment; 
 "I shall do you honour in my communications with Flo 
 rence, for the spirit and willingness which you have shown 
 in the wish to aid us, on this trying occasion." 
 
 "Signor Vice-governatore, do not trouble yourself to 
 dwell on my poor services," answered Raoul, scarce caring 
 to conceal the smile that struggled about his handsome 
 mouth ; " think rather of those of these gallant signori, who 
 greatly regret that an opportunity for gaining distinction 
 has been lost. But here are signals that must be meant for 
 
LEFEU-FOLLE1. 83 
 
 us I hope my stupid fellows will be able to answer them, 
 in my absence." 
 
 It was fortunate for le Feu-Follet, perhaps, that her com 
 mander was not on board, when the stranger, the Proserpine, 
 the very ship that Ithuel so well knew, made her number. 
 The mystification that was to follow was in much better 
 hands, while conducted by the New-Hampshire man, than 
 it could possibly be in his own. Ithuel answered promptly, 
 though what, he did not know himself; but he took good care 
 that the flags he showed should become so entangled, as not 
 to be read by those in the frigate, while they had every 
 appearance of being hoisted fearlessly, and in good faith. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 "Are all prepared?" 
 
 "They we nay more embark d; the latest boat 
 Waits but my chief" 
 
 "My sword and my capote. 1 * 
 
 The CorMir. 
 
 WHAT success attended the artifice of Ithuel, it was im 
 possible to tell, so far as the frigate was concerned ; though 
 the appearance of mutual intelligence between the two ves 
 sels, had a very favourable tendency towards removing 
 suspicion from the lugger, among those on shore. It seemed 
 so utterly improbable that a French corsair could answer 
 the signals of an English frigate, that even Vito Viti felt 
 compelled to acknowledge to the vice-governatore, in a 
 whisper, that, so far, the circumstance was much in favour 
 of the lugger s loyalty. Then the calm exterior of Raoul 
 counted for something, more especially as he remained, 
 apparently, an unconcerned observer of the rapid approach 
 of the ship. 
 
 "We shall not have occasion to use your gallant offer, 
 Signor Smees," said Andrea, kindly, as he was about to 
 
84 IEFEU-FOLLET. 
 
 retire into the house, with one or two of his counsellors, 
 u but we thank you none the less. It is a happiness to be 
 honoured with the visit of two cruisers of your great nation 
 on the same day, and I hope you will so far favour me as to 
 accompany your brother commander, when he shall do me 
 the honour to pay the customary visit, since it would seem 
 to be his serious intention to pay Porto Ferrajo the compli 
 ment of a call. Can you not guess at the name of the 
 frigate?" 
 
 " Now I see she is a countryman, I think I can, Signore," 
 answered Raoul, carelessly ; " I take her to be la Proser 
 pine, a French-built ship, a circumstance that first deceived 
 me as to her character." 
 
 " And the noble cavaliere, her commander you doubtless 
 know his name and rank ?" 
 
 " Oh ! perfectly ; he is the son of an old admiral, under 
 whom I was educated, though we happen ourselves never to 
 have met. Sir Brown is the name and title of the gentle 
 man." 
 
 " Ah ! that is a truly English rank, and name, too, as 
 one might say. Often have I met that honourable appella 
 tion in Shakspeare, and other of your eminent authors. 
 Miltoni has a Sir Brown, if I am not mistaken, Signore?" 
 
 " Several of them, Signor Vice-governatore," answered 
 Raoul, without a moment s hesitation or the smallest re 
 morse ; though he had no idea whatever who Milton was ; 
 * Milton, Shakspeare, Cicero, and all our great writers, 
 often mention Signori of this family." 
 
 " Cicero !" repeated Andrea, in astonishment " he was 
 a Roman, and an ancient, Capitano, and died before Inghil- 
 terra was known to the civilized world." 
 
 Raoul perceived that he had reached too far, though he 
 was not in absolute danger of losing his balance. Smiling, 
 as in consideration of the other s provincial view of things, 
 he rejoined, with an a-plomb that would have done credit to 
 a politician, in an explanatory and half-apologetic tone. 
 
 " Quite true, Signor Vice-governatore, as respects him 
 you mention," he said ; " but not true as respects Sir Cicero, 
 my illustrious compatriot. Let me see I do not think it is 
 yet a century since our Cicero died. He was born in 
 Devonshire" this was the county in which Raoul had been 
 
LEFEU-FOLLET. 85 
 
 imprisoned " and must have died in Dublin. Si now I 
 remember, it was in Dublin that this virtuous and distin 
 guished author yielded up his breath." 
 
 To all this Andrea had nothing to say, for, half a century 
 since, so great was the ignorance of civilized nations, as 
 related to such things, that one might have engrafted a 
 Homer on the literature of England, in particular, without 
 much risk of having the imposition detected. Signer Barro- 
 faldi was not pleased to find that the barbarians were seizing 
 on the Italian names, it is true ; but he was fain to set the 
 circumstance down to those very traces of barbarism, which 
 were the unavoidable fruits of their origin. As for supposing 
 it possible that one who spoke with the ease and innocence 
 of Raoul, was inventing as he went along, it was an idea 
 he was himself much too unpractised to entertain ; and the 
 very first thing he did, on entering the palace, was to make 
 a memorandum which might lead him, at a leisure moment, 
 to inquire into the nature of the writings, and the general 
 merits of Sir Cicero, the illustrious namesake of him of 
 Rome. As soon as this little digression terminated, he 
 entered the palace, after again expressing the hope that 
 " Sir Smees" would not fail to accompany " Sir Brown," in 
 the visit which the functionary fully expected to receive from 
 the latter, in the course of the next hour or two. The com 
 pany now began to disperse, and Raoul was soon left to his 
 own meditations ; which, just at that moment, were anything 
 but agreeable. 
 
 The town of Porto Ferrajo is so shut in from the sea by 
 the rock against which it is built, its fortifications, and the 
 construction of its own little port, as to render the approach 
 of a vessel invisible to its inhabitants, unless they choose to 
 ascend to the heights, and the narrow promenade already 
 mentioned. This circumstance had drawn a large crowd 
 upon the hill, again ; among which Raoul Yvard now 
 threaded his way, wearing his sea cap, and his assumed 
 naval uniform, in a smart, affected manner, for he was fully 
 sensible of all the advantages he possessed on the score of 
 personal appearance. His unsettled eye, however, wandered 
 from one pretty face to another, in quest of Ghita, who alone 
 was the object of his search, and the true cause of the awk 
 ward predicament in which he had brought not only himself, 
 8 
 
86 LEFEU-FOLLET. 
 
 but le Feu-Follet. In this manner, now thinking of her he 
 sought, and then reverting to his situation in an enemy s 
 port, he walked along the whole line of the cliff, scarce 
 knowing whether to return, or to seek his boat, by doubling 
 on the town, when he heard his own name pronounced in 
 a sweet voice, which went directly to his heart. Turning 
 on his heel, Ghita was within a few feet of him. 
 
 " Salute me distantly, and as a stranger," said the girl, in 
 almost breathless haste, " and point to the different streets, 
 as if inquiring your way through the town. This is the 
 place where we met last evening ; but, remember, it is no 
 longer dark." 
 
 As Raoul complied with her desire, any distant spectator 
 might well have fancied the meeting accidental, though he 
 poured forth a flood of expressions of love and admiration. 
 
 " Enough, Raoul," said the girl blushing, and dropping 
 her eyes, though no displeasure was visible on her serene 
 and placid face, " another time I might indulge you. How 
 much worse is your situation now, than it was last night ! 
 Then you had only the port to fear ; now you have both the 
 people of the port and this strange ship an Inglese, as they 
 tell me?" 
 
 " No doubt la Proserpine, Etooell says, and he knows ; 
 you remember Etooell, dearest Ghita, the American who 
 was with me at the tower well, he has served in this very 
 ship, and knows her to be la Proserpine, of forty-four." 
 Raoul paused a moment ; then he added, laughing in a way 
 to surprise his companion " Oui la Proserpine, le Capi- 
 taine Sir Brown !" 
 
 " What you can find to amuse you in all this, Raoul, is 
 more than lean discover. Sir Brown, or sir any-body-else, 
 will send you again to those evil English prison-ships, of 
 which you have so often told me ; and there is surely nothing 
 pleasant in that idea." 
 
 " Bah ! my sweet Ghita, Sir Brown, or Sir White, or Sir 
 Black, has not yet got me. I am not a child, to tumble 
 into the fire because the leading-strings are off; and le Feu- 
 Follet shines, or goes out, exactly as it suits her purposes. 
 The frigate, ten to one, will just run close in, and take a 
 near look, and then square away and go to Livorno, where 
 ihere is much more to amuse her officers, than here, in Poito 
 
LEFEU-FOLLET. 87 
 
 Ferrajo. This Sir Brown has his Ghita, as well as Raoul 
 Yvard." 
 
 " No, not a Ghita, I fear, Raoul," answered the girl 
 smiling, spite of herself, while her colour almost insensibly 
 deepened " Livorno has few ignorant country girls, like 
 me, who have been educated in a lone watch-tower on the 
 coast." 
 
 " Ghita," answered Raoul, with feeling, " that poor lone 
 watch-tower of thine, might well be envied by many a noble 
 dame at Roma and at Napoli ; for it has left thee innocent 
 and pure a gem that gay capitals seldom contain ; or, if 
 found there, not in its native beauty, which they sully by 
 use." 
 
 " What know st thou, Raoul, of Roma and Napoli, and 
 of noble dames and rich gems ?" asked the girl, smiling, 
 the tenderness which had filled her heart at that moment 
 betraying itself in her eyes. 
 
 " What do I know of such things, truly ! why, I have 
 been at both places, and have seen what I describe. I went 
 to Roma on purpose to see the Holy Father, in order to 
 make certain whether our French opinions of his character 
 and infallibility were true, or not, before I set up in religion 
 for myself." 
 
 " And thou didst find him holy and venerable, Raoul," 
 interposed the girl, with earnestness and energy, for this 
 was the great point of separation between them " I know 
 thou found st him thus, and worthy to be the head of an 
 ancient and true church. My eyes never beheld him ; but 
 this do I know to be true." 
 
 Raoul was aware that the laxity of his religious opinions, 
 opinions that he may be said to" have inherited from his 
 country, as it then existed morally, alone prevented Ghita 
 from casting aside all other ties, and following his fortunes, 
 in weal and in woe. Still he was too frank and generous 
 to deceive, while he had ever been too considerate to strive 
 to unsettle her confiding and consoling faith. Her infirmity 
 even, for so he deemed her notions to be, had a charm^ in 
 his eyes ; few men, however loose or sceptical in their own 
 opinions on such matters, finding any pleasure in the con 
 templation of a female infidel ; and he had never looked 
 nore fondly into her anxious but lovsly face, than he did at 
 
88 LEFEU-FOLLET. 
 
 this very instant, making his reply with a truth that bordered 
 on magnanimity. 
 
 " Thou art my religion, Ghita !" he said ; " in thee I 
 worship purity, and holiness, and " 
 
 "Nay nay, Raoul, do not refrain if thou really 
 lov st me, utter not this frightful blasphemy ; tell me, rather, 
 if thou didst not find the holy father, as I describe him?" 
 
 " I found him a peaceful, venerable, and, I firmly believe, 
 a good old man, Ghita ; but only a man. No infallibility 
 could I see about him ; but a set of roguish cardinals, and 
 other plotters of mischief, who were much better calculated 
 to set Christians by the ears, than to lead them to Heaven, 
 surrounded his chair." 
 
 " Say no more, Raoul I will listen to no more of this. 
 Thou knowest not these sainted men, and thy tongue is 
 thine own enemy, without hark ! what means that ?" 
 
 " T is a gun from the frigate, and must be looked to ; say, 
 when and where do we meet again ?" 
 
 " I know not, now. We have been too long, much too 
 long, together, as it is ; and must separate. Trust to me to 
 provide the means of another meeting ; at all events, we 
 shall shortly be in our tower, again." 
 
 Ghita glided away as she ceased speaking, and soon dis 
 appeared in the town. As for Raoul, he was at a loss, for 
 a moment, whether to follow or not ; then he hastened to 
 the terrace, in front of the government-house, again, in order 
 to ascertain the meaning of the gun. The report had drawn 
 others to the same place, and on reaching it, the young man 
 found himself in another crowd. 
 
 By this time the Proserpine, for Ithuel was right as to the 
 name of the stranger, had got within a league of the entrance 
 of the bay, and had gone about, stretching over to its eastern 
 shore, apparently with the intention to fetch fairly into it, 
 on the next tack. The smoke of her gun was sailing off to 
 leeward, in a little cloud, and signals were again flying at 
 her main-royal-mast-head. All this was very intelligible to 
 Raoul, it being evident, at a glance, that the frigate had 
 reached in nearer both to look at the warlike lugger that 
 she saw in the bay, and to communicate more clearly with 
 her by signals. IthuePs expedient had not sufficed; the 
 vigilant Captain Cuffe, alias Sir Brown, who commanded 
 
LEFEU-FOLLET. 89 
 
 the Proserpine, not being a man likely to be mystified by so 
 stale a trick. Raoul scarcely breathed, as he watched the 
 lugger, in anticipation of her course. 
 
 Ithucl certainly seemed in no hurry to commit himself, 
 for the signal had now been flying on board the frigate 
 several minutes, and yet no symptoms of any preparation 
 for an answer could be discovered. At length the halyards 
 moved, and then three fair, handsome flags rose to the end 
 of le Feu-Follet s jigger-yard, a spar that was always kept 
 aloft, in moderate weather. What the signal meant Raoul 
 did not know, for though he was provided with signals by 
 means of which to communicate with the vessels of war of 
 his own nation, the Directory had not been able to supply 
 him with those necessary to communicate with the enemy. 
 Ithuel s ingenuity, however^ had supplied the deficiency. 
 While serving on board the Proserpine, the very ship that 
 was now menacing the lugger, he had seen a meeting be 
 tween her and a privateer English lugger, one of the two or 
 three of that rig which sailed out of England, and his observ 
 ant eye had noted the flags she had shown on the occasion. 
 Now as privateersmen are not expected to be expert, or even 
 very accurate, in the use of signals, he had ventured to 
 show these very numbers, let it prove for better or worse. 
 Had he been on the quarter-deck of the frigate, he would have 
 ascertained through the benedictions bestowed by Captain 
 CufFe, that his ruse had so far succeeded as to cause that 
 officer to attribute his unintelligible answer to ignorance, 
 rather than to design. Nevertheless, the frigate did not 
 seem disposed to alter her course ; for, either influenced by 
 a desire to anchor, or by a determination to take a still 
 closer look at the lugger, she stood on, nearing the eastern 
 side of the bay, at the rate of some six miles to the hour. 
 
 Raoul Yvard now thought it time to look to the safety of 
 le Feu-Follet, in person. Previously to landing, he Had 
 given instructions as to what was to be done, in the event 
 of the frigate s coming close in ; but matters now seemed so 
 very serious, that he hurried down the hill, overtaking Vito 
 Viti, in his way, who was repairing to the harbour to give 
 instructions to certain boatmen concerning the manner in 
 which the quarantine laws were to be regarded, in an inter 
 course with a British frigate. 
 8* 
 
90 LEFEU-FOLLET. 
 
 " You ought to be infinitely happy, at the prospect of 
 meeting an honourable countryman, in this Sir Brown," 
 observed the short-winded podesta, who usually put himself 
 out of breath, both in ascending and descending the steep 
 street, " for he really seems determined to anchor in our 
 bay, Signer Smees." 
 
 " To tell you the truth, Signer Podesta, I wish I was half 
 as well persuaded that it is Sir Brown, and la Proserpine, 
 as I was an hour ago. I see symptoms of its being a re 
 publican, after all, and must have a care for ze Ving-And- 
 Ving." 
 
 " The devil carry away all republicans, is my humble 
 prayer, Signer Capitano ; but I can hardly believe that so 
 graceful and gracious-looking a frigate can possibly belong 
 to such wretches." . 
 
 " Ah ! Signore, if that were all, I fear we should have to 
 yield the palm to the French," answered Raoul, laughing ; 
 " for the best-looking craft in His Majesty s service are 
 republican prizes. Even should this frigate turn out to be 
 the Proserpine, herself, she can claim no better origin. But, 
 I think the vice-governatore has not done well in deserting 
 the batteries, since this stranger does not answer our signals 
 as she should. The last communication has proved quite 
 unintelligible to him." 
 
 Raoul was nearer to the truth than he imagined, perhaps, 
 for certainly Ithuel s numbers had made nonsense, according 
 to the signal-book of the Proserpine ; but his confident man 
 ner had an effect on Vito Viti, who was duped by his seem 
 ing earnestness, as well as by a circumstance, which, rightly 
 considered, told as much against, as it did in favour of his 
 companion. 
 
 " And what is to be done, Signore ?" demanded the po 
 desta, stopping short in the street. 
 
 * " We must do as well as we can, under the circumstances. 
 My duty is to look out for ze Ving-And-Ving, and yours to 
 look out for the town. Should the stranger actually enter 
 the bay, and bring his broadside to bear on this steep hill, 
 there is not a chamber-window that will not open on the 
 muzzles of his guns. You will grant me permission to haul 
 into the inner harbour, where we shall be sheltered by the 
 buildings from his shot, and then, perhaps, it will be well 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 91 
 
 enough to send my people into the nearest battery. I look 
 for bloodshed and confusion, ere long." 
 
 All this was said with so much apparent sincerity, that it 
 added to the podesta s mystification. Calling a neighbour 
 to him, he sent the latter up the hill, with a message to 
 Andrea Barrofaldi, and then he hurried down towards the 
 port, it being much easier for him, just at that moment, to 
 ascend, than to descend. Raoul kept at his side, and toge 
 ther they reached the water s edge. 
 
 The podesta was greatly addicted to giving utterance to 
 any predominant opinion of the moment, being one of those 
 persons who feel quite as much as they think. On the 
 present occasion, he did not spare the frigate, for, having 
 caught at the bait that his companion had so artfully thrown 
 out to him, he was loud in the expression of his distrust. 
 Al! the signalling and showing of colours, he now believed 
 to be a republican trick ; and precisely in proportion as he 
 became resentful of the supposed fraud of the ship, was he 
 disposed to confide blindly in the honesty of the lugger. 
 This was a change of sentiment in the magistrate ; and, as 
 in the case of all sudden but late conversions, he was in a 
 humour to compensate for his tardiness, by the excess of his 
 zeal. In consequence of this disposition, the character and 
 loquacity of the man, all aided by a few timely suggestions 
 on the part of Raoul, in five minutes it came to be generally 
 understood that the frigate was greatly to be distrusted, while 
 the lugger was to rise in public favour exactly in the degree 
 in which the other fell. This interposition of Vito Viti s 
 was exceedingly a propos, so far as le Feu-Follet and her 
 people were concerned, inasmuch as the examination of, 
 and intercourse with, the boat s crew, had rather left the 
 impression of their want of nationality, in a legal sense, than 
 otherwise. In a word, had not the podesta so loudly and 
 so actively proclaimed the contrary, Tommaso and his fel 
 lows were about to report their convictions that these men 
 were all bona fide wolves in sheep s clothing alias, French 
 men. 
 
 " No, no amici miei," said Vito Viti, bustling about on 
 the narrow little quay, " all is not gold that glitters, of a 
 certainty ; and this frigate is probably no ally, but an enemy. 
 A very different matter is it with ze Ving-y-Ving, and II 
 
92 LEFEU-FOLLBT. 
 
 Signer Srnees we may be said to know him have seen 
 his papers, and the vice-governatore and myself have exa 
 mined him, as it might be, on the history and laws of his 
 island, for England is an island, neighbours, as well as Elba; 
 another reason for respect and amity but we have gone 
 over much of the literature and history of Inghilterra toge 
 ther, and find everything satisfactory and right ; therefore 
 are we bound to show the lugger protection and love." 
 
 " Most true, Signer Podesta," answered Raoul, from his 
 boat ; " and such being the case, I hasten to haul my vessel 
 into the mouth of your basin, which I will defend against 
 boats, or any attempt of these rascally republicans to land." 
 
 Waving his hand, the young sailor pulled quickly out of 
 the crowded little port, followed by a hundred vivas. Raoul 
 now saw that his orders had not been neglected. A small 
 line had been run out from the lugger, and fastened to a 
 ring in the inner end of the eastern side of the narrow haven, 
 apparently with the intention of hauling the vessel into the 
 harbour itself. He also perceived that the light anchor, or 
 large kedge, by which le Feu-Follet rode, was under foot, as 
 seamen term it; or that the cable was nearly " up and down." 
 With a wave of the hand he communicated a new order, 
 and then he saw that the men were raising the kedge from 
 the bottom. By the time his foot touched the deck, indeed, 
 the anchor was up and stowed, and nothing held the vessel 
 but the line that had been run to the quay. Fifty pairs of 
 hands were applied to this line, and the lugger advanced 
 rapidly towards her place of shelter. But an artifice was 
 practised to prevent her heading into the" harbour s mouth, 
 the line having been brought inboard abaft her larboard cat 
 head, a circumstance which necessarily gave her a sheer in 
 the contrary direction, or to the eastward of the entrance. 
 When the reader remembers that the scale on which the 
 port had been constructed was small, the entrance scarce 
 exceeding a hundred feet in width, he will better understand 
 the situation of things. Seemingly to aid the movement, too, 
 the jigger was set, and the wind being south, or directly aft, 
 the lugger s motion was soon light and rapid. As the vessel 
 drew nearer to the entrance, her people made a run with 
 the line, and gave her a movement of some three or four 
 knots to the hour, actually threatening to dash her bows 
 
LEFEU-FOLLET. 93 
 
 against the pier-head. But Raoul Yvard contemplated no 
 such blunder. At the proper moment, the line was cut, the 
 helm was put a-port, the lugger s head sheered to starboard, 
 and just as Vito Viti, who witnessed all without compre 
 hending more than half that passed, was shouting his vivas, 
 and Animating all near him with his cries, the lugger glided 
 past the end of the harbour, on its outside, however, instead 
 of entering it. So completely was every one taken by sur 
 prise, by this evolution, that the first impression was of some 
 mistake, accident, or blunder of the helmsman, and cries of 
 regret followed, lest the frigate might have it in her power 
 to profit by the mishap. The flapping of canvass, notwith 
 standing, showed that no time was lost, and presently le 
 Feu-Follet shot by an opening between the warehouses, 
 under all sail. At this critical instant, the frigate, which 
 saw what passed, but which had been deceived, like all the 
 rest, and supposed the lugger was hauling into the haven, 
 tacked and came round with her head to the westward. 
 But, intending to fetch well into the bay, she had stretched 
 so far over towards the eastern shore, as, by this time, to be 
 quite two miles distant ; and as the lugger rounded the pro 
 montory close under its rocks, to avoid the shot of the bat 
 teries above, she left, in less than five minutes, her enemy 
 that space directly astern. Nor was this all. Jt would 
 have been dangerous to fire, as well as useless, on account 
 of the range, since the lugger lay nearly in a iine between 
 her enemy s chase guns and the residence of the vice-gover- 
 natore. It only remained, therefore, for the frigate to com 
 mence what is proverbially " a long chase," viz. a " stern 
 chase." 
 
 All that has just been related may have occupied ten 
 minutes; but the news reached Andrea Barrofaldi, and his 
 counsellors, soon enough to allow them to appear on the 
 promontory in time to see the Ving-y-Ving pass close under 
 the cliffs beneath them, still keeping her English colours 
 flying. Raoul was visible, trumpet in hand ; but as the wind 
 was light, his powerful voice sufficed to tell his story. 
 
 " Signori," he shouted, " I will lead the rascally republi 
 can away from your port, in chase ; that will be the most 
 effectual mode of doing you a service." 
 
 These words were heard, and understood, and a murmur 
 
94 LEFEU-FOLLET. 
 
 of applause followed, from some, while others thought the 
 whole affair mysterious and questionable. There was no 
 time to interpose, by acts, had such a course been contem 
 plated, the lugger keeping too close in to be exposed to shot, 
 and there being, as yet, no new preparations in the batteries, 
 to meet an enemy. Then there were the doubts as to the 
 proper party to assail, and all passed too rapidly to admit 
 of consultation or preconcert. The movement of le Feu- 
 Follet was so easy, as to partake of the character of instinct 
 Her light sails were fully distended, though the breeze was 
 far from fresh ; and, as she rose and fell on the long ground- 
 swells, her wedge-like bows caused the water to ripple before 
 them like a swift current meeting a sharp obstacle in the 
 stream. It was only as she sunk into the water, in stem 
 ming a swell, that anything like foam could be seen under 
 her fore-foot. A long line of swift-receding bubbles, how 
 ever, marked her track, and she no sooner came abreast of 
 any given group of spectators, than she was past it" resem 
 bling the progress of a porpoise, as he sports along a har 
 bour. 
 
 Ten minutes after passing the palace, or the pitch of the 
 promontory, the lugger opened another bay, one wider and 
 almost as deep as that on which Porto Ferrajo stands, and 
 here she* took the breeze without the intervention of any 
 neighbouring rocks, and her speed was essentially increased. 
 Hitherto, her close proximity to the shore had partially be 
 calmed her, though the air had drawn round the promontory, 
 making nearly a fair wind of it ; but, now, the currents 
 came fully on her beam, and with much more power. She 
 hauled down her tacks, flattened in her sheets, luffed, and 
 was soon out of sight, breasting up to windward of a point 
 that formed the eastern extremity of the bay last mentioned. 
 
 All this time the Proserpine had not been idle. As soon 
 as she discovered that the lugger was endeavouring to 
 escape, her rigging was alive with men. Sail after sail was 
 set, one white cloud succeeding another, until she was a 
 sheet of canvass, from her trucks to her bulwarks. Her 
 lofty sails taking the breeze above the adjacent coast, her 
 progress was swift, for this particular frigate had the repu 
 tation of being one of the fastest vessels in the English 
 marine. 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 95 
 
 It was just twenty minutes, by Andrea Barrofaldi s watch, 
 after le Feu-Follet passed the spot where he stood, when the 
 Proserpine came abreast of it. Her greater draught of water 
 induced ffer to keep half a mile from the promontory, but 
 she was so near as to allow a very good opportunity to exa 
 mine her general construction and appearance, as she went 
 by. The batteries were now manned, and a consultation 
 was held on the propriety of punishing a republican for 
 daring to come so near a Tuscan port. But there flew the 
 respected and dreaded English ensign ; and it was still a 
 matter of doubt whether the stranger were, friend or enemy. 
 Nothing about the ship showed apprehension, and yet she 
 was clearly chasing a craft which, coming from a Tuscan 
 harbour, an Englishman would be bound to consider entitled 
 to his protection, rather than to his hostility. In a word, 
 opinions were divided, and when that is the case, in matters 
 of this nature, decision is obviously difficult. Then, if a 
 Frenchman, she clearly attempted no injury to any on the 
 island ; and those who possessed the power to commence a 
 fire were fully aware how much the town lay exposed, and 
 how little benefit might be expected from even a single 
 broadside. The consequence was, that the few who were 
 disposed to open on the frigate, like the two or three whc 
 had felt the same disposition towards the lugger, were -re 
 strained in their wishes, not only by the voice of superior 
 authority, but by that of numbers. 
 
 In the meanwhile the Proserpine pressed on, and in ten 
 minutes more she was not only out of the range, but beyond 
 the reach of shot. As she opened the bay west of the town, 
 le Feu-Follet was seen from her decks, fully a league ahead, 
 close on a wind, the breeze hauling round the western end 
 of the island, glancing through the water at a rate that ren 
 dered pursuit more than doubtful. Still the ship persevered, 
 and in little more than an hour from the time she had 
 crowded sail, she was up with the western extremity of the 
 hills, though more than a mile to leeward. Here she met 
 the fair southern breeze, uninfluenced by the land, as it 
 came through the pass between Corsica and Elba, and got 
 a clear view of the work before her. The studding-sails 
 and royals had been taken in, twenty minutes earlier ; the 
 bowlines were now all hauled, and the frigate was brough 
 
96 LEFEr-FOLLET. 
 
 close upon the wind. Still the chase was evidently hope 
 less, the little Feu-Follet having everything as much to hel 
 mind, as if she had ordered the weather expressly to show 
 her powers. With her sheets flattened in until he? canvass 
 stood like boards, her head looked fully a point to windward 
 of that of the ship, and, what was of equal importance, she 
 even went to windward of the point she looked at, while the 
 Proserpine, if anything, fell off a little, though but a very 
 little, from her own coufse. Under all these differences, 
 the lugger went through the water six feet to the frigate s 
 five, beating her in speed almost as much as she did in her 
 weatherly qualities. 
 
 The vessel to windward was not the first lugger, by fifty, 
 that Captain Cuffe had assisted in chasing, and he knew the 
 hopelessness of following such a craft, under circumstances 
 so directly adapted to its qualities. Then he was far from 
 certain that he was pursuing an enemy at all, whatever 
 distrust the signals may have excited, since she had clearly 
 come out of a friendly port. Bastia, too, lay within a few 
 hours run, and there was the whole of the east coast oi 
 Corsica, abounding with small bays and havens, in which a 
 vessel of that size might take refuge, if pressed. After con 
 vincing himself, therefore, by half-an-hour s further trial in 
 open sailing under the full force of the breeze, of the fruit- 
 lessness of his effort, that experienced officer ordered the 
 Proserpine s helm put up, the yards squared, and he stood 
 to the northward, apparently shaping his course for Leghorn, 
 or the Gulf of Genoa. When the frigate made this change 
 in her course, the lugger, which had lacked some time pre 
 viously, was just becoming shut in by the western end of 
 Elba, and she was soon lost to view entirely, with every 
 prospect of her weathering the island altogether, without 
 being obliged to go about again. 
 
 It was no more than natural that such a chase should 
 occasion some animation in a place as retired, and ordinarily 
 as dull, as Porto Ferrajo. Several of the young idlers of the 
 garrison obtained horses, and galloped up among the hills, 
 to watch the result ; the mountains being pretty well inter 
 sected by bridle-paths, though totally without regular roads. 
 They who remained in the town, as a matter of course, were 
 not disposed to let so favourable a subject for discourse die 
 
LEFEU-FOLLET 97 
 
 away immediately, for want of a disposition to gossip on 
 it. Little else was talked of, that day, than the menaced 
 attack of the republican frigate, and the escape of the lugger. 
 Some, indeed, still doubted, for every question has its two 
 sides, and there was just enough of dissent to render the 
 discussions lively, and the argumeftts ingenious. Among 
 the disputants, Vito Viti acted a prominent part. Having 
 committed himself so openly by his " vivas," and his public 
 remarks in the port, he felt it due to his own character to 
 justify all he had said, and Raoul Yvard could not have 
 desired a warmer advocate than he now had in the podesta. 
 The worthy magistrate exaggerated the vice-governatore s 
 knowledge of English, by way of leaving no deficiency in 
 the necessary proofs of the lugger s national character. Nay, 
 he even went so far as to affirm that he had comprehended 
 a portion of the documents exhibited by the " Signer Smees," 
 himself; and as to "ze Ving-y-Ving," any one acquainted in 
 the least with the geography of the British Channel, would 
 understand that she was precisely the sort of craft that the 
 semi-Gallic inhabitants of Guernsey and Jersey would be apt 
 to send forth to cruise against the altogether Gallic inhabi 
 tants of the adjacent main. 
 
 During all these discussions, there was one heart in Porto 
 Ferrajo that was swelling with the conflicting emotions of 
 gratitude, disappointment, joy and fear, though the tongue 
 of its owner was silent. Of all of her sex in the place, Ghita 
 alone had nothing to conjecture, no speculation to advance, 
 no opinion to maintain, nor any wish to express. Still she 
 listened eagerly, and it was not the least of her causes of 
 satisfaction to find that her own hurried interviews with the 
 handsome privateersman, had apparently escaped observa 
 tion. At length her mind was fully lightened of its appre 
 hensions, leaving nothing but tender regrets, by the return 
 of the horsemen from the mountains. These persons re 
 ported that the upper sails of the frigate were just visible in 
 the northern board, so far as they could judge even more 
 distant than the island of Capraya, while the lugger had 
 oeaten up almost as far to windward as Pianosa, and then 
 seemed disposed to stand over towards the coast of Corsica ; 
 doubtless with an intention to molest the commerce of that 
 hostile island 
 
 9 
 
98 LEFEU-FOLLET 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Ant. "And, indeed, sir, there are cozeners abroad; therefore ft 
 
 behoves men to be wary." 
 
 Clo. " Fear not thou, man, thou shalt lose nothing here." 
 
 Ant. "I hope so, sir ; for I have about me many parcels of 
 
 change." 
 
 Winter s Tale. 
 
 SUCH was the state of things at Porto Ferrajo, at noon, 
 or about the hour when its inhabitants bethought them of 
 their mid-day meal. With most, the siesta followed, though 
 the sea air, with its invigorating coolness, rendered that 
 indulgence less necessary to these islanders, than to most 
 of their neighbours on the main. Then succeeded the re 
 viving animation of the afternoon, and the return of the 
 zephyr, or the western breeze. So regular, indeed, are 
 these changes in the currents of the air, during the summer 
 months, that the mariner can rely, with safety, on meeting 
 a light breeze from the southward, throughout the morning, 
 a calm at noon the siesta of the Mediterranean and 
 the delightfully cool wind from the west, after three or 
 four o clock ; this last is again succeeded, at night, by a 
 breeze directly from the land. Weeks at a time have we 
 known this order of things to be uninterrupted ; and when 
 the changes did occasionally occur, it was only in the slight 
 episodes of showers and thunder-storms, of which, however, 
 Italy has far fewer than our own coast. 
 
 Such, then, was the state of Porto Ferrajo, towards the 
 evening that succeeded this day of bustle and excitement. 
 The zephyr again prevailed, the idle once more issued 
 forth for their sun-set walk, and the gossips were collecting 
 to renew their conjectures, and to start some new point in 
 their already exhausted discussions, when a rumour spread 
 through the place, like fire communicated to a train, that 
 " ze Ving-y-Ving" was once more coming down on the 
 weather side of the island, precisely as she had approached 
 on the previous evening ; with the confidence of a friend, 
 and the celerity of a bird. Ye:>rs had passed since such a 
 
LEFEU-FOLLET. 99 
 
 tumuli was awakened in the capital of Elba. Men, women 
 and children, poured from the houses, and were seen climb 
 ing the streets, all hastening to the promenade, as if to satisfy 
 themselves, with their own eyes, of the existence of some 
 miracle. In vain did the infirm and aged call on the vigor 
 ous and more youthful, for the customary assistance j they 
 were avoided like the cases of plague, and were left to hobble 
 up the terraced street as best they might. Even mothers, 
 alter dragging them at their own sides till fearful of being 
 too late, abandoned their young in the highway, certain of 
 finding them rolled to the foot of the declivity, should they 
 fail of scrambling to its summit. In short, it was a scene 
 of confusion in which there was much to laugh at, some 
 thing to awaken wonder, and not a little that was natural. 
 
 Ten minutes had not certainly elapsed, after the rumour 
 reached the lower part of the town, ere two thousand persons 
 were on the hill, including nearly all the principal person 
 ages of the place, Maso Tonti, Ghita, and the different 
 characters known to the reader. So nearly did the scene 
 of this evening resemble that of the past, the numbers of the 
 throng on the hill and the greater interest excepted, that one 
 who had been present at the former, might readily have 
 fancied the latter merely its continuation. There, indeed, 
 was the lugger, under her foresail and mainsail, with the 
 jigger brailed, coming down wing-and-wing, and glancing 
 along the glittering sea like the duck sailing towards her 
 nest. This time, however, the English ensign was flying 
 at the end of the jigger-yard, as if in triumph, and the little 
 crafl held her way nearer to the rocks, like one acquainted 
 with the coast, and fearing no danger. There was a manner 
 of established confidence in the way in which she trusted 
 herself under the muzzles of guns that might have destroyed 
 her in a very few minutes, and no one who saw her approach 
 could very well believe that she was anything but a known, 
 as well as a confirmed friend. 
 
 " Would any of the republican rascals, think you, Signor 
 Andrea," asked Vilo Viti, in triumph, " dare to come into 
 Porto Ferrajo, in this style ; knowing, too, as does this Sir 
 Srnees, the sort of people he will have to deal with ! Re- 
 member, Vioe-governatore, that the man has actually been 
 
100 LE FBU-FOLLET. 
 
 ashore among us, and would not be likely to run his head 
 into the lion s mouth." 
 
 " Thou hast changed thine opinion greatly, neighbour 
 Vito," answered the vice-governatore, somewhat drily, for 
 he was far from being satisfied on the subject of Sir Cicero, 
 and on those of certain other circumstances in English his 
 tory and politics ; " it better becomes magistrates to be 
 cautious and wary." 
 
 " Well, if there be a more cautious and circumspect man 
 in Elba than the poor podesta of Porto Ferrajo, let him stand 
 forth, o God s name, and prove his deeds ! I do not esteem 
 myself, Signer Vice-governatore, as the idlest, or as the 
 most ignorant man in the Grand Duke s territories. There 
 may be wiser, among whom I place your eccellenza ; but 
 there is not a more loyal subject, or a more zealous friend 
 of truth." 
 
 " I believe it, good Vito," returned Andrea, smiling kindly 
 on his old associate, " and have ever so considered thy ad 
 vice and services. Still, I wish I knew something of this 
 Sir Cicero ; for, to be frank with thee, I have even foregone 
 my siesta, in searching the books in quest of such a man.? 
 
 " And do they not confirm every syllable the Sjgnor 
 Smees has said ?" 
 
 " So far from it, that I do not even find the name. It is 
 true, several distinguished orators of that nation are styled 
 English Ciceroes ; but then all people do this, by way of 
 commendation." 
 
 " I do not know that, Signore I do not know that it 
 may happen in our Italy ; but would it come to pass, think 
 you, among remote and so lately barbarous nations asEng. 
 land, Germany and France?" 
 
 " Thou forgettest, friend Viti," returned the vice-governa 
 tore, smiling now, in pity of his companion s ignorance and 
 prejudices, as just before he had smiled in kindness, " that 
 we Italians took the pains to civilize these people a thou 
 sand years ago, and that they have not gone backward all 
 this time. But there can be no doubt that ze Ving-y-Ving* 
 means to enter our bay again, and there stands the Signor 
 Smees examining us with a glass, as if he, too, contem 
 plated another interview." 
 
 14 It strikes me, Vice-governatore, that it would be a sin 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 101 
 
 next to heresy to doubt the character of those who so loyally 
 put their trust in us. No republican would dare to anchor 
 in the bay of Porto Ferrajo a second time. Once, it might 
 possibly be done; but twice? no, never, never." 
 
 * 1 do not know but you are right, Vito, and I am sure I 
 hope so. Will you descend to the port, and see that the 
 forms are complied with 1 Then glean such useful circum 
 stances as you can." 
 
 The crowd was now in motion towards the lower part of 
 the town, to meet the lugger ; and at this suggestion the 
 podesta hurried down, in the throng, to be in readiness to 
 receive the " Signor Smees," as soon as he should land. It 
 was thought more dignified and proper for the vice-go verna- 
 tore to remain, and await to hear the report of the supposed 
 English officer, where he was. Ghita was one of the few, 
 also, who remained on the heights, her heart now beating 
 with renewed apprehensions of the dangers that her lover 
 had again braved on her account, and now nearly overflow 
 ing with tenderness, as she admitted the agreeable conviction, 
 that, had she not been in Porto Ferrajo, Raoul Yvard would 
 never have incurred such risks. 
 
 Ghita delle Torri, or Ghita of the Towers, as the girl was 
 ordinarily termed by those who knew her, from a circum 
 stance in her situation that will appear as we advance in the 
 tale, or Ghita Caraccioli, as was her real name, had been 
 an orphan from infancy. She had imbibed a strength of 
 character and a self-reliance, from her condition, that might 
 otherwise have been wanting, in one so young, and of a 
 native disposition so truly gentle. An aunt had impressed 
 on her mind the lessons of female decorum ; and her uncle, 
 who had abandoned the world on account of a strong reli 
 gious sentiment, had aided in making her deeply devout, and 
 keenly conscientious. The truth of her character rendered 
 her indisposed to the deception which Raoul was practising, 
 while feminine weakness inclined her to forgive the offence, 
 in the motive. She had shuddered again and again, as she 
 remembered how deeply the young sailor was becoming 
 involved in frauds, and frauds, too, that might so easily 
 terminate in violence and bloodshed ; and then she had 
 trembled under the influence of a gentler emotion, as she 
 remembered that all these risks were run for her. Her 
 9* 
 
102 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 reason had long since admonished her that Raoul Yvard 
 and Ghita Caraccioli ought to be strangers to each other; 
 but her heart told a different story. The present was an 
 occasion suited to keeping these conflicting feelings keenly 
 alive, and, as has been said, when most of the others 
 hastened down towards the port to be present when the 
 Wing-And-Wing came in, she remained on the hill, brood 
 ing over her own thoughts, much of the time bathed in tears. 
 
 But Raoul had no intention of trusting his Jack-o -Lantern 
 where it might so readily be extinguished by the hand of 
 man. Instead of taking shelter against any new roving 
 republican who might come along, behind the buildings of 
 the port, as had been expected, he shot past the end of the 
 quay, and anchored within a few fathoms of the very spot 
 ho had quitted that morning, merely dropping his kedge 
 under foot, as before. Then he stepped confidently into his 
 boat, and pulled for the landing. 
 
 " Eh, Signor Capitano," cried Vito Viti, as he met his 
 new protege with an air of cordiality, as soon as the foot of 
 the latter touched the shore, " we looked for the pleasure 
 of receiving you into our bosom, as it were, here in the haven. 
 How ingeniously you led off that sans culotte, this morning! 
 Ah, the Inglese afe the great nation of the ocean, Colombo 
 notwithstanding! The vice-governatore told me all about 
 your illustrious female admiral, Elisabetta, and the Spanish 
 armada ; and there was Nelsoni ; and now we have Smees!" 
 
 Raoul accepted these compliments, both national and per 
 sonal, in a very gracious manner, squeezing the hand of the 
 podesta with suitable cordiality and condescension, acting 
 the great man as if accustomed to this sort of incense from 
 infancy. As became his public situation, as well as hig 
 character, he proposed paying his duty immediately to the 
 superior authorities of the island. 
 
 " King George, my master," continued Raoul, as he and 
 Vito Viti walked from the quay towards the residence of 
 Andrea Barrofaldi, " is particularly pointed on this subject, 
 with us all, in his personal orders. Never enter a port of 
 one of my allies, Smeet, he said, the very last time I took 
 leave of him, without immediately hastening with your 
 duty to the commandant of the place. You never lose any 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 103 
 
 thing by being liberal of politeness ; and England is too 
 polished a country to be outdone in these things, by even the 
 Italians, the parents of modern civilization. " 
 
 " You are happy in having such a sovrano, and still more 
 so in being allowed to approach his sacred person." 
 
 " Oh ! as to the last, the navy is his pet ; he considers us 
 captains, in particular, as his children. Never enter Lon 
 don, my dear Smeet, he said to me, without coming to the 
 palace, where you will always find a father you know he 
 has one son among us who was lately a captain, as well as 
 myself," 
 
 " San Stefano ! and he the child of a great king ! I did 
 not know that, I confess, Signore." 
 
 " Why, it is a law, in England, that the king shall give 
 at least one son to the marine. * Yes, said his Majesty, 
 * always be prompt in calling on the superior authorities, 
 and remember me benevolently and affectionately to them, 
 one and all, even down to the subordinate magistrates, who 
 live in their intimacy." 
 
 Raoul delighted in playing the part he was now perform 
 ing, but he was a little addicted to over-acting it. Like all 
 exceedingly bold and decided geniuses, he was constantly 
 striding across that step which separates the sublime from 
 the ridiculous, and consequently ran no small hazard in the 
 way of discovery. But with Vito Viti he incurred little 
 risk on this score, provincial credulity and a love of the 
 marvellous coming in aid of his general ignorance, to render 
 him a safe depository of anything of this sort that the other 
 might choose to advance. Vito Viti felt it to be an honour to 
 converse with a man who, in his turn, had conversed with a 
 king ; and as he puffed his way up the steep ascent again, 
 he did not fail to express some of the feelings which were 
 glowing in his breast. 
 
 " Is it not a happiness to serve such a prince ?" he ex 
 claimed " nay, to die for him !" 
 
 " The latter is a service I have not yet performed," an 
 swered Raoul, inr.Dcently, " but which may one day well 
 happen. Do you not think, podesta, that he who lays down 
 his life for his prince merits canonization ?" 
 
 " That would fill the calendar too soon, in these wars, 
 Signor Smees ; but I will concede you the generals and ad- 
 
104 LE.FEU-FOLLET 
 
 mirals, and other great personages. Si a general or an 
 admiral who dies for his sovereign, does deserve to be made 
 a saint this would leave these miserable French republi 
 cans, Signore, without hope or honour !" 
 
 "They are canaille, from the highest to the lowest, and 
 can reasonably expect nothing better. If they wish to be 
 canonized, let them restore the Bourbons, and put themselves 
 lawfully in the way of such a blessing. The chase of this 
 morning, Signor Vito Viti, must, at least, have amused the 
 town?" 
 
 The podesta wanted but this opening to pour out a history 
 of his own emotions, sensations and raptures. He expatiated 
 in glowing terms on the service the lugger had rendered the 
 place by leading off the rascally republicans, showing that he 
 considered the manosuvre of passing the port, instead of 
 entering it, as one of the most remarkable of which he had 
 ever heard, or even read. 
 
 " I defied the vice-governatore to produce an example of 
 a finer professional inspiration in the whole range of history, 
 beginning with his Tacitus, and ending with your new Eng-" 
 lish work on Roma. I doubt if the Elder Pliny, or Mark 
 Antony, or even Csesar, ever did a finer thing, Signore ; and 
 I am not a man addicted to extravagance, in compliments. 
 Had it been a fleet of vessels of three decks, instead of a 
 little lugger, Christendom would have rung with the glory 
 of the achievement !" 
 
 " Had it been but a frigate, my excellent friend, the ma 
 noeuvre would have been unnecessary. Peste ! it is not a 
 single republican ship that can make a stout English frigate 
 skulk along the rocks, and fly like a thief at night." 
 
 " Ah, there is the vice-governatore walking on his terrace, 
 Sir Smees, and dying with impatience to greet you. We 
 will drop the subject, for another occasion, and a bottle of 
 good Florence liquor." 
 
 The reception which Andrea Barrofaldi gave Raoul, was 
 far less warm than that he received from the podesta, though 
 it was polite, and without any visible signs of distrust. 
 
 " I have come, Signor Vice-governatore," said the priva- 
 teersman, " in compliance with positive orders from my 
 master, to pay my respects to you again, and to report my 
 arrival once more, in your bay, though the cruise made 
 
LE FEU-TOILET. 
 
 since my last departure has not been so lon# as an East 
 India voyage." 
 
 44 Short as it has been, we should have reason to regret 
 your absence, Signore, were it not for the admirable proofs 
 it has afforded us of your resources and seamanship," re 
 turned Andrea with due complaisance. " To own the truth, 
 when I saw you depart, it was with the apprehension that we 
 should never enjoy this satisfaction again. But, like your 
 English Sir Cicero, the second coming may prove even more 
 agreeable than the first." 
 
 Raoul laughed, and he even had the grace to blush a 
 little; after which he appeared to reflec* intensely on some 
 matter of moment. Smiles struggled round his handsome 
 mouth, and then he suddenly assumed an air of sailor-like 
 frankness, and disclosed his passing sensations in words. 
 
 " Signer Vice-governatore, I ask the favour of one mo 
 ment s private conference; Signor Vito Viti, give us leave 
 a single moment, if you please. I perceive, Signore," con 
 tinued Raoul, as he and Andrea walked a little aside, " that 
 you have not easily forgotten my little fanfaronade about 
 our English Cicero. But what will you have? we sailors 
 are sent to sea children, and we know little of books. My 
 excellent father, Milord Smeet, had me put in a frigate when 
 I was only twelve, an age at which one knows very little 
 of Ciceros, or Dantes, or Corneilles, even, as you will 
 confess. Thus, when I found myself in the presence of a 
 gentleman whose reputation for learning has reached far 
 beyond the island he so admirably governs, a silly ambition 
 has led me into a folly that he finds it hard to forgive. If I 
 have talked of names of which I know nothing, it may be a 
 weakness, such as young men will fall into ; but surely it is 
 no heinous crime." 
 
 " You allow, Signore, that there has been no English Sir 
 Cicero ?" 
 
 " The truth compels me to say, I know nothing about it. 
 But it is hard for a very young man, and one, too, that feels 
 his deficiencies of education, to admit all this to a philoso 
 pher, on a first acquaintance. It becomes a different thing, 
 when natural modesty is encouraged by a familiar goodness 
 of heart ; and a day s acquaintance with the Signor Barro 
 faldi, is as much as a year with an ordinary man." 
 
100 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 * If this be the case, Sir Smces, 1 can readily understand, 
 and as willingly overlook what has passed," returned the 
 vice-gov .^rnatore, with a self-complacency that in nothing 
 Tell short of that which Vito Viti had so recently exhibited. 
 " It must be painful, to a sensitive mind, to feel the defi 
 ciencies which unavoidably accompany the want of opportu 
 nities for study ; and I, at least, can now say how delightful 
 it is to witness the ingenuousness which admits it. Then, 
 if England has never possessed a Cicero, in name, doubtless 
 she has had many in qualifications, after allowing for the 
 halo which time ever throws around a reputation. Should 
 your duty often call you this way Signore, during this 
 summer, it will add to the pleasure I experience in enjoying 
 the advantage of your acquaintance, to be permitted, in some 
 slight degree, to direct your reading to such works, as, with 
 a mind like yours, will be certain to lead to profit and plea 
 sure." 
 
 Raoul made a suitable acknowledgment for this offer, and 
 from that moment the best understanding existed between 
 the parties. The privateersman, who had received a much 
 better education than he pretended to, and who was a con 
 summate actor, as well as, on certain occasions, a practised 
 flatterer, determined to be more cautious in future, sparing 
 his literary conjectures, whatever liberties he might take 
 with other subjects. And yet this reckless and daring man 
 ner never flattered nor deceived Ghita in anything ! With 
 her he had been all sincerity, the influence he had obtained 
 over the feelings of that pure-minded girl, being as much the 
 result of the nature and real feeling he had manifested, as of 
 his manly appearance and general powers of pleasing. It 
 would have been, indeed, matter of interesting observation, 
 for one curious in the study of human nature, to note how 
 completely the girl s innocence and simplicity of character 
 had extended itself over every act of the young man, that 
 was any way connected with her, preventing his even feign 
 ing that religion which he certainly did not feel, and the 
 want of which was the sole obstacle to the union he had 
 now solicited for near a twelvemonth, and which, of all others, 
 was the object by far the closest to his heart. With Andrea 
 Barrofaldi, and Vito Viti, and most especially with the hated 
 English, it was a very different thing, however ; and seldom 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 107 
 
 was Raoul happier, than when he was employed in precisely 
 such a scene of mystification as that in which he was at 
 that moment engaged. 
 
 The vice-governatore having established relations so com 
 pletely amicable with the Signor Smees, could do no less 
 than invite his guest to enter the palazzo, along with him 
 self and the podesta. As it was yet too /ight for the sailor 
 to seek an interview with Ghita, he cheerfully accepted the 
 offer ; making a careful examination of the whole of the 
 northern margin of the sea, from his elevated position, how 
 ever, before he crossed the threshold. This little delay, on 
 Raoul s part, enabled the podesta to have a passing word 
 with his friend unobserved. 
 
 " You have found { Sir Smees, " said Vito Viti, with 
 earnestness, " all that your wisdom and prudence could 
 desire, I trust 1 For my part, I consider him a most inter 
 esting youth ; one destined, at some future time, to lead fleets, 
 and dispose of the fortunes of nations." 
 
 " He is more amiable, and even better informed, than I 
 had thought, neighbour Vito Viti. He gives up his Sif 
 Cicero with a grace that causes one regret it was necessary ; 
 and, like yourself, I make no doubt of his becoming an illus 
 trious admiral, in time. It is true, his father, Milordo 
 Smees, has not done justice to his education ; but it is not 
 too late, yet, to repair that evil. Go, desire him to enter; 
 for I am impatient to draw his attention to certain works 
 that may be useful to one in his line of life." 
 
 At this suggestion the podesta returned to the door, in 
 order to usher the imaginary Guernsey-man into the resi 
 dence. He found Raoul still standing on the entrance, 
 examining the sea. There were two or three coasters, 
 ieluccas, as usual, stealing along the coast, in the Italian 
 fashion, equally afraid of the barbarians of the south she re, 
 and of the French of the north. All these would have been 
 good prizes ; but, to do the privateersman justice, he was 
 little in the habit of molesting mariners of so low a class. 
 There was one felucca, however, that was just rounding the 
 promontory, coming in from the north ; and with the people 
 of this craft he determined to have some communication as 
 soon as he returned to the port, with a view to ascertain if 
 she had fallen in with the frigate. Just as he had come to 
 
108 LE PEU-FOLLET. 
 
 this resolution, the podesta joined him, and he was ushered 
 into the house. . 
 
 It is unnecessary to give the discourse which succeeded. 
 It related more to literature and matters in general, than to 
 anything connected with our tale, the worthy vice-governa- 
 tore being disposed to reward the ingenuousness of the young 
 sailor, by furnishing him as much instruction as the time 
 and circumstances would allow. Raoul bore this very well, 
 waiting patiently for the light to disappear, when he felt a 
 perfect confidence of again meeting Ghita on the promenade. 
 As he had discovered how much more safety there was in 
 diffidence than in pretension, he found his task of deception 
 comparatively easy ; and by letting the vice-governatore 
 have his own way, he not only succeeded in gaining that 
 functionary over to a full belief in his assumed nationality, 
 but in persuading him to believe the Signer Smees a young 
 man of even more erudition than he had at first supposed. 
 By means as simple and natural as these, Raoul made more 
 progress v in the good graces of Andrea Barrofaldi, in the 
 next two hours, than he could have done in a year, by 
 setting up his own knowledge and reading as authority. 
 
 There is little doubt that the vice-governatore found this 
 interview agreeable, from the time he was disposed to waste 
 on it ; and, it is certain, Raoul thought it some of the hardest 
 duty in which he had ever been engaged. As for Vito Viti, 
 he was edified, and he did not care to conceal* it, giving fre 
 quent manifestations of his satisfaction, by expressions of 
 delight ; occasionally venturing a remark, as if expressly to 
 betray his own ignorance. 
 
 " I have often known you great, vice-governatore," he 
 cried, when Andrea had closed a dissertation on the earlier 
 history of all the northern nations, which lasted fully half- 
 an-hour, " but never so great as you are to-night ! Signore, 
 you have been most illustrious, this evening ! Is it not so, 
 Signer Smees ? Could any professor of Pisa, or even of 
 Padua, do more justice to a subject, than we have seen done 
 to this to which we have been listening ?" 
 
 " Signer Podesta," added Raoul, " but one feeling has 
 prevailed, in my mind, while attending to what has been 
 said ; and that has been deep regret that my profession has 
 cut me off from all these rich stores of profound thought. 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 109 
 
 But it is permitted us to admire that even which we cannot 
 imitate." 
 
 " Quite true, Signori," answered Andrea, with gentle 
 benevolence, " but with dispositions like yours, Sir Smees, 
 it is not so very difficult to imitate what we admire. I will 
 write out a list of works, which I would recommend to your 
 perusal ; and, by touching at Livorno, or Napoli, you will 
 obtain all the books at reasonable prices. You may expect 
 to see the list on your breakfast-table to-morrow morning, 
 as I shall not sleep until it is completed." 
 
 Raoul gladly seized upon this promise as a hint to depart, 
 and he took his leave with suitable acknowledgments of 
 gratitude and delight. When he got out of the palazzo, 
 however, he gave a long, low whistle, like a man who felt 
 he had escaped from a scene in which persecution had been 
 a little lightened by the ridiculous, and uttered a few curses 
 on the nations of the north, for being so inconsiderate as to 
 have histories so much longer and more elaborate than he 
 conceived to be at all necessary. All this passed as he 
 hastened along the promenade, which he found deserted, 
 every human being having apparently left it. At length he 
 thought he perceived a female form some distance ahead of 
 him, and in a part of the walk that was never much fre 
 quented. Hastening towards it, his quick eye discerned the 
 person of her he sought, evidently waiting for his approach. 
 
 " Raoul," exclaimed Ghita, reproachfully, " in what will 
 these often-repeated risks finally end 7 When so fairly and 
 cleverly out of the harbour of Porto Ferrajo, why did you 
 not possess the prudence to remain there ?" 
 
 "Thou know st the reason, Ghita, and why ask this 
 question ? San Nettuno ! was it not handsomely done ; and 
 is not this brave vice-governatore rarely mystified ! I some- 
 times think, Ghita, I have mistaken my vocation, which 
 should have been that of a diplomate." 
 
 " And why a diplomate, in particular, Raoul thou art 
 too honest to deceive long, whatever thou may st do on an 
 occasion like this, and in a pressing emergency." 
 
 " Why? but, no matter. This Andrea Barrofaldi, and 
 this Vito Viti, will one day know why. And now to our 
 business, Ghita, since le Feu-Follet cannot always decorate 
 the bay o<* Porto Ferrajo." 
 10 
 
110 LE FEU-FOLLET . 
 
 " True," interrupted the girl, " and I have come for no 
 other purpose than to say as much myself. My dear uncle 
 has arrived, and he intends to sail for the Torri with the first 
 felucca." 
 
 " There ! this has done more to make me believe in a 
 Providence, than all the preaching of all the padri of Italy ! 
 Here is the lugger to take the place of the felucca, and we 
 can sail this very night. My cabin shall be yours entirely 
 and with your uncle for a protector, no one can raise an 
 evil tongue against the step." 
 
 Ghita, to own the truth, expected this very offer, which, 
 agreeable as it was, her sense of propriety would certainly 
 have prevented her from accepting, but for one considera 
 tion : it might be made the means of getting Raoul out of 
 an enemy s port ; and, in so much, out of harm s way. This, 
 with one of her affectionate heart, was an object to which 
 she would have sacrificed appearances of even a graver 
 character. We do not wish the reader, however, to get a 
 false impression of this girl s habits and education. Although 
 the latter, in many particulars, was superior to that received 
 by most young women of her class in life, the former were 
 simple, and suited to her station, as well as to the usages of 
 her country. She had not been brought up with that severe 
 restraint which regulates the deportment of the young Italian 
 females of condition, perhaps, in a degree just as much too 
 severely, as it leaves the young American too little re 
 strained ; but she had been taught all that decorum and 
 delicacy required, either for the beautiful or the safe ; and 
 her notions inculcated the inexpediency, if not the impro 
 priety, of one in her situation taking a passage in a privateer 
 at all, and particularly so in one commanded by an avowed 
 lover. But, on the other hand, the distance between Porto 
 Ferrajo and the Towers, was only about fifty miles, and a 
 few hours would suffice to place her in safety beneath her 
 own roof; and, what was of more importance, in her view, 
 just then, Raoul in safety along with her. On all this had 
 she pondered, and she was consequently prepared with an 
 answer to the proposal that had just been made. 
 
 " If my uncle and myself could accept this generous offer 
 when would it be convenient for you to sail, Raoul ?" the 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. Ill 
 
 girl demanded ; " we have now been absent longer than wo 
 intended, and longer than we ought." 
 
 " Within an hour, if there were any wind. But you see 
 how it is, Ghita the zephyr has done blowing, and it now 
 seems as if every fan of Italy had gone to sleep. You can 
 depend on our sailing the instant it shall be in our power. 
 At need, we will use the sweeps." 
 
 " I will, then, see my uncle, and mention to him that there 
 is a vessel about to sail, in which we had better embark. 
 Is it not odd, Raoul, that he is profoundly ignorant of your 
 being in the bay? He gets more and more lost to things 
 around him every day, and I do believe he does not recollect 
 that you command an enemy s vessel half the time." 
 
 " Let him trust to me ; he shall never have occasion to 
 know it, Ghita." 
 
 " We are assured of that, Raoul. The generous manner 
 in which you interposed to save us from the corsair of the 
 Algerines, which began our acquaintance, and for which we 
 shall always have occasion to bless you, has made peace 
 between you and MS, for ever. But for your timely succour, 
 last summer, my uncle and myself would now have been 
 slaves with barbarians !" 
 
 " That is another thing that inclines me to believe in a 
 Providence, Ghita ! Little did I know, when rescuing you 
 and your good kinsman from the boat of the Algerine, who I 
 was saving. And yet, you see how all has come to pass, and 
 that in serving you I have merely been serving myself." 
 
 " Would that thou could st learn to serve that God, who 
 disposes of us all at his holy pleasure!" murmured Ghita, 
 tears forcing themselves to her eyes, and a convulsive effort 
 alone suppressing the deep emotion with which she uttered 
 the words ; " but we thank thee again and again, Raoul, as 
 the instrument of his mercy, in the affair of the Algerine, 
 and are willing to trust to thee now, and always. It will be 
 easy to induce my uncle to embark ; but, as he knows thy 
 real character, when he chooses to recollect it, I hardly 
 .think it will do to say with whom. We must arrange an 
 hour, and a place to meet, when I will see to his being there, 
 and in readiness. * 
 
 Raoul and Ghita next discussed the little details ; a place 
 of rendezvous without the town, a short distance below the 
 
112 LEFEU-FOLLET. 
 
 wine-house of Benedetta, being selected, in preference to 
 choosing one that would necessarily subject them to obser 
 vation. This portion of the arrangements was soon settled, 
 and then Ghita thought it prudent to separate. In this pro 
 posal her companion acquiesced with a better grace than he 
 might have done, had he not the girl s assurance of meeting 
 him within an hour, in order that everything might be ready 
 for a start,, with the first appearance of wind. 
 
 When left alone, Raoul bethought him that Ithuel and 
 Filippo were on shore, as usual ; the New-Hampshire man 
 consenting to serve only on condition of being allowed to 
 land ; a privilege he always abused by driving a contraband 
 trade, on occasions like the present. So great was the fel 
 low s dexterity in such matters, that Raoul, who disdained 
 smuggling, while he thought himself compelled to wink at it 
 in others, had less apprehensions of his committing the lugger, 
 than he might have felt in the case of one less cunning. 
 But it was now necessary to get these two men off, or aban 
 don them ; and fortunately remembering the name of the 
 wine-house where they had taken their potations the previous 
 night, he repaired to it without delay, luckily finding Ithuel 
 and his interpreter deep in the discussion of another flask of 
 the favourite Tuscan beverage. Maso and his usual com 
 panions were present also, and there being nothing unusual 
 in the commander of an English ship of war s liking good 
 liquor, Raoul, to prevent suspicion, drew a chair, and asked 
 for his glass. By the conversation that followed, the young 
 privateersman felt satisfied that, though he might have suc 
 ceeded in throwing dust into the eyes of the vice-governa- 
 tore and the podesta, these experienced old seamen still 
 distrusted his character. It was so unusual a thing for a 
 French frigate, while it was so usual for an English frigate, 
 to be standing along the coast, near in, that these mariners, 
 who were familiar with all such matters, had joined this 
 circumstance to the suspicious signs about the lugger, and 
 were strongly disposed to believe the truth concerning both 
 vessels. To all this, however, Raoul was more indifferent 
 than he might have been, but for the arrangement to sail so 
 soon. He took his wine, therefore, with apparent indiffe 
 rence, and, in proper season, withdrew, carrying with him 
 Ithuel and the Genoese. 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 "Within our bay, one stormy night, 
 The isle s men saw boats make for shore, 
 With here and there a dancing light 
 That flash d on man and oar. 
 
 When hailed, the rowing stopp d, and all was dark. 
 Ha ! lantern work ! We 11 home ! They re playing shark " 
 
 DANA. 
 
 IT was dark when Raoul quitted the government-house, 
 leaving Andrea Barrofaldi and Vito Viti, in the library of 
 the former. No sooner was the young seaman s back 
 turned, than the vice-governatore, who was in a humour to 
 display his acquirements, resumed a discussion that he had 
 found so agreeable to his self-esteem. 
 
 " It is easy to see, good Vito Viti, that this young Ingleso 
 is a gentleman of noble birth, though not of a liberal educa 
 tion," he said ; " doubtless, his father, Milordo Smees, has 
 a large family, and the usages of England are different from 
 those 5 of Italy, in respect to birth-right. There, the eldest 
 son, alone, inherits the honours of the family, while the 
 cadets are put into the army and navy, to earn new distinc 
 tions. Nelsoni is the son of a priest, I hear " 
 
 " Cospetto ! of a padre ! Signor Vice-governatore," inter 
 rupted the podesta " it is most indecent to own it. A priest 
 must be possessed of the devil, himself, to own his issue ; 
 though issue he may certainly have." 
 
 " There, again, good Vito, it is different with the Luteram 
 and us Catholics. The priests of England, you will please 
 to remember, marry, while ours do not." 
 
 " I should not like to be shrived by such a padre ! The 
 man would be certain to tell his wife all I confessed ; and 
 the saints could only say what would be the end on t. 
 Porto Ferrajo would soon be too hot to hold an honest man- 
 ay, or even an honest woman, in the bargain." 
 
 " But the Luterani do not confess, and are never shrived 
 at all, you will remember." 
 10* 
 
114 LEFEU-FOLLET. 
 
 " San Stefano ! How do they expect, then, ever to get 
 to heaven 1" 
 
 " I will not answer that they do, friend Vito and we are 
 certain, that if they have such expectations, they must be 
 most treacherous to them. But, talking of this Sir Smees, 
 you perceive in his air and manner, the finesse of the Anglo- 
 Saxon race ; which is a people altogether distinct from the 
 ancient Gauls, both in history and characters. Pietro 
 Giannone, in his Storia Civile del Regno di Napoli, speaks 
 of the Normans, who were a branch of these adventurers, 
 with great interest and particularity ; and I think I can trace, 
 in this youth, some of the very peculiarities that are so ad 
 mirably delineated in his well-told, but too free, writings. 
 Well, Pietro ; I was not speaking of thee, but of a namesake 
 of thine, of the family of Giannona, an historian of Naples, 
 of note and merit what is thy will?" 
 
 This question was put to a servant, who entered at that 
 moment, holding in his hand a piece of paper, which he 
 desired to lay before his master. 
 
 " A cavaliere is without, Signor Andrea, who asks the 
 honour of an audience, and who sends in his name, as your 
 eccellenza will find it on this paper." 
 
 The vice-governatore took the slip of paper, and read 
 aloud ; " Edward Griffin, tenente della marina Inglesa." 
 
 " Ah ! here is an officer sent from ze Ving-y-Ving , with 
 some communication, friend Vito ; it is fortunate you are 
 still here, to hear what he has to say. Show the lieutenant 
 in, Pietro." 
 
 One who understood Englishmen better than Andrea 
 Barrofaldi, would have been satisfied, at a glance, that he 
 who now entered was really a native of that country. He 
 was a young man of some two or three and twenty, of a 
 ruddy, round, good-natured face, wearing an undress coat 
 of the service to which he professed to belong, and whose 
 whole air and manner betrayed his profession, quite as much 
 as his country. The salutations he uttered were in very- 
 respectable Italian, familiarity with the language being the 
 precise reason why he had been selected for the errand on 
 which he had come. After these salutations, he put a piece 
 of parchment into Andrea s hand, remarking 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 115 
 
 "If you read English, Signore, you will perceive by that 
 commission I am the person I represent myself to be." 
 
 " Doubtless, Signer Tenente, you belong to ze Ving-y- 
 Ving, and are a subordinate of Sir Smees ?" 
 
 The young man looked surprised, and, at the same time, 
 half disposed to laugh ; though a sense of decorum suppressed 
 the latter inclination. 
 
 " I belong to His Britannic Majesty s ship Proserpine, 
 Signore," he drily answered, " and know not what you 
 mean by the Ving-y-Ving. Captain Cuffe, of that ship, 
 the frigate you saw off your harbour this morning, has sent 
 me down in the felucca that got in this evening, to communi 
 cate intelligence concerning the lugger, which we chased to 
 the southward about nine o clock, but which, I see, is again 
 snug at her anchor in this bay. Our ship was lying behind 
 Capraya, when I left her, but will be here to take me off, 
 and to hear the news, before daylight, should the wind ever 
 blow again." 
 
 Andrea Barrofaldi and Vito Viti stared, and that, too, as 
 if a messenger had come from the lower regions to summon 
 them away for their misdeeds. Lieutenant Griffin spoke 
 unusually good Italian, for a foreigner ; and his manner of 
 proceeding was so straight-forward and direct, as to carry 
 with it every appearance of truth. 
 
 "You do not know what I mean by ze Ving-y-Ving ?" 
 demanded the vice-governatore, with emphasis. 
 
 " To be frank with you, I do not, Signore. Ving-y-Ving 
 is not English ; nor do I know that it is Italian." 
 
 Mr. Griffin lost a good deal of ground by this assertion, 
 which implied a doubt of Andrea s knowledge of foreign 
 tongues. 
 
 " You say, Signer Tenente, if I comprehend your mean- 
 ing, that Ving-y-Ving is not English ?" 
 
 " Indeed I do, sir ; at least, no English that I have ever 
 heard spoken, at sea or ashore ; and we seamen have a lan 
 guage of our own." 
 
 " Will you, then, permit me to ask you what is the trans 
 lation of ala e ala ; word for word." 
 
 The lieutenant paused a moment, and pondered. Then he 
 laughed involuntarily, checking himself almost immediately 
 vi-ith an air of respect and gravity. 
 
116 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 "I believe I now understand you, Signor Vice-go\erna 
 tore," he said ; " we have a sea-phrase something like this, 
 to describe a fore-and-aft vessel with her sails swinging off 
 on both sides ; but we call it wing-and-wing." 
 
 "Si, Signore ving-y-ving. Such is the name of the 
 lugger of your king, that now lies in our bay." 
 
 " Ah ! we thought as much, Signori ; the scoundrel has 
 deceived you, as he has done a hundred before you, and 
 will do to- a hundred, again, unless we catch him to-night. 
 The lugger is a celebrated French privateer, that we have 
 six cruisers in chase of at this moment, our own ship in 
 cluded. She is called le Feu-Follet, which is not Wing-And- 
 Wing, but Will-o -the-Wisp, or Jack-o -Lantern, in English ; 
 and which you, in Italian, would call il Fuoco Fatuo. Her 
 commander is Raoftl Yvard, than whom, there is not a 
 greater desperado sailing out of France ; though it is ad 
 mitted that the fellow has some good nay, some noble 
 qualities." 
 
 At every word uttered by the lieutenant, a page of history 
 was blotted out from the memory of his listener. Thevice- 
 governatore had heard the name of Raoul Yvard, and even 
 that of le Feu-Follet, which the malignancy of a bitter war 
 had blackened nearly to the hues of piracy. The thought 
 that he had been the dupe of this corsair nay, that he had 
 actually been entertaining him with honours and hospitality, 
 within an hour, was nearly too much for his philosophy. 
 Men do not often submit to such humiliating sensations with 
 out a struggle ; and before he would, or could, accord full 
 credence to what was now told him, it was natural to oppose 
 the objections that first offered. 
 
 " All this must be a mistake," observed the vice-governa- 
 tore; "there are English, as well as French luggers; and 
 this is one of the former. Her commander is a noble 
 English gentleman, a son of Milordo Smees ; and though 
 his education has been, in a trifling degree, neglected, he 
 shows his origin and national character in all he says and 
 does. Ze Ving-y-Ving is commanded by Sir Smees, a young 
 officer of merit, as you must have seen, yourself, Signore, by 
 his evolutions this very morning. Surely, you have heard 
 of II Capitano Sir Smees, the son of Milordo Smees!" 
 
 " We do not deny that his escape, this morning, was a 
 
LB FEU- FOLLET . 117 
 
 clever thing-, vice-governatore, for the fellow is a seaman, 
 every inch of him ; and he is as brave as a lion : but, then, 
 he is as impudent as a beggar s dog. There is no Sir Srnees, 
 nor any Sir Any-Body else, in command of any of our lug 
 gers, anywhere. In the Mediterranean, we have no cruiser 
 of this rig at all ; and the two or three we have elsewhere, 
 tire commanded by old sea-dogs, who have been brought up 
 in that sort of craft. As for Sirs, they are scarce out here, 
 though the battle of the Nile has made a few of them, for 
 the navy. Then you II not often meet with a nobleman s 
 son in a clipper like this, for that sort of gentry generally go 
 from a frigate s quarter-deck into a good sloop, as com 
 mander, and after a twelvemonth s work, or sc, in the small 
 one, into a fast frigate again, as a post-captain." 
 
 Much of this was gibberish to Andrea Barrofaldi, but 
 Griffin being exclusively naval, he fancied every one ought 
 to take the same interest as he did himself, in all these mat 
 ters. But, while the vice-governatore did not understand 
 more than half of the other s meaning, that half sufficed to 
 render him exceedingly uneasy. The natural manner of 
 the lieutenant, too, carried conviction with it, while all the 
 original impressions against the lugger were revived by his 
 statements. 
 
 " What say you, Signor Vito Viti ?" demanded Andrea ; 
 " you have been present at the interviews with Sir Smees." 
 
 " That we have been deceived by one of the most oily- 
 tongued rogues that ever took in honest men, if we have 
 been deceived at all, vice-governatore. Last evening, I would 
 have believed this ; but since the escape and return of the 
 lugger, I could have sworn that we had an excellent friend 
 and ally in our bay." 
 
 " You had your signals, Signor Tenente ; and that is procf 
 of amity and understanding." 
 
 " We made our number, when we saw the lugger with 
 an English ensign set, for we did not suppose a Frenchman 
 would be quietly lying in a Tuscan port ; but the answer we 
 got was nonsense; and then we remembe^ed to have heard 
 that this Raoul Yvard was in the habit of playing such 
 tricks, all along the Italian coast. Once on the scent, we 
 were not the men to be easily thrown off it. You saw the 
 chase, and know the result." 
 
118 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 " There must be some error in all this ! Would it not be 
 well, Signore, to see the commander of the lugger or to go 
 on board of her, and satisfy yourself, with your own eyes, 
 of the truth or falsehood of your surmises ? Ten minutes 
 might clear up everything." 
 
 " Your pardon, Signor Vice-governatore ; were I to trust 
 myself on board le Feu-Follet, I might remain a prisoner 
 until a peace was made ; and I have yet two steps to gain, 
 before I can afford that risk. Then, as to letting Yvard 
 know of my presence here, it would just give him the alarm, 
 and cause us to lose the bird, before we can spring the net. 
 My orders are positive, not to let any one but the authorities 
 of the island, know of my visit, or its object. All we ask 
 of you is to detain the lugger until morning ; then we will 
 see to it, that she will never trouble the Italian coast again." 
 
 " Nay, Signore, we have guns of our own, and could 
 easily dispose of so small a vessel, once assured of her being 
 an enemy," returned the v ice-govern atore, with a little pride 
 and loftiness of manner ; " convince us of that fact, and 
 we 11 sink the lugger at her anchors." 
 
 " That is just what we do not wish you to do, Signore," 
 answered the lieutenant, with interest. " From what passed 
 this morning, Captain Cuffe has thought it probable that 
 Monsieur Yvard, for some reason best known to himself, 
 would come back here, as soon as he was rid of us ; or that, 
 finding himself on the south side of the island, he might put 
 into Porto Longone ; and, had I not met him here, 1 was to 
 get a horse, and ride across to the latter place, and make 
 my arrangements there. We wish, by all means, to get 
 possession of the lugger, which, in smooth water, is the 
 fastest craft in the Mediterranean, and would be of infinite 
 service to us. We think the Proserpine would prove too 
 much for her, blowing fresh ; but, in moderate weather, she 
 will go six feet to our five. Now, if you open on her, she 
 will either escape or be sunk ; for Raoul Yvard is not a man 
 to strike to a town. All I ask is to be permitted to make 
 night-signals, for which I am prepared, as soon as the frigate 
 approaches, and that you will throw all the delays, by means 
 of forms and permits, in the way of the Frenchman s sailing, 
 until to-morrow morning. We will answer for the rest." 
 
 " I should think there would be but little danger of the 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 119 
 
 lugger s departing in the night, Signer Tenente, her com 
 mander rather expressing an intention of passing several 
 days with us ; and it is this ease and confidence of his. 
 which causes me to think he cannot be the person you take 
 him for. Why should Raoul Yvard and le Feu-Follet come 
 into Porto Ferrajo at all ?" 
 
 " No one knows : it is the man s habit ; and doubtless he 
 has reasons for it. Tis said, he has even been in at 
 Gibraltar; and it is certain, he has cut several valuable 
 store-ships out of our convoys. There is an Austrian load 
 ing with iron, I perceive, in the harbour; probably he is 
 waiting for her to fill up, and finds it easier to watch her at 
 an anchor, than by lying outside." 
 
 " You naval gentlemen have ways known only to your 
 selves ; and all this may be so ; but it seems an enigma to 
 me. Have you any other proofs of your own character, 
 Signor Tenente, than the commission you have shown rne? 
 for Sir Smees, as I have been taught to call the commander 
 of the lugger, has one too, that has an air of as much authen 
 ticity as this you have shown; and he wears quite as 
 English-looking a uniform : how am I to judge between 
 
 /.* w * O 
 
 you ?" 
 
 " That difficulty has been foreseen, Signor Vice-governa- 
 tore, and I come well provided with the necessary proofs. I 
 handed you my commission, as that is a document, which, 
 if wanting, might throw a distrust on all other proofs. But, 
 here is a communication from your superior, at Florence, 
 recommending us to the kindness of the authorities of all the 
 Tuscan ports; which you will readily understand. Captain 
 Cuffe has furnished me with other proofs ; which you can 
 look over at your leisure." 
 
 Andrea Barrofaldi now set about a cautious and delibe 
 rate examination of all the papers shown him. They proved 
 to be of a nature to remove every doubt ; and it was not 
 possible to distrust the party that presented them. This 
 was a great deal towards convicting the Signor Smees of 
 imposition, though both the vice-governatore and the podestd 
 were of opinion that Captain Cuffe might yet be mistaken, 
 as to the identity of the lugger. 
 
 " It is impossible, Signori," answered the lieutenant ; 
 " We know every English cruiser in these seas, by name 
 
120 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 and description, at least, and most of Jhem by sight. This 
 is none ; and everything about her, particularly her sailing, 
 betrays her real name. We hear there is a man in her who 
 once belonged to our own ship, a certain Ithuel Bolt " 
 
 " Cospetto !" exclaimed the podesta " Then we must set 
 down this Sir Smees, after all, for an arrant rogue ; for this 
 is the very man we met at Benedetta s, the past night. An 
 Americano, Signer Tenente, is he not ?" 
 
 " Why, the fellow pretends to be some such ttiing," 
 answered the young man, colouring, for he was loth t:> con 
 fess the wrong that had been done the deserter ; "but half 
 the British seamen one falls in with, now-a-days, call them- 
 selves Americans, in order to escape serving His Majesty. 
 I rather think this rascal is a Cornish, or a Devonshire-man ; 
 he has the twang and the nasal sing-song of that part of the 
 island. If an American, however, we have a better right to 
 him than the French ; speaking our language, and being 
 descended from a common ancestry, and having a common 
 character, it is quite unnatural for an American to serve any 
 but the English." 
 
 " I did not know that, Vice-governatore ! I thought the 
 American! a very inferior sort of people to us Europeans, 
 generally ; and that they could scarcely claim to be our 
 equals, in any sense." 
 
 " You are quite right, Signer Podesta," said the lieutenant, 
 briskly ; " they are all you think them ; and any one can 
 see that at a glance. Degenerate Englishmen, we call them, 
 in the service." 
 
 " And yet you take them, occasionally, Signer Tenente ; 
 and, as I understand from this Ithuello, frequently contrary 
 to their wishes, and by force," drily observed Andrea Bar- 
 rofaldi. 
 
 " How can we help it, Signore ; the king has a right to j 
 and he has need of the services of all his own seamen ; and, 
 in the hurry of impressing, we sometimes make a mistake. 
 Then, these Yankees are so like our own people, that I would 
 defy the devil himself to tell them apart." 
 
 The Vice-governatore thought there was something con 
 tradictory in all this; and he subsequently said as much to 
 his friend, the podesta ; but the matter went no farther, at 
 the moment, most probably because he ascertained that the 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 121 
 
 young lieutenant was only using what might be termed a 
 national argument ; the English government constantly pro 
 testing that it was impossible to distinguish one people from 
 the other, quoad this particular practice : while nothing was 
 more offensive, to their eyes, in the abstract, than to maintain 
 any affinity in appearance or characteristics. 
 
 The result of the discussion, notwithstanding, was to make 
 the two Italians reluctant converts to the opinion of the Eng 
 lishman, that the lugger was the dreaded and obnoxious 
 Feu-Follet. Once convinced, however, shame, revenge and 
 mortification, united with duty to quicken their exertions, 
 and to render them willing assistants in executing the schemes 
 of Captain Cuffe. It was, perhaps, fortunate for Raoul and 
 his associates, that the English officers had so strong a desire, 
 as Griffin expressed it, "to take the lugger alive;" else 
 might she have been destroyed where she lay, by removing 
 a gun or two from its proper embrasure, and planting them 
 behind some natural ramparts among the rocks. The night 
 was dark, it is true, but not so much so as to render a vessel 
 sufficiently distinct, at the short distance at which le Feu- 
 Follet lay; and a cannonade would have been abundantly 
 certain. 
 
 When all parties were of a mind, as to the true character 
 of the little crafl in the bay, a consultation was had on the 
 details of the course proper to be pursued. A window of 
 the government-house, that looked towards the direction of 
 Capraya, or that in which the Proserpine was expected to 
 arrive, was assigned to Griffin. The young man took his 
 station at it about midnight, in readiness to burn the blue- 
 lights with which he was provided, the instant he should 
 discern the signals of his ship. The position of this window 
 was well adapted to the desired object, inasmuch as the 
 lights could not be seen from the town, while they were 
 plainly open to the sea. The same was essentially true as 
 to the signals of the frigate, the heights interposing between 
 her and the houses ; and there being a still greater physical 
 impossibility that anything lying in the bay, should discover 
 an object at sea, on the northern side of the promontory. 
 
 In this manner, then, did hour after hour pass away, a 
 light land-breeze blowing, but coming so directly into the 
 bay, as to induce Raoul not to lift his kedge. Ghita, and 
 11 
 
122 J*E FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 her uncle, Carlo Giuntotardi, had come off about ten ; but 
 there were still no signs of movement on board the lugger. 
 To own the truth, Raoul was in no hurry to sail, for the 
 longer his departure was protracted, the longer would he 
 have the happiness of retaining the lovely girl on board ; and 
 the zephyr of the succeeding day would be almost certain to 
 carry le Feu-Follet up to the island-like promontory of Monte 
 Argentaro, the point where stood the watch-towers of which 
 Carlo was the keeper, and in one of -which he resided. 
 Under the circumstances, therefore, it is not surprising that 
 the rising of the land-breeze was overlooked, or at least 
 disregarded ; and that Raoul sat conversing with Ghita on 
 deck, until long past midnight, ere he allowed her to seek 
 her little cabin, where everything had been properly arranged 
 for her reception. To own the truth, Raoul was so confi 
 dent of having completely mystified all on shore, that he 
 felt no apprehensions from that quarter ; and, desirous of 
 prolonging his present happiness as much as possible, he had 
 very coolly determined not to sail until the southerly air of 
 the morning should come; which, as usual, would just suffice 
 <o carry him well into the canal, when the zephyr would do 
 the rest. Little did this hardy adventurer suspect what had 
 occurred on shore, since he quitted it ; nor was he at all 
 aware that Tommaso Tonti was at watch in the harbour, 
 ready to report the slightest indication, on the part of the 
 lugger, of a wish to quit the bay. 
 
 But, while Raoul was so indifferent to the danger he ran, 
 the feeling was quite the reverse with Ithuel Bolt. The 
 Proserpine was the bane of this man s life ; and he not only 
 hated every stick, and every timber in her, but every officer 
 and man who was attached" to her the king, whose colours 
 she wore! and the nation whose interests she served. An 
 active hatred is the most restless of all passions; and this 
 feeling rendered Ithuel keenly alive to every chance which 
 might still render the frigate dangerous to the lugger. He 
 thought it probable the former would return in quest of her 
 enemy; and, expressly with a view to this object, when he 
 turned in, at nine, he left orders to be called at two, that he 
 might be on the alert in season. 
 
 Ithuel was no sooner awoke, than he called two trusty 
 men, whom he had prepared for the purpose, entered a light 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 boat that was lying in readiness, on the offside of the lugger, 
 and pulled with muffled oars towards the eastern part oHhe 
 bay. When sufficiently distant from the town to escape 
 observation, he changed his course, and proceeded directly 
 out to sea. Half an hour sufficed to carry the boat as far 
 as Ithuel deemed necessary, leaving him about a mile from 
 the promontory, and so far to the westward, as to give him 
 a fair view of the window at which Griffin had taken post. 
 
 The first occurrence out of the ordinary course of things, 
 that struck the American, was the strong light of a lamp 
 
 shining through an upper window of the government-house 
 
 not that at which the lieutenant was posted, but one above 
 it and which had been placed there expressly as an indica 
 tion to the frigate, that Griffin had arrived, and was actively 
 on duty. It was now two o clock, or an hour or two 
 before the appearance of light, and the breeze off the adjoin 
 ing continent was sufficiently strong to force a good sailing 
 vessel, whose canvass had been thickened by the damps of 
 night, some four knots through the water ; and as Capraya 
 was less than thirty miles from Porto Ferrajo, abundant 
 time had been given to the Proserpine to gam her offing ; 
 that ship having come from behind her cover, as soon as the 
 sun had set, and the haze of evening settled upon the sea. 
 
 Ithuel, usually so loquacious and gossiping, in his moments 
 of leisure, was silent and observant when he had anything 
 serious on hand. His eye was still on the window in which 
 the lamp was visible, the pure olive oil that was burnin- in 
 it throwing out a clear, strong flame; when suddenly a blue 
 light flashed beneath the place ; and he got a momentary 
 glimpse of the body of the man who held it, as he leaned 
 forward from another window. The motion which now 
 turned his head sea-ward, was instinctive; it was just in 
 time to let him detect a light descending apparently into the 
 water, like a falling star; but which, in fact, was merely a 
 signal lantern of the Proserpine, coming rapidly down from 
 the end of her gaff. 
 
 "Ah! d n you," said Ithuel, grating his teeth, and 
 
 shaking his fist in the direction o" the spot where this tran 
 sient gleam of brightness had disappeared I know you, 
 mid your old tricks, with your lanterns and night-signals. 
 Here goes the answer." 
 
124 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 As he said this, he touched a rocket, of which he had 
 several in the boat, with the lighted end of the segar he had 
 been smoking, and it went hissing up into the air ; ascending 
 so high as to be plainly visible from the deck of le Feu-Follet, 
 before it exploded. Griffin saw this signal with wonder ; 
 the frigate noted it with embarrassment ; for it was far to 
 seaward of the lamp ; and even Maso conceived it necessary 
 to quit his station, in order to report the circumstance to the 
 colonel, whom he was to call, in the event of any unusual 
 occurrence. The common impression, however, among all 
 these parties was, that a second cruiser had come through 
 the canal, from the southward, in the course of the night, 
 and that she wished to notify the Proserpine of her position, 
 probably expecting to meet that ship off the island. 
 
 On board le Feu-Follet the effect was different. The land- 
 breeze of Italy is a side-wind to vessels quitting the bay of 
 Porto-Ferrajo ; and two minutes after the rocket exploded, 
 the lugger was gliding almost imperceptibly, and yet at the 
 rate of a knot or two, under her jigger and jib, towards the 
 outer side of the port, or along the very buildings past which 
 she had brushed the previous day. This movement was 
 made at the critical instant when Maso was off his watch ; 
 and the ordinary sentinels of the works had other duties to 
 attpnd to. So light was this little vessel, that a breath of 
 air set her in motion, and nothing was easier than to get three 
 or four knots out of her in smooth water, especially when 
 she opened the comparatively vast folds of her two principal 
 luggs. This she did, when close under the citadel, or out 
 of sight of the town, the sentinels above hearing the flaps of 
 her canvass, without exactly understanding whence they 
 came. At this instant Ithuel let off a second rocket, and 
 the lugger showed a light on her starboard bow, so concealed, 
 however, on all sides but one, as to be visible only in the 
 direction of the boat. As this was done, she put her helm, 
 hard down, and hauled her fore-sheet over flat to windward. 
 Five minutes later, Ithuel had reached her deck; and the 
 boat was hauled in as if it had been inflated silk. Deceived 
 by the second rocket, the Proserpine now made her number 
 with regular signal lanterns, with the intention of obtaining 
 that of the stranger; trusting that the promontory would 
 conceal it from the vessels in the bay. This told Raoul the 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 125 
 
 precise position of his enemy ; and he was not sorry to see 
 that he was already to the westward of her ; a fact that 
 permitted him to slip round the island again, so near in as 
 to be completely concealed by the back-ground of cliifs. 
 By the aid of an excellent night-glass, too, he was enabled 
 to see the frigate, distant about a league, under everything 
 that would draw, from her royals down, standing towards 
 the mouth of the bay on the larboard tack ; having made her 
 calculations so accurately as to drop into windward of her 
 port, with the customary breeze off the land. At this sight 
 Raoul laughed, and ordered the mainsail taken in. Half-an- 
 hour later, he directed the foresail to be brailed ; brought his 
 jigger-sheet in flat ; put his helm hard down ; and hauled the 
 jib-sheet to windward. 
 
 As this last order was executed, day was just breaking 
 over the mountains of Radicofani and Aquapendente. By 
 this time le Feu-Follet lay about a league to the westward 
 of the promontory, and abreast of the deep bay that has 
 been already mentioned as being in that direction from the 
 town. Of course she was far beyond the danger of missiles 
 from the land. The night wind, however, had now failed, 
 arid there was every appearance that the morning would be 
 calm. In this there was nothing extraordinary, at that 
 season ; the winds which prevailed from the south being 
 usually short and light, unless accompanied by a gust. Just 
 as the sun appeared, the south air came, it is true, but so 
 lightly, as to render it barely possible to keep the little 
 lugger in command, by heaving-to with her head to the 
 south-west. 
 
 The Proserpine stood in until the day had advanced far 
 enough to enable her look-outs to detect le Feu-Follet braving 
 her, as it might be, in the western board, at the distance of 
 about a league and a half, under her jib and jigger, as de 
 scribed. This sight produced a great commotion in the ship, 
 even the watch below " tumbling up," to get another sight 
 of a craft so renowned for evading the pursuit of all the 
 English cruisers of those seas. A few minutes later, Griffin 
 came off, chopfallen and disappointed. His first glance at 
 the countenance of his superior, announced a coming 
 storm ; for the commander of a vessel of war is no more apt 
 to be reasonable, under disappointment, than any other poten- 
 11* 
 
126 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 tate. Captain Cuffe had not seen fit to wait for his subordi- 
 nate on deck ; but as soon as it was ascertained that he was 
 coming off in a shore-boat, he retired to his cabin, leaving 
 orders with the first lieutenant, whose name was Winchester, 
 to send Mr. Griffin below, as soon as he had reported him 
 self. 
 
 " Well, sir," commenced Cuffe, as soon as his lieutenan 
 came into the after-cabin, without offering him a seat 
 " here we are ; and out yonder, two or three leagues at sea 
 
 is th e d d Few-Folly !" for so most of the seamen of tho 
 
 English service pronounced " Feu-Follet." 
 
 " I beg your pardon, Captain Cuffe," answered Griffin, 
 who found himself compelled to appear a delinquent, what 
 ever might be the injustice of the situation ; " it could not be 
 helped. We got in, in proper time ; and I went to work with 
 the deputy-governor, and an old chap of a magistrate who 
 was witrThim, as soon as I could get up to the house of the 
 first. Yvard had been beforehand with me ; and I had to 
 under-run about a hundred of his lying yarns, before I could 
 even enter the end of an idea of my own " 
 
 " You speak Italian, sir, like a Neapolitan born ; and I 
 depended on your doing everything as it should have been." 
 
 " Not so much like ^a Neapolitan, I hope, Captain Cuffe, 
 as like a Tuscan, or a Roman," returned Griffin, biting his 
 lip. " After an hour of pretty hard, and lawyer-like work, 
 and overhauling all the documents, I did succeed in con 
 vincing the two Elban gentry of my own character, and of 
 that of the lugger!" 
 
 " And while you were playing advocate, Master Raoul 
 Yvard coolly lifted his anchor, and walked out of the bay, 
 as if he were just stepping into his garden, to pick a nose 
 gay for his sweetheart 7" 
 
 " No, sir, nothing of the sort happened. As soon as I 
 had satisfied the Signor Barrofaldi, the vice-governatore " 
 
 " Veechy-govern-the-tory. D n all vcechys, and 
 
 d n all" the governatorys, too ; do speak English, Griffin, 
 
 on board an English ship, if you please, even should your 
 Italian happen to be Tuscan. Call the fellow vice-governor 
 at once, if that be his rank." 
 
 " Well, sir, as soon as I had satisfied the vice-governor 
 that the lugger was an enemy, and that we were friends, 
 
LEFEU-FOLLET. 12? 
 
 everything went smoothly enough. He wanted to sink the 
 lugger, as she lay at her anchor." 
 
 " And why the devil didn t he do it ? Two or three heavy 
 shot would have given her a stronger dose than she could 
 bear." 
 
 " You know, Captain CufFe, it has all along been youi 
 wish to take her alive. I thought it would tell so well for 
 the ship, to have it to say she had caught le Feu-Follet, that 
 I opposed the project. I know Mr. Winchester hopes to get 
 her, as a reward for carrying her, himself." 
 
 * Ay, and that would make you first. Well, sir, even if 
 you didn t sink her, it was no reason for letting her escape." 
 
 " We could not prevent it, Captain CufFe. I had a look 
 out set upon her one of the very best men in Porto Ferrajo, 
 as everybody will tell you, sir j and I made the signals of 
 the lamp and the blue-lights, as agreed upon ; and, the ship 
 answering, I naturally thought all was as it should be, 
 until" 
 
 " And who burnt the rockets, off here, where we are at 
 this moment 1 They deceived me, for I took them to be 
 signals of their presence, from the Weasel or the Sparrow. 
 When I saw those rockets, Griffin, I was just as certain of 
 the Few-Folly, as I am now of having my own ship !" 
 
 " Yes, sir, those rockets did all the mischief; for, I have 
 since learned, that, as soon as the first one was thrown, 
 Master Yvard tripped his kedge, and went out of the bay as 
 quietly as one goes out of a dining-room, when he don t 
 wish to disturb the company." 
 
 " Ay, he took French leave, the b : y sans culotte" 
 returned the captain, putting himself in a better humour 
 with his own pun. " But did you see nothing of all this ?" 
 
 " The first I knew of the matter, sir, was seeing the lug 
 ger gliding along under the rocks, so close in, that you 
 might have jumped aboard her ; and it was too late to stop 
 her, Before those lazyjfar nientes could have pricked and 
 primed, he was out of gun-shot." 
 
 Lazy what ?" demanded the captain. 
 
 " Far nientes, sir; which is a nickname we give these 
 siesta-gentry, you know, Captain Cufle." 
 
 " I know nothing about it, sir ; and I II thank you always 
 to Fpeak to me in English, Mr. Griffin. That is "a language 
 
128 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 which, I flatter myself, I understand ; and it T s quite good 
 enough for all my wants." 
 
 " Yes, sir, and for any man s wants. I m sure, I am 
 sorry I can speak Italian, since it has led to this mistake. 1 
 
 " Poh poh Griffin, you mustn t lay everything to heart, 
 that comes wrong end foremost. Dine with me to-day, ant 
 we 11 talk the matter over at leisure." 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 "Now in the fervid noon the smooth bright sea 
 Heaves slowly, for the wandering winds are dead 
 That stirr d it into foam. The lonely ship 
 Rolls wearily, and idly flap the sails 
 Against the creaking masts. The lightest sound 
 Is lost not on the ear, and things minute 
 Attract the observant eye." 
 
 RICHARDSON. 
 
 THUS terminated the setting-down, like many others that 
 Captain Cufie had resolved to give, but which usually ended 
 in a return to good-nature and reason. The steward was 
 told to set a plate for Mr. Griffin, among the other guests, 
 and then the commander of the frigate followed the lieuten- 
 ant on deck. Here he found every officer in the ship, alt 
 looking at le Feu-Follet with longing eyes, and most of them 
 admiring her appearance, as she lay on the mirror-like 
 Mediterranean, with the two light sails mentioned, just hold- 
 ing her stationary. 
 
 " A regular-built snake-in-the-grass !" growled the boat- 
 swain, Mr. Strand, who was taking a look at the lugger over 
 the hammock-cloths of the waist, as he stood on the heel of 
 a spare top-mast to do so ; "I never put eyes on a scamp 
 that had a more d n-my-eyes look !" 
 
 This was said in a sort of soliloquy, for Strand was not 
 exactly privileged to address a quarter-deck officer on such 
 an occasion, though several stood within hearing, arid was 
 far too great* a man to enlighten his subordinates with his 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 129 
 
 cogitations. It was overheard by Cuffe, however, who just 
 at that instant stepped into the gangway to make an exami- 
 nation for himself. 
 
 " It is a snake-of/-of-the-grass, rather, Strand," observed 
 the captain, for he could speak to whom he plea:sed, without 
 presumption or degradation. " Had she stayed in port, now, 
 she would have been in the grass, and we might have 
 scotched her." 
 
 " Well, your honour, we can English her, as it is ; and 
 that ll be quite as nat ral, and quite as much to the purpose, 
 as Scotching her, any day," answered Strand, who, being 
 a native of London, had a magnificent sort of feeling towards 
 all the dependencies of the empire, and to whom the word 
 scotch, in that sense, was Greek, though he well understood 
 what it meant, " to clap a Scotchman on a rope ;" " we are 
 likely to have a flat calm all the morning, and our boats are 
 in capital order ; and. then, nothing will be more agreeable 
 to our gentlemen, than a row." 
 
 Strand was a grey-headed seaman, and he had served 
 with Captain Cuffe when the latter was a midshipman, and 
 had even commanded the top, of which the present boatswain 
 had been the captain. He knew the " cut of the captain s 
 jib" better than any other man in the Proserpine, and often 
 succeeded with his suggestions, when Winchester and the 
 other lieutenants failed. His superior now turned round, 
 and looked him intently in the face, as if struck with the 
 notion the other thus indirectly laid before him. This move- 
 ment was noted ; and, at a sign secretly given by Winchester, 
 the whole crew gave three hearty cheers ; Strand leading off, 
 as soon as he caught the idea. This was the only manner 
 in which the crew of a man-of-war can express their 
 wishes to their commander ; it being always tolerated, in a 
 navy, to hurrah, by way of showing the courage of a ship s 
 company. Cuffe walked aft, in a thoughtful manner, and 
 descended to his cabin again ; but a servant soon came up, to 
 say that the captain desired to see the first lieutenant. 
 
 " I do not half like this boat-service, in open day-light. 
 Winchester," observed the senior, beckoning to the other to 
 take a chair. " The least bungling may spoil it all ; and 
 then it s ten to one but your ship goes half-manned for a 
 
130 LE PEU-FOLLET. 
 
 twelvemonth, until you are driven to pressing from colliers 
 and neutrals." 
 
 " But, we hope, sir, there 11 be no bungling in anything 
 that the Proserpine undertakes. Nine times in ten, an Eng 
 lish man-of-war succeeds, when she makes a bold dash in 
 boats, against one of these picaroons. This lugger is so 
 low in the water, too, that it will be like stepping from one 
 cutter into another to get upon her decks ; and then, sir, I 
 suppose, you don t doubt what Englishmen will do ?" 
 
 " Ay, Winchester, once on her deck, I make no doubt 
 you d carry her ; but it may not be so easy as you imagine, 
 to get on her deck. Of all duty to a captain, this of send 
 ing off boats is the most unpleasant. He cannot go himself, 
 and if anything unfortunate turns up, he never forgives him 
 self. Now, it } s a very different thing with a fight in which 
 all share alike ; and the good or evil comes equally on all 
 hands." 
 
 " Quite true, Captain Cuffe ; and yet this is the only 
 chance that the lieutenants have for getting ahead a little, 
 out of the regular course. I have heard, sir, that you were 
 made commander, for cutting out some coasters, in the 
 beginning of the war." 
 
 " You have not been misinformed ; and a devil of a risk 
 we all ran. Luck saved us and that was all. One more 
 fire from a cursed carronade, would have given a Flemish 
 account of the whole party; for, once get a little under, and 
 you suffer like game in a batteau" Captain Cuffe wished 
 to say battue ; but despising foreign languages, he generally 
 made sad work with them, whenever he did condescend to 
 resort to their terms, however familiar. " This Raoul 
 Yvard is a devil incarnate, himself, at this boarding work ; 
 and is said to have taken off the head of a master s mate, of 
 the Theseus, with one clip of his sword, when he retook that 
 ship s prize, in the affair of last winter that which happened 
 off Alicant!" 
 
 " I 11 warrant you, sir, the master s mate was some slen 
 der-necked chap, that might better have been at home, 
 craning at the girls, as they come out of a church-door. I 
 should like to see Raoul Yvard, or any Frenchman who 
 was ever born, take off my head at a single clip !" 
 
 " Well, Winchester, >o be frank with you, I should not. 
 
LK FEU-FOLLET. 131 
 
 You are a good first ; and that is an office in which a man 
 usually wants all the head he has ; and I m not at all certain 
 you have any to spare. I wonder if one could not hire a 
 felucca, or something larger than a boat, in this place, by 
 means of which we could play a trick upon this fellow, and 
 effect our purpose quite as well as by going up to him in our 
 open boats, bull-dog fashion?" 
 
 " No question of it at all, sir ; Griffin says there are a 
 dozen feluccas in port here, all afraid to budge an inch, in 
 consequence of this chap s being in the offing. Now one of 
 these trying to slip along shore might just serve as a bait for 
 him, and then he would be famously hooked." 
 
 " I think I have it, Winchester. You understand ; we 
 have not yet been seen to communicate with the town ; and 
 luckily, our French colours have been flying all the morning. 
 Our head, too, is in-shore ; and we shall drift so far to the 
 eastward, in a few minutes, as will shut in our hull, if not 
 our upper sails, from the lugger, where she now lies. As 
 soon as this is done, you shall be off, with forty picked men, 
 for the shore. Engage a felucca, and come out, stealing 
 along the rocks, as close as you can, as if distrusting vs. 
 In due time, we will chase you, in the boats ; and then you 
 must make for the lugger for protection, as fast as you can, 
 when, betwixt the two, I 11 answer for it, you get this Master 
 Yvard, by fair means or foul." 
 
 Winchester was delighted with the scheme ; and in lesj 
 than five minutes, orders were issued for the men to be 
 detailed and armed. Then a conference was held, as to all 
 the minor arrangements ; when, the ship having become shut 
 in from the lugger by the promontory, as expected, the boats 
 departed. Half-an-hour later, or just as the Proserpine, after 
 waring, had got near the point where the lugger would be 
 again open, the boats returned, and were run up. Presently 
 the two vessels were again in sight of each other, everything, 
 on board of each, remaining, apparently, in statu quo 
 Thus far, certainly, the stratagem had been adroitly ma 
 naged. To add to it, the batteries now fired ten or twelve 
 guns at the frigate, taking very good care not to hit her ; 
 which the Proserpine returned, under the French ensign, 
 having used the still greater precaution of drawing the shot. 
 All this was done by an arrangement between Winchester 
 
132 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 and Andrea Barrofaldi, and with the sole view to induce 
 Raoul Yvard to fancy that he was still believed to be an 
 Englishman, by the worthy vice-governatore, while the ship 
 in the offing was taken for an enemy. A light air from 
 the southward, which lasted from eight to nine o clock, 
 allowed the frigate to get somewhat more of an offing, the 
 while, placing her seemingly beyond the reach of danger. 
 
 During the prevalence of the light air mentioned, Raoul 
 Yvard did not see fit to stir tack or sheet, as it is termed, 
 among seamen. Le Feu-Follet remained so stationary, 
 that, had she been set by compass, from any station on the 
 shore, her direction would not have varied a degree the 
 whole time. But this hour of comparative breeze sufficed to 
 enable Winchester to get out of the harbour with la Divina 
 Providenza, the felucca he had hired, and to round the pro 
 montory, under the seeming protection of the guns by which 
 it was crowned ; coming in view of the lugger precisely as 
 the latter relieved her man at the helm for ten o clock. 
 There were eight or nine men visible on the felucca s deck, 
 all dressed in the guise of Italians, with caps and striped 
 shirts of cotton. Thirty-five men were concealed in the 
 hold. 
 
 Thus far everything was favourable to the wishes of Cap 
 tain Cuffe and his followers. The frigate was about a league 
 from the lugger, and half that distance from la Divina Pro 
 videnza ; the latter had got fairly to sea, and was slowly 
 coming to a situation from which it might seem reasonable, 
 and a matter of course, for the Proserpine to send boats in 
 chase; while the manner in which she gradually drew 
 nearer to the lugger, was not such as to excite distrust, or 
 to appear, in the least, designed. The wind, too, had got to 
 be so light, as to favour the whole scheme. 
 
 It is not to be supposed that Raoul Yvard and his follow 
 ers were unobservant of what was passing. It is true, that 
 the latter wilfully protracted his departure, under the pre 
 tence that it was safer to have his enemy in sight, during 
 the day, knowing how easy it would be to elude him, in the 
 dark ; but, in reality, that he might prolong the pleasure of 
 having Ghita on board ; and it is also true, that he had 
 passed a delightful hour, that morning, in the cabin ; but, 
 then, his understanding eye noted the minutest fact that 
 
LE FETJ-FOLLET. 133 
 
 occurred ; and his orders were always ready to meet any 
 emergency that might arise. Very different was the case 
 with Ithuel. The Proserpine was his bane ; and, even while 
 eating his breakfast, which he took on the heel of the bow 
 sprit, expressly with that intent, his eye was seldom a minute 
 off the frigate, unless it was for the short period she was shut 
 in by the land. It was impossible for any one in the lugger 
 to say, whether her character was, or was not known in 
 Porto Ferrajo ; but the circumstance of the blue-lights burnt 
 in the government-house, itself, and witnessed by Ithuel, ren 
 dered the latter, to say the least, probable, and induced more 
 caution than might otherwise have been shown. Still, there 
 was no reason to suspect the character ot the felucca ; and 
 the confident manner in which she came down towards the 
 lugger, though considerably in-shore of her, gave reason to 
 believe that she, at least, was ignorant that le Feu-Follet 
 was an enemy. 
 
 " That felucca is the craft which lay near the landing," 
 quietly observed Raoul, who had now come on the forecastle 
 with a view to converse with Ithuel ; " her name is la Di- 
 vina Providenza ; she is given to smuggling between Leg 
 horn and Corsica, and is probably bound to the latter, at 
 this moment. It is a bold step, too, to stand directly for 
 her port, under such circumstances !" 
 
 "Leghorn is a free port," returned Ithuel; "and smug, 
 gling is not needed." 
 
 " Ay, free as to friends, but not free to come and go 
 between enemies. No port is free, in that sense ; it being 
 treason for a craft to communicate with the foe, unless she 
 happen to be le Feu-Follet," observed Raoul, laughing; 
 " we are privileged, |ion brave!" 
 
 " Corsica or Caproya, she 11 reach neither, to-day, unless 
 she find more wind. I do not understand why the man 
 has sailed, with no more air than will serve to blow out a 
 pocket-handkerchief." 
 
 " These little feluccas, like our little lugger, slip along 
 even when there seems to be no wind at all. Then, he may 
 be bound to Bastia ; in which case he is wise in getting aa 
 offing before the zephyr sets in for the afternoon. Let him 
 get a league or two out here, more to the northwest, and he 
 can make a straight wake to Bastia, after his siesta is over." 
 12 
 
134 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 " Ay, there go them greedy Englishmen a rter him ! 
 said Ithuel ; " it s as I expected ; let em see the chance of 
 making a guinea, and they 11 strive for it, though it be ag in 
 law, or ag in natur . Now, what have they to do with a 
 Neapolitan felucca ; England being a sworn friend of 
 Naples ?" 
 
 Raoul made no reply to this, but stood watching the 
 movement in silence. The reader will readily enough 
 understand that Ithuel s remark was elicited by the appear 
 ance ot the boats, which, five in number, at that instant 
 pulled off from the frigate s side, and proceeded steadily 
 towards the felucca. 
 
 It may be necessary now to mention the relative positions 
 of the parties, the hour, and the precise state of the weather 
 with a view to give the reader clear ideas of the events that 
 succeeded. Le Feu-Follet had not materially changed her 
 place, since her jib-sheet was first hauled over. She still 
 lay about a league, a little north-of-west, from the residence 
 of Andrea Barrofaldi, and in plain view of it ; a deep bay 
 being south of her, and abeam. No alterations had been 
 made in her canvass, or her helm ; most of the first being 
 still in the brails, and the latter down. As the head of the 
 frigate had been kept to the westward, for the last hour, she 
 had forged some distance in that direction, and was now 
 quite as near the lugger as was the promontory, though 
 near two miles off the land. Her courses were hauled up, on 
 account of the lightness of the air ; but all her upper-sails 
 stood, and were carefully watched and trimmed, in order to 
 make the most of the cats - paws, or rather, of the breathings 
 of the atmosphere, which occasionally caused the royals to 
 swell outward. On the whole, she might be drawing nearer 
 to the lugger, at the rate of about a knot in an hour. La 
 Divina Providenza was just out of gun-shot from the frigate, 
 and about a mile from the lugger, when the boats shoved off 
 from the former, though quite near the land, just opening 
 the bay so often named. The boats, of course, were pulling 
 in a straight line from the vessel they had just left, towards 
 that of which they were in pursuit. 
 
 As to the time, the day had advanced as far as eleven, 
 which is a portion of the twenty-four hours when the Medi 
 te.rranean, in the summer months, is apt to be as smooth as 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 135 
 
 a mirror, and as calm as if it never knew a tempest. 
 Throughout the morning, there had been some irregularity 
 in the currents of air ; the southerly breeze, generally light, 
 and frequently fickle, having been even more light and 
 baffling than common. Still, as has been seen, there was 
 sufficient air to force a vessel through the water ; and, had 
 Raoul been as diligent as the people of the two other crafts, 
 he might, at that moment, have been off the western end of 
 the island, and far out of harm s way. As it was, he had 
 continued watching the resuk, but permitting all the other 
 parties gradually to approach him. 
 
 It must be allowed, that the ruse of the felucca was well 
 planned ; and it now seemed about to be admirably executed. 
 Had it not been for IthuePs very positive knowledge of the 
 ship his entire certainty of her being his old prison, as he 
 bitterly called her, it is not improbable that the lugger s crew 
 might have been the dupe of so much well-acted ingenuity ; 
 and, as it was, opinions were greatly divided, Raoul, him 
 self, being more than half disposed to fancy that his Ameri 
 can ally, for once, was wrong, and that the ship in sight 
 was actually what she professed to be a cruiser of the 
 republic. 
 
 Both Winchester, who was in la Divina Providenza, and 
 Griffin, who commanded the boats, played their parts in 
 perfection. They understood too well the character of the 
 wily and practised foe with whom they had to deal, to neg 
 lect the smallest of the details of their well-concerted plan. 
 Instead of heading towards the lugger, as soon as the chase 
 commenced, the felucca appeared disposed to enter the bay, 
 and to find an anchorage under the protection of a small 
 battery that had been planted, for this express purpose, near 
 its head. But the distance was so great, as obviously to 
 render such an experiment bootless ; and, after looking in 
 that direction a few minutes, the head of la Divina Provi 
 denza was laid off shore, and she made every possible effort 
 to put herself under the cover of the lugger. All this was 
 done in plain view of Raoul, whose glass was constantly at 
 his eye, and who studied the smallest movement with jealous 
 distrust. Winchester, fortunately for his purpose, was a 
 dark-complexioned man, of moderate stature, and with bushy 
 whiskers, such as a man-of-war s-man is apt to cultivate, on 
 
136 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 a long cruise; and, in his red Phrygian cap, striped shirt, 
 and white cotton trowsers, he looked the Italian as well as 
 could have been desired. The men in sight, too, had been 
 selected for their appearance, several of them being actually 
 foreigners, born on the shores of the Mediterranean ; it being 
 seldom, indeed, that the crew of an English, or an American 
 vessel of war, does not afford a representation of half the 
 maritime nations of the earth. These men exhibited a proper 
 degree of confusion and alarm, too ; running to and fro, as 
 soon as the chase became lively ; exerting themselves, but 
 doing it without order and concert. At length, the wind 
 failing almost entirely, they got out two sweeps, and began 
 to pull lustily ; the real, as well as the apparent desire being 
 to get as near as possible to the lugger. 
 
 " Peste /" exclaimed Raoul ; "all this seems right 
 what if the frigate should be French, after all. These men 
 in the boats look like my brave compatriotes !" 
 
 " They are regular John Bulls," answered Ithuel, posi 
 tively, " and the ship is the spiteful Proserpyne," for so 
 the New-Hampshire-man always called his old prison. " As 
 for them French hats, and the way they have of rowing, 
 they act it all for a take-in. Just let a six-pound shot in 
 among em, and see how they 11 throw off their French airs, 
 and take to their English schooling." 
 
 " I 11 not do that ; for we might injure a friend. What 
 are those fellows in the felucca about, now ?" 
 
 " Why, they ve got a small gun yes, it s a twelve- 
 pound carronade, under the tarpaulin, for rard of their fore 
 mast, and they re clearin it away for sarvice. We shall 
 have something doin fore the end of the week !" 
 
 " Bien it is as you say and, voila, they train the piece 
 on the boats !" 
 
 As this was said, the felucca was half concealed in smoke. 
 Then came the discharge of the gun. The shot was seen 
 skipping along the water, at a safe distance from the leading 
 boat, certainly, and yet sufficiently near to make it pass for 
 indifferent gunnery. This leading boat was the Proserpine s 
 launch, which carried a similar earronade on its grating, 
 forward, and not half- a- minute was suffered to pass, before 
 the fire was returned. So steady were the men, and so 
 nicely were all the parts of this plot calculated, that the shot 
 
LE FETJ-FOLLET. 137 
 
 came whistling through the air, in a direct line for the 
 felucca, striking its mainyard about half-way between the 
 mast and the peak of the sail, letting the former down by the 
 run. 
 
 " Human natur !" ejaculated Ithuel " this is acting up 
 to the contract, dollars and cents ! Captain Rule, they 
 shoot better in sport, than when they re in downright airn- 
 est." 
 
 " This looks like real work," answered Raoul. " A man 
 does not often shoot away the mainyard of his friend, on 
 purpose." 
 
 As soon as the crews of the boats saw the end of the yard 
 come down, they ceased rowing, and gave three hearty 
 cheers, taking the signal from Griffin, who stood erect in 
 the stern of the launch, to give it. 
 
 " Bah !" cried Raoul " these are English John Bulls, 
 without a shadow of doubt. Who ever knew the men of 
 the republic shout like so many Italian fantoccini, pulled by 
 wires. Ah ! Messieurs les Anglais, you have betrayed your 
 secret by your infernal throats ; now look to hear us tell 
 the remainder of the story." 
 
 Ilhuel rubbed his hands with delight, perfectly satisfied 
 that Raoul could no longer be deceived, though the fire 
 between the felucca and the launch was kept up with spirit, 
 the shooting being such as might have done credit to a bond 
 fide conflict. All this time the sweeps of the felucca were 
 plied, the boats advancing at least two feet to the chase s 
 one. La Divina Providenza might now have been three 
 hundred yards from the lugger; and the launch, the nearest 
 of the pursuers, about the same distance astern of the felucca. 
 Ten minutes more would certainly bring the seeming com 
 batants alongside of each other. 
 
 Raoul ordered the sweeps of le Feu-Follet to be run out, 
 and manned. At the same time, her guns, twelve-pound 
 carronades, were cast loose, and primed. Of these she had 
 four of a side, while the two sixes on her forecastle were 
 prepared for similar service. When everything was ready, 
 the twelve sweeps dropped into the water, as by a common 
 instinct, and a powerful effort started the lugger ahead. 
 Her jib and jigger were both brailed at that instant. A 
 single minute sufficed to teach Winchester how hopeless 
 12* 
 
138 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 pursuit would be in the felucca, if not in the boats them 
 selves, should the lugger endeavour to escape in this manner; 
 it being quite practicable for her strong crew to force her 
 through the water, by means of her sweeps alone, from 
 three to three and a half knots in the hour. But flight did 
 not appear to be her object ; for her head was laid towards 
 la Divina Providenza, as if, deceived by the artifice of the 
 English, she intended to prevent the capture of the felucca, 
 and to cover a friend. 
 
 Raoul, however, understood himself far better than this 
 supposition would give reason to suppose. He swept the 
 lugger up in a line with la Divina Providenza and the boats, 
 in the first place, as the position in which she would be the 
 least likely to suffer from the fire of the latter ; well knowing 
 that whatever shot were thrown, were purposely sent so high 
 as to do no mischief; and, in the second place, that he 
 might bring his enemies in a single range from his own guns. 
 In the meanwhile, the felucca and the boats not only con 
 tinued to use their carronades, but they commenced on both 
 sides a brisk fire of musketry ; the former being now distant 
 only a hundred yards from le Feu-Follet, exceedingly hard 
 pressed by her adversaries, so far as appearances were con 
 cerned. There being no wind at all, at this juncture, the 
 little there had been having been entirely killed by the con 
 cussions of the guns, the sea was getting to be fast covered 
 with smoke ; the felucca, in particular, showing more than 
 common of the wreathy canopy, over her decks, and about 
 her spars ; for, in truth, powder was burnt in considerable 
 quantities, in different parts of the vessel, with this express 
 object. Ithuel observed, too, that in the midst of this con 
 fusion and cloud, the crew of la Divina Providenza was in 
 creasing in numbers, instead of diminishing by the combat, 
 four sweeps next being out, each manned by three men, 
 while near twenty more were shortly visible, running to and 
 fro, and shouting to each other in a language that was in- 
 tended to be Italian, but which sounded much more, in his 
 practised ears, like bastard English. The felucca was not 
 fifty yards distant, when this clamour became the loudest ; 
 and the crisis was near. The cheers of the boats on the 
 other side of her, proclaimed the quick approach of Gfifnr. 
 and his party ; the bows of la Divina Providenza having 
 
LE FEU-POLLET. 139 
 
 been laid, in a species of blind haste, directly in a line which 
 would carry her athwart-hawse of le Feu-Follet. 
 
 " Mes enfans" shouted Raoul " soyez calmes Fire !" 
 
 The whole of the five guns, loaded heavily with canister, 
 were discharged into the smoke of la Divina Providenza. 
 The shrieks that succeeded, sufficiently proclaimed with 
 what effect. A pause of solemn, wondering silence followed, 
 on the part of the English ; and then arose a manly shout, 
 as if, prepared for every contingency, they were resolved to 
 brave the worst. The boats were next seen coming round 
 the bows and stern of the felucca, dashing earnestly at their 
 real enemy, while their two carronades returned the fire, 
 this time loaded and aimed with deadly intent. But it was 
 too late for success. As Griffin, in the launch, came out of 
 ia Divina Providenza s smoke, he saw the lugger s sails all 
 opened, and filled with a dying effort of the southerly air. 
 So light, however, was le Feu-Follet, that a duck could 
 hardly have sailed away more readily from the fowler, than 
 this little craft shot ahead, clearing the smoke, and leaving 
 her pursuers an additional hundred yards behind her. As 
 vhe air seemed likely to stand long enough to place his party 
 .n extreme jeopardy, under the fire of the French, Winches 
 ter promptly ordered the boats to relinquish the pursuit, and 
 to rally around the felucca. This command was reluctantly 
 obeyed, when a moment was given to both sides for delibe 
 ration. 
 
 Le Feu-Follet had sustained no injury worth mentioning ; 
 but the English had not less than a dozen men slain or hurt. 
 Among the latter was Winchester, himself; and as he saw 
 that any success which followed would fall principally to the 
 share of his subordinate, his wound greatly indisposed him 
 lo pursue any further a struggle that was nearly hopeless, 
 as it was. Not so with Raoul Yvard, however. Per 
 ceiving that the frigate had taken the breeze, as well as him 
 self, and that she was stealing along in the direction of the 
 combatants, he determined to take an ample revenge for the 
 audacity of the attempt, and then proceed on his voyage. 
 
 The lugger accordingly tacked, and passed to windward 
 of the felucca, delivering a close and brisk fire as she ap 
 proached. At first this fire was returned, but the opposition 
 soon ceased ; and when le Feu-Follet ranged up past her 
 
140 LEFEU-FOLLET. 
 
 adversary, a few yards to windward, it was seen that th< 
 English had deserted her to a man, carrying off theii 
 wounded. . The boats were pulling through the smoke, 
 towards the bay, taking a direction opposite to that in which 
 the lugger s head was laid. It would have been easy for 
 the French to ware, and probably to have overtaken the. 
 fugitives, sinking or capturing them to a man ; but there was 
 a touch of high chivalry in the character of Raoul Yvard, 
 and he declared, that as the artifice had been ingeniously 
 planned, and daringly attempted, he would follow up his 
 success no farther. Perhaps the appearance of Ghita on 
 deck, imploring him to be merciful, had its influence; it is 
 certain that not another shot did he allow to be fired at the 
 enemy. Instead of pursuing her advantage, in this manner, 
 the lugger took in her after-sails, wore short round on her 
 heel, came to the wind to-leeward of the felucca, shivered all 
 forward, set her jigger again, and luffed up so near what 
 may be called the prize, that the two vessels came together 
 so gently as not to break an egg, as it is termed. A single 
 rope secured the felucca to the lugger, and Raoul, Ithuel, 
 and a few more, stepped on board the former. 
 
 The decks of la Divina Providenza were reeking with 
 blood ; and grape and canister were sticking in handsful, in 
 different parts of the vessel. Three dead bodies were found 
 in her hold, but nothing having life was met with on board. 
 There was a tar-bucket filled at hand, and this was placed 
 beneath the hatch, covered with all the combustible materials 
 that could be laid hold of, and set on fire. So active were 
 the flames, at that dry season, that Raoul regretted he had 
 not taken the precaution to awaken them after he had re 
 moved his own vessel ; but the southerly air continuing, he 
 was enabled to get to a safe distance before they actually 
 ascended the felucca s rigging, and seized upon her sails. 
 
 Ten minutes were thus lost, and they had sufficed to carry 
 the boats out of gun-shot, in-shore, and to bring the frigate 
 very nearly down within gun-shot from the south-east. But, 
 hauling aft all his sheets, Raoul soon took the lugger clear 
 of her flaming prize ; and then she stood towards the west 
 end of Elba, going, as usual, in so light an air, three feet to 
 the frigate s two. The hour, however, was not favourable 
 to the continuance of the breeze, and in ten more minutes it 
 
LE FEU -FOLLET . 141 
 
 would have puzzled the keenest senses to have detected the 
 slightest current of air over the surface of the sea. Such 
 flickerings of the lamp, before it burnt entirely out, were 
 common, and Raoul felt certain that there would be no more 
 wind that day, until they got the zephyr. Accordingly, he 
 directed all the sails to be hauled up, an awning to be spread 
 over the quarter-deck, and permission was given to the 
 people to attend to their own affairs. The frigate, too 
 seemed to be aware that it was the moment for the siesta of 
 vessels, as well as of men ; for she clewed up her royals and 
 top-gallant-sails, brailed her jib and spanker, hauled up her 
 courses, and lay on the water as motionless as if sticking on 
 a shoal. The two vessels were barely long-gun shot apart, 
 and, under ordinary circumstances, the larger might have 
 seen fit to attack the smaller in boats ; but the lesson just 
 given was a sufficient pledge to the French, against the re 
 newal of any such attempt, and they scarcely paid their 
 neighbour s prowess the compliment to watch him. Half- 
 an-hour later, when Winchester got back to the ship, limp 
 ing with a hurt in his leg, and with his people exhausted and 
 mortified, it was found that the undertaking had cost the 
 lives of seven good men, besides the temporary suspension 
 of the services of fifteen more. 
 
 Captain Cuffe was aware that his enterprise had failed, as 
 soon as he perceived the lugger under her canvass, playing 
 around the felucca and the boats, held in perfect command. 
 But, when he discovered the latter pulling for the shore, he 
 was certain that they must have suffered, and he was pre 
 pared to learn a serious loss, though not one that bore so 
 large a proportion to the whole numbers of the party sent 
 on the expedition. Winchester he considerately declined 
 questioning, while his wound was being dressed ; but Griffin 
 was summoned to his cabin, as soon as the boats were 
 hoisted in and stowed. 
 
 " Well, Mr. Griffin, a d d pretty scrape is this, into 
 
 which you have led me, among you, with your wish to go 
 boating about after luggers, and Raoul Yvards ! What will 
 the admiral say, when he comes to hear of twenty-two men s 
 being laid on the shelf, and a felucca to be paid for, as a 
 morning s amusement?" 
 
 * Really, Captain CufFe, we did our best ; but a rnan might 
 
142 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 as well have attempted to put out Vesuvius with snow-balls, 
 as to stand the canister of that infernal lugger ! I don t think 
 there was a square yard in the felucca that was not peppered. 
 The men never behaved better ; and down to the moment 
 when, we last cheered, I was as sure of le Feu-Follet, as .1 
 ever was of my own promotion." 
 
 " Ay, they needn t call her le Few-Folly any longer, the 
 Great-Folly being a better name. What the devil did you 
 cheer for at all, sir? did you ever know a Frenchman cheer, 
 in your life? That very cheering was the cause of your 
 being found out, before you had time to close. You should 
 have shouted vive la republique, as all their craft do, when 
 we engage them. A regular English hurrah would split a 
 Frenchman s throat." 
 
 " I believe we did make a mistake there, sir ; but I never 
 was in an action in which we did not cheer ; and when it 
 got to be warm or to seem warm I forgot myself, a little. 
 But, we should have had her, sir, for all that, had it not been 
 for one thing." 
 
 " And what is that, pray ? You know, Griffin, I must 
 have something plausible to tell the admiral ; it will never do 
 to have it published in the gazette that we were thrashed by 
 our own hallooing." 
 
 " I was about to say, Captain Cuffe, that had not the 
 lugger fired her first broadside just as she did, and had she 
 given us time to get out of the range of her shot, we 
 should have come in upon her before she could have loaded 
 again, and carried her, in spite of the breeze that so much 
 favoured her. Our having three men hurt in the launch, 
 made some difference, too, and set as many oars catching 
 crabs, at a most critical instant. Everything depends on 
 chance, in these matters, you know, sir, and that was our 
 bad luck." 
 
 " Umph ! It will never do to tell Nelson that. Every 
 thing was going well, rny lord, until three of the launch s 
 people went to work catching crabs with their oars, which 
 threw the boat a-stern. No, no, that will never do for a 
 gazette. Let me see, Griffin ; after all, the lugger made off 
 from you you would have had her, had she not made sail, 
 and stood to tjie southward and westward on a bowline?" 
 
 " V es, sir, she certainly did that. Had she not made sail, 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 143 
 
 as you say, nothing could have prevented our getting alonf*. 
 side." 
 
 " Well, then, she ran. Wind sprung up, enemy made 
 sail every attempt to get alongside unsuccessful. Brave 
 fellows, cheering and doing their utmost. Not so bad an 
 
 account, after all but, how about that d d felucca ? 
 
 You see, she is burned to the water s edge, and will go down 
 in a few minutes." 
 
 " Very true, Captain Cuffe, but not a Frenchman entered 
 her, while we were there " 
 
 " Yes, I now see how it was threw all hands into the 
 boats, in chase, the felucca being too unwieldy, and every 
 effort to get alongside unsuccessful. He s a devil of a fel 
 low, that Nelson & Bronte ; and I had rather hear the thun 
 der of ten thousand tempests, than get one of his tempestuous 
 letters. Well, I think I understand the affair, now, and 
 shall speak of you all as you deserve. T was a gallant 
 thing, though it failed. You deserved success, whatever 
 may have caused you to lose it." 
 
 In this Captain Cuffe was nearer right than in anything 
 else he uttered on the occasion. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 **O! tis a thought sublime, that man can force 
 A path upon the waste, can find a way 
 Where all is trackless, and compel the winds, 
 Those freest agents of Almighty power, 
 To lend their untamed wings, and bear him on 
 To distant climes." 
 
 WARE. 
 
 THE situation of Ghita Caraccioli, on board the lugger, 
 was of the most unpleasant nature, during the ficice struggle 
 we have related. Fortunately, for her, this struggle was 
 very short, Raoul having kept her in profound ignorance of 
 the approach of any danger, until the instant le Feu-Follet 
 commenced her fire. It is true, she had heard the guns 
 
144 LE FEU-POLLET. 
 
 between the felucca and the boats, but this she had been told 
 was an affair in which the privateer had no participation ; 
 and the reports sounding distant, to one in the cabin, she 
 had been easily deceived. While the actual conflict was 
 going on, she was on her knees, at the side of her uncle : 
 and the moment it ceased, she appeared on deck, and inter 
 posed to save the fugitives, in the manner related. 
 
 Now, however, the scene was entirely changed. The 
 lugger had escaped all damage, worthy of notice ; her decks 
 had not been stained with blood ; and her success had been 
 as complete as could be desired. In addition to these ad 
 vantages, the result removed all apprehension from the only 
 source of danger that Raoul thought could exist, as between 
 his own vessel and the frigate; or a boat-attack in a calm ; 
 for men who had just been so roughly handled in an enter 
 prise so well concealed, would not be likely to renew the 
 attempt while they still smarted under the influence of the 
 late repulse. Affairs of this sort exact all the discipline and 
 resolution that a well-regulated service can afford ; and are 
 not to be thought of under the temporary demoralization of 
 defeat. All in the lugger, therefore, considered this collision 
 with the Proserpine at an end, for the moment at least. 
 
 Ghita had dined, for the day had now turned some time, 
 and the girl had come on deck to escape the confinement of 
 a very small cabin, leaving her uncle to enjoy his customary 
 siesta. She was seated under the awning of the quarter 
 deck, using her needle, as was her wont, at that hour, on 
 the heights of Argentaro. Raoul had placed himself on a 
 gun-slide, near her, and Ithuel was busy within a few feet 
 of them, dissecting a spy-glass, with a view to clean its 
 lenses. 
 
 " I suppose, the most excellent Andrea Barrofaldi will 
 sing a Te Deum for his escape from our fangs," suddenly 
 exclaimed Raoul, laughing. " Pardie ! he is a great histo 
 rian, and every way fit to write an account of this great 
 victory, which Monsieur PAnglais, la has, is about to send 
 to his government !" 
 
 " And you, Raoul, have you no occasion for a Te Deum, 
 after your escape ?" demanded Ghita, gently, and yet with 
 emphasis. "Is there no God for you to thank, as well as 
 for the vice-governatore V 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 145 
 
 w Pcstef our French deity is little thought of, just now, 
 Ghita. Republics, as you know, have no great faith in 
 religion is it not so, mon brave American I Tell us, Etoo- 
 cll ; have you any religion in America?" 
 
 As Ithuel had often heard Raoul s opinions on this subject, 
 and knew the prevailing state of France, in this particular, 
 he neither felt nor expressed any surprise at the question. 
 Still, the idea ran counter to all his own notions and preju 
 dices, lie having been early taught to respect religion, even 
 when he was most serving the devil. In a word, Ithuel 
 was one of those descendants of Puritanism, who, " God- 
 ward," as it is termed, was quite unexceptionable, so far 
 as his theory extended ,* but who, " manward" was, " as the 
 Scribes and Pharisees." Nevertheless, as he expressed it 
 himself, " he always stood up for religion ;" a fact that his 
 English companions had commented on in jokes; maintaining 
 that he even " stood up v when the rest of the ship s com 
 pany were on their knees. 
 
 " I m a little afraid, Monsieur Rule," he answered, " that 
 in France you have entered the rope of republicanism at the 
 wrong eend. In Ameriky, we even put religion before dol 
 lars ; and if that isn t convincing, I 11 give it up. Now, I 
 do wish you could see a Sunday once in the Granite State, 
 Signorina Ghita, that you might get some notion what our 
 western religion ra ally is." 
 
 "All real religion all real devotion to God, is, or ought 
 to be, the same, Signor Ithuel lo, whether in the east or in 
 th-i west. A Christian, is a Christian; let him live and die 
 wnere he may." 
 
 " That s not exactly platform, I fancy. Why, Lord bless 
 ye, young lady yovr religion, now, is no more like mine, 
 than my religion is like that of the Archbishop of Canter 
 bury s, or Monsieur Rule s, here !" 
 
 " La mienne !" exclaimed Raoul "I pretend to none, 
 mon brave; there can be no likeness to nothing." 
 
 Ghita s glance was kind, rather than reproachful ; but it 
 ivas profoundly sorrowful. 
 
 * In what can our religion differ," she asked, " if we are 
 both Christians? Americans, or Italians, it is all the same." 
 
 " That comes of knowing nothing about Ameriky," said 
 Ithuel, filled with the conceit of his own opinion of himself, 
 13 
 
146 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 md of the part of the world from which he came. " In the 
 first place, you have a Pope, and cardinals, and bishops, and 
 all such things, in your religion ; while we have none." 
 
 " Certainly, there is the Holy Father, and there are cardi 
 nals ; but they are not my religion," answered Ghita, look 
 ing surprised. " Bishops, it is true, are appointed of God, 
 and form part of his church ; and the bishop of Rome is the 
 head of the church on earth but nothing more." 
 
 " Nothing more ! Don t you worship images, and take off 
 and put on garments at your prayers, and kneel down in a 
 make-believe, profane way ; and don t you turn everything 
 into vain ceremonies 7" 
 
 Had Ithuel been engaged, body and soul, in maintaining 
 one of the propositions of the Oxford Tracts controversy, he 
 could not have uttered these words with greater zeal, or with 
 a more self-righteous emotion. His mind was stored with 
 the most vulgar accusations of an exceedingly vulgar set of 
 sectarian distinctions ; and he fancied it a high proof of 
 Protestant perfection, to hold all the discarded usages in 
 abhorrence. On the other hand, Ghita listened with sur 
 prise ; for, to her, the estimation in which the rites of the 
 Romish church were held by the great bulk of Protestants, 
 was a profound secret. The idea of worshipping an image, 
 never crossed her innocent mind ; and although she often 
 knelt before her own little ivory crucifix, she had never sup 
 posed any could be so ignorant as to confound the mere 
 material representation of the sacrifice it was meant to pour- 
 tray, with the divine expiation itself. 
 
 " It is decent to use proper vestments, at the altar," she 
 replied; "and its servants ought not to be clad like othei 
 men. We know it is the heart, the soul, that must be 
 touched, to find favour with God ; but this does not make 
 the outward semblance of respect that we show even to each 
 o>her, the less necessary. As to worshipping images that 
 would be idolatry ; and as bad as the poor heathens, them 
 selves." 
 
 Ithuel looked mystified : for he never doubted, in the least, 
 that the worshipping of images was a material part of Catho 
 lic devotion ; and, as for the pope and the cardinals, he 
 deemed them all as indispensable to the creed of this church; 
 as he fancied it important, in his own. that the priests should 
 
LE PEU-FOLLET. 147 
 
 not wear gowns ; and that the edifices in which they wor 
 shipped, should have square-topped windows. Absurd as 
 all this may seem, to-day, and wicked as it will probably 
 appear a century hence, it formed, and forms, no small part 
 of sectarian belief; and entered into the animosities and 
 jealousies of those who seem to think it necessary to quarrel 
 for the love of God. Could we but look back at our own 
 changes of opinion, it would render us less confident of the 
 justice of our sentiments; and, most of all, one would think 
 that the American, who has lived long enough to witness 
 the summersets that have been thrown in the practices and 
 creeds of most of the more modern sects of his own country, 
 within the last quarter of a century, would come to have 
 something like a suitable respect for the more stable and 
 venerable divisions of the Christian world. 
 
 " Proper vestments !" repeated Ithuel, with contempt ; 
 " what vestments are wanting, in the eyes of the Supreme 
 Being 1 No ; if I must have religion and I know it s 
 necessary and whullsum , let it be a pure, naked religion, 
 that will stand to reason. Is not that your way of thinking, 
 Monsieur Rule ?" 
 
 "Mafoi, oui. Reason before all things, Ghita; and, 
 most of all, reason in religion." 
 
 " Ah ! Raoul, this it is which misleads and betrays you," 
 returned the girl, earnestly. " Faith, and a meek dependence, 
 is what makes a proper state of feeling ; and yet you demand 
 a reason of Him who created the universe, and breathed into 
 you the breath of life !" 
 
 " Are we not reasoning creatures, Ghita," returned Raoul, 
 gently, and yet with a sincerity and truth, for the circum 
 stances, that rendered even his scepticism piquant and re 
 spectable ; " and is it unreasonable to expect us to act up to 
 our natures 1 Can I worship a God I do not understand ?" 
 
 " Couldst thou worship one thou didst? He would cease 
 to be a deity, and would become one of ourselves, were his 
 nature and attributes brought down to the level of our com 
 prehensions. Did one of thy followers come on this quarter 
 deck, and insist on hearing all thine own motives for the 
 orders given in this little felucca, how readily wouldst thou 
 drive him back, as mutinous and insolent; and yet thou 
 
148 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 wouldst question the God of the universe, and pr} into his 
 mysteries !" 
 
 Raoul was mute, while Ithuel stared. It was so seldom 
 that Ghita lost her exceeding gentleness of manner, that the 
 flush of her cheek, the severe earnestness of her eyes, the 
 mpassioned modulations of her voice, and the emphasis with 
 which she spoke on this occasion, produced a sort of awe, 
 that prevented the discourse from proceeding further. The 
 girl, herself, was so much excited, that, after sitting for a 
 minute with her hands before her face, the tears were seen 
 forcing their way through her fingers. She then arose, and 
 darted into the cabin. Raoul was too observant of the rules 
 of propriety to think of following ; but he sat moody and 
 lost in thought, until Ithuel drew his attention to himself. 
 
 " Gals will be gals," said that refined and philosophical 
 observer of the human family, " and nothing touches their 
 natur s sooner than a little religious excitement. 1 dare 
 say, if it wasn t for images, and cardinals, and bishops, and 
 such creatur s, the Italians (Ithuel always pronounced this 
 word ^7/etalians) would make a very good sort of Chris 
 tians." 
 
 But Raoul was in no humour to converse ; and as the 
 hour had now arrived when the zephyr was to be expected, 
 he rose, ordered the awning taken in, and prepared to make 
 himself master of the slate of things around him. There 
 lay the frigate, taking her siesta, like all near ; her three 
 topsails standing, but every other sail that was loose, hang 
 ing in festoons, waiting for the breeze. Notwithstanding 
 her careless appearance, so closely had she been tended, 
 for the last few hours, however, and so sedulously had even 
 the smallest breath of air been improved, that Raoul started 
 with surprise, when he found how much nearer she was 
 than when he had last looked at her. The whole trick was 
 apparent to him, at a glance ; and he was compelled to ac 
 knowledge his own remissness, when he perceived that he 
 lay within the reach of the shot of this powerful foe ; though 
 still so distant as to render her aim a little uncertain ; more 
 especially should a sea get up. The felucca had burnt to 
 the water s edge ; but, owing to the smoothness of the water, 
 her wreck still floated, and was slowly setting into the bay 
 there being a slight current in that direction, where she now 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 149 
 
 lay. The town was basking in the afternoon s sun, though 
 hid from view, and the whole island of Elba had the ap 
 pearance of being asleep. 
 
 " What a siesta !" said Raoul, to Ithuel, as both stood on 
 the heel of the bowsprit, looking curiously at the scene: 
 " sea, land, mountains, bourgeois and mariners all dozing. 
 Bien ; there is life, yonder at the west, and we must get 
 farther from votre Proserpine. Call the hands, Monsieur 
 Lieutenant. Let us get out our sweeps, and put the head 
 of le Feu-Follet the other way. Peste ! the lugger is so sharp, 
 and has such a trick of going exactly where she looks, that 
 I am afraid she has been crawling up towards her enemy, 
 as the child creeps into the fire that burns its fingers." 
 
 All hands were soon in motion on board le Feu-Follet, 
 the sweeps were on the point of being handled, when the 
 jigger fluttered, and the first puff of the expected western 
 breeze swept along the surface of the waters. To the sea 
 men, it was like inhaling oxygen gas. Every appearance 
 of drowsiness deserted the people of both vessels, and every 
 one was instantly busy in making sail. Raoul had a proof 
 into what dangerous proximity to the frigate he had got, by 
 the sound of the calls on board her ; and the stillness of 
 the sea was yet so great, that the creaking of her fore-yard 
 was actually audible to him, as the English rounded in their 
 braces briskly, while laying their fore-top-sail aback. 
 
 At that moment a second respiration of the atmosphere 
 gave birth to the breeze. Raoul whistled for the wind, and 
 the lugger moved ahead, gliding towards the frigate. But, 
 in half a minute, she had gathered sufficient way, her helm 
 was put down, and she came round as easily and as grace 
 fully as the bird turns on his wing. Not so with the heavier 
 frigate. She had hauled in her starboard head-braces, and 
 had to get the foretopsail aback, and to pay well off* with 
 her head to leeward, in order to swing her yards and fill 
 her sails, while le Feu-Follet was slipping through the water, 
 going seemingly into the wind s eye. By this single evolu 
 tion, the lugger gained more than a cable s-le i .jgth on her 
 enemy, and five minutes more would have put her beyond 
 all immediate danger. But, Captain CufFe knew this, as 
 well as his competitor, and had made his preparations ac 
 cordingly. Keeping his head-yards aback, he knocked his 
 13* 
 
150 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 ship round off, until her broadside bore on the lugger, when 
 he let fly every gun of his starboard batteries, the utmos* 
 care having been taken to make the shot tell. Twenty-two 
 heavy round-shot coming in at once upon a little craft, like 
 le Feu-Follet, was a fearful visitation; and, the boldest held 
 their breath for a time, as the iron whirlwind whistled past 
 them. Fortunately, the lugger was not hulled ; but a grave 
 amount of mischief was done aloft. The jigger-mast was 
 cut in two, and flew upward like a pipe-stem. A serious 
 wound was given to the mainmast below the hounds, and the 
 yard itself was shivered in the slings. No less than six 
 shot plunged through both luggs, leaving holes in the canvass 
 that made it resemble a beggar s shirt, and the jib-stay was 
 cut in two half- way between the mast-head and the end of 
 the bowsprit. No one was hurt ; and, yet, for a moment, 
 every one looked as if destruction had suddenly lighted on 
 the lugger. Then it was that Raoul came out, in his true 
 colours. He knew he could not spare a stitch of canvass 
 just at that moment, but, that on the next ten minutes de 
 pended every thing. Nothing was taken in, therefore, to 
 secure spars and sails, but all was left to stand, trusting to 
 the lightness of the breeze, which usually commenced very 
 moderately. Hands were immediately set to work, to get 
 up a new stay ; a new main-yard and sail were got along, 
 and every thing was prepared for hoisting both, as soon as 
 it could be ascertained that the mast would bear them. Nearly 
 similar preparations were made forward, as the shortest way 
 of getting rid of the torn fore-sail ; for these, it was the in 
 tention to unbend and bend, the yard being sound. 
 
 Luckily, Captain Cuffe determined to lose no more time 
 with his guns, but swinging his head-yards, the frigate came 
 sweeping up to the wind, and in three minutes every thing 
 was trimmed for the utmost. All this time, le Feu-Follet 
 had not stood still. Her canvass fluttered, but it held on, 
 and even the spars kept their places, though so much in 
 jured. In a word, the wind was not yet strong enough to 
 tear the one, or to carry away the other. It was an advan 
 tage, too, that these casualties, particularly the loss of her 
 jigger, rendered le Feu-Follet less weatherly than she would 
 otherwise have been, since by keeping the frigate directly 
 in her wake, she was less exposed to the chase-guns, than 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 151 
 
 she would have been a little on either bow. Of this truth, 
 Raoul was soon persuaded, the Proserpine beginning to work 
 both her bow-guns, as soon as she came to the wind, though 
 neither exactly bore ; the shot of one ranging a little to 
 windward, and the other about as much on the other side. 
 By these shot, too, the young Frenchman soon had the sa 
 tisfaction of seeing that, notwithstanding her injuries, the 
 lugger was drawing ahead ; a fact of which the English 
 became so sensible themselves, that they soon ceased firing. 
 
 So far, things went better than Raoul had reason, at first, 
 to hope, though he well knew that the crisis was yet to 
 come. The westerly wind often blew fresh at that period 
 of the day, and should it now increase he would require all 
 his canvass to get clear of a ship with the known qualities 
 of the vessel in chase. How much longer his mast or his 
 main-yard would stand he did not know, but as he was fast 
 gaining, he determined to make hay while the sun shone, 
 and get far enough ahead, if possible, before the breeze 
 grew fresh, to enable him to shift his sails and fish his spars, 
 without being again brought within the reach of visitors as 
 rude as those who had so lately come hurtling into his thin 
 hamper. The proper precautions were not neglected, in the 
 meantime. Men were sent aloft to do what they could, 
 under the circumstances, with the two spars ; and the strain 
 was a little relieved by keeping the lugger as much away, 
 as might be done without enabling the frigate to set her 
 studding sails. 
 
 There is always something so exciting in a chase, that 
 seamen never fail to wish for more wind ; forgetful that tho 
 power which increases their own speed, may also increase 
 the speed of the other party, and that too in an undue pro 
 portion. It would have been more favourable to le Feu- 
 Follet to have had less wind than even now blew, since her 
 relative rate of sailing was greater in light than in strong 
 breezes. Raoul knew, from IthuePs statements, that the 
 Proserpine was an exceedingly fast ship, more especially 
 when it blew fresh ; and yet it did not appear to him that 
 his lugger got along with sufficient speed, though his enemy 
 would be certain to follow at a rate of sailing in a just pro 
 portion to his own, did there come more wind. 
 
 The wish of the young privateersman, however, was soon 
 
152 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 gratified. The wind freshened materially, and by the time 
 the two vessels opened the Canal of Corsica, as the passage 
 between that island and Elba is called, the frigate wag 
 obliged to take in her royals, and two or three of those light 
 and lofty staysails, which it was then the custom for ships 
 to carry. At first, Raoul had thought he might fetch into 
 Bastia, which lies due-west of the southern end of Elba; 
 but though the wind drew a little down through the canal, it 
 soon blew too fresh to allow any formation of the land ma 
 terially to alter its current. The zephyr, as the afternoon s 
 summer breeze of southern Italy, in particular, was termed 
 by the ancients, is seldom a due-west wind, there gene 
 rally being a little northing in it, as seamen say ; and, as one 
 gets farther up the coast, this same wind ordinarily comes 
 round the head of Corsica, blowing from nearly west-north 
 west. This would have enabled the lugger to lay her course 
 for a deep bay on which lies the town of Biguglia, could she 
 have been jammed up on a wind, as might usually have been 
 done ; but, a few minutes of experiment convinced Raoul 
 that he must be more tender on his wounded spars, and keep 
 off for the mouth of the Golo. This was a river of some 
 size into which it was possible for a vessel of a light draught 
 to enter ; and, as there stood a small battery near the anchor 
 age, he determined to seek shelter in that haven, in order to 
 repair his damages. His calculations were made accord 
 ingly, and, taking the snow-clad peaks in the neighbourhood 
 of Corte as his land-marks, he ordered the lugger to be 
 steered in the proper direction. 
 
 On board the Proserpine, there was scarcely less interest felt 
 in the result, than on board le Feu-Follet. If the people of 
 the frigate had nothing to apprehend, they had something to 
 revenge; in addition to the anticipated credit of having cap 
 tured the boldest privateer that sailed out of France. For 
 a short time, as the ship came up with the west end of Elba, 
 it was a serious question whether she would be able to wea 
 ther it, the lugger having gone past, within a cable s-length 
 of the cliffs, on the very verge of the breakers, and much 
 closer in than the frigate would dare to follow. But the last 
 had taken the breeze farther off the land than the first, and 
 might possibly fetch past the promontory, on the tack she 
 then steering. To have gone about, would have been 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 153 
 
 to abandon the chase, as it would have carried the ship off, 
 due north, while leFeu-Follet was gliding down to the south 
 ward and westward, at the rate of seven knots. The dis 
 tance across the canal is only about thirty miles, and there 
 would not have been time to recover the lost ground. 
 
 This uncertainty made a most feverish moment on board 
 the Proserpine, as she came up fast towards the headland. 
 Ail depended on getting by without tacking. The appear 
 ances were favourable lor deep water, close in ; but there is 
 always the danger of rocks to be dreaded, near mountainous 
 coasts. The promontory, too, was comparatively low ; and 
 this was rather an indication that it ought not to be ap 
 proached too closely. Winchester was in his berth, just 
 beginning to feel the smart of his wound; but Griffin was at 
 the captain s elbow, both he and the third lieutenant, entering 
 keenly into all their commander s wishes and anxieties. 
 
 " There she goes, into the very breakers !" exclaimed 
 Cuffe, as they watched le Feu-Follet, in her attempt to pass 
 the promontory ; " Monsieur Yvard must be determined to 
 cast away his craft, rather than be taken. It will be touch 
 and go with him." 
 
 " I think not, Captain Cuffe," answered Griffin ; " the 
 coast is bold, hereabouts, and even the Proserpine would find 
 sufficient water, there, where the lugger now is. I hope we 
 shall not be obliged to tack, sir." 
 
 " Ay, this is very well for an irresponsible but, when it 
 got to a court, and punishment, I fear that all the last would 
 fall on my shoulders, should his Majesty s ship happen to lay 
 her bones along-shore, here. No, no, Griffin ; we must go 
 a clear cable s-length to windward of that, or I go about, 
 though Raoul Yvard were never taken." 
 
 " There, he fetches-up, by George!" cried Yelverton, the 
 youngest lieutenant ; and, for a moment, it was, in truth, 
 believed in the frigate, that le Feu-Follet, as a breaker actu 
 ally curled directly under her lee, was aground. But this 
 notion lasted a moment only, the little lugger continuing her 
 course as swiftly as before ; and, a minute or two later, keep 
 ing a little away, to ease her spars, having been jammed up 
 as close as possible, previously, in order to weather the ex 
 treme end of what was thought to be the dangerous point. 
 The frigate was fully two miles a-stern ; and, instead of 
 
154 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 losing anything of her vantage-ground, she was kept so near 
 the wind, as to be occasionally touching. This was the more 
 sale, inasmuch as the sea was perfectly smooth, and the 
 vessel made no lee-way. Still the frigate looked, as it ia 
 termed, barely up to the point it was deemed indispensable 
 to weather ; and as ships rarely " do" better than they " look," 
 it became a question of serious doubt, on board the Proser* 
 pine, as she carne up with the headland, whether she could 
 clear it. 
 
 "1 am afraid, Captain Cuffe, we shall never clear it with 
 a good-enough berth, sir," observed the fidgeting Griffin ; " it 
 seems, to me, the ship sets unaccountably to leeward, to- 
 day I" 
 
 " She never behaved hetter, Griffin. I am really in hopes 
 there is a slight current off-shore, here ; if anything, we 
 actually open the highlands of Corsica, by this promontory. 
 You see that the wreck of la Divina Providenza is sweeping 
 round the bay, arid is coming out to windward, again." 
 
 " That may serve us, indeed ! All ready in the chains, 
 sir ! shall we make a cast of the lead 1" 
 
 Cuffe assented, and the lead was hove. At this moment 
 the ship was going eight knots, and the man reported no 
 bottom, with fifteen fathoms of line out. This was well ; 
 and two or three subsequent casts confirmed it. Orders 
 were now given to drag every bowline, swig-off* on every 
 brace, and flatten-in all the sheets. Even the halyards 
 were touched, in order that the sails might stand like boards. 
 The trying moment was- near ; five minutes must decide 
 the matter. 
 
 " Let her shake a little Mr. Yelverton, and eat into the 
 wind," said Cuffe, addressing the officer of the watch ; " we 
 must do all we can here ; for, when abreast of the breakers, 
 everything must be a rap-full, to keep the ship under quick 
 command. There meet her with the helm, and give her a 
 good full." 
 
 This experiment was repeated twice, and each time the 
 frigate gained her length to windward, though she neces 
 sarily lost more than three times that distance in her velocity. 
 At length, the trial came, and a profound silence, one in 
 which nervousness and anxiety were blended with hope, 
 reigned in the vessel. The eyes of all turned from the sails 
 
LE PEU-FOLLET. 155 
 
 to the breakers ; from the breakers to the sails ; and from 
 both to the wake of the ship. 
 
 At such moments the voice of the lead s-man prevails over 
 all other sounds. His warning cry is listened to with breath 
 less attention, when the songs of a siren would be unheard. 
 Cast after cast was made, as the ship drove on, and the 
 answer to Cuffe s questions, was uniformly, " no bottom, sir, 
 with fifteen fathoms out ;" but, just at this instant, arose the 
 regular song from the weather main-chains, of " by the mark 
 seven !" This came so suddenly on the Captain s ear, that 
 he sprang upon the taffrail, where he could command a full 
 view of all he wanted to see ; and then he called out, in a 
 stentorian voice : 
 
 " Heave again, sir ! be brisk, my lad ! be brisk !" 
 
 " Be-e-e-ther-r-r-dee-e-e-eep six !" followed almost ait 
 soon as the Captain s voice had ceased. 
 
 " Ready-about !" shouted Cuffe. " See ail clear, gentle- 
 men. Move lively, men ; move lively." 
 
 And-a-a-eh half-ef-four- " 
 
 " Stand by ! What the devil are you at, sir, on that fore 
 castle 1 Are you ready, forward ?" 
 
 " All ready, sir " 
 
 " Down with your helm hard down, at once " 
 
 " Be-e-e-ther-r-r-dee-e-e-p nine " 
 
 "Meet her! up with your helm. Haul down your 
 sheets, forward brail the spanker let go all the bowlines, 
 aft. So well, there, well. She flew round like a top ; but, 
 by Jove, we Ve caught her, gentlemen. Drag your bow 
 lines, again. What s the news from the chains ?" 
 
 " No bottom, sir, with fifteen fathoms out and as good 
 a cast, too, sir, as we ve had to-day." 
 
 " So you re rap full don t fall off very well dyce" 
 (Anglice, thus) " keep her as you are. Well, by the Lord, 
 Griffin, that was a shave ; half- four was getting to be squally, 
 in a quarter of the world where a rock makes nothing of 
 pouting its lips fifteen or twenty feet at a time at a mariner. 
 We are past it all, however, and here is the land, trending 
 away to the southward, like a man in a consumption, fairly 
 under our lee. A dozen Raoul Yvards wouldn t lead me 
 into such a d d scrape, again !" 
 
 " The danger that is over, is no longer a danger at all. 
 
156 LEFEU-FOLLET 
 
 sir," answered Griffin, laughing. " Don t you think, Cap 
 tain Cuffe, we might ease her about half a point 1 that would 
 be just her play ; and the lugger keeps off a little, I rather 
 suspect, to ease her mainmast. I m certain I saw chips 
 fly from it, when we dosed her with them two-and-twenty 
 pills." 
 
 " Perhaps you re right, Griffin. Ease her, with the helm, 
 a little, Mr. Yelverton. If Master Yvard stands on his pre 
 sent course an hour longer, Biguglia will be too far to-wind 
 ward for him; and, as for Bastia, that has been out of the 
 question, from the first. There is a river, called Golo, into 
 which he might run ; and that, I rather think, is his aim. 
 Four hours, however, will let us into the secret." 
 
 And four intensely interesting hours were those which 
 succeeded. The wind was a cap-full ; a good, fresh, west 
 erly breeze, which seemed to have started out of the oven- 
 like heat of a week of intensely hot weather that had pre 
 ceded it, and to have collected the force of two or three zephyrs 
 into one. It was not a gale, at all, nor did it induce either 
 party to think of reefing ; for, no trifle would have done 
 that, under the circumstances ; but it caused the Proserpine 
 to furl her fore and mizzen-top-gallant-sails, and put Raoul 
 in better humour with the loss of his jigger. When fairly 
 round the headland, and, at a moment when he fancied the 
 frigate would be compelled to tack, the latter had seized an 
 opportunity to get in his foresail, to unbend it, and to bend 
 and set a new one ; an operation that took just four minutes, 
 by the watch. He would have tried the same experiment 
 with the other lugg, but the rnast was scarce worth the risk, 
 and he thought the holes might act as reefs, and thus dimin 
 ish the strain. In these four hours, owing to the disadvan 
 tage under which le Feu-Follet laboured, there was not a 
 difference of half a knot in the distance run by the two ves 
 sels, though each passed over more than thirty miles of 
 water. During this time they had been drawing rapidly 
 nearer to the coast of Corsica, the mountains of which, 
 ragged and crowned with nearly eternal snows, had been 
 glittering in the afternoon s sun, before them, though they 
 lay many a long league inland. But the formation of the 
 coast, itself, had now become plain, and Raoul, an hour 
 before the sun disappeared, had noted his landmarks, by 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 157 
 
 which to make for the river he intended to enter. The 
 eastern coast of Corsica is as deficient in bays and harbours, 
 as its western is affluent with them ; and this Golo, for which 
 the lugger was shaping her course, would never have been 
 thought of, as a place of shelter, under ordinary circum 
 stances. But, Raoul had once anchored in its mouth, and 
 he deemed it the very spot in which to elude his enemy. It 
 had shoals off its embouchure; and these, he rightly enough 
 fancied, would induce Captain Cuffe to be wary. 
 
 As the evening approached, the wind began to decrease in 
 force, and then the people of the lugger lost all their ap 
 prehensions. The spars had all stood, and Raoul no longer 
 hesitated about trusting his wounded mainmast with a new 
 yard and sail. Both were got up, and the repairs were im 
 mediately commenced. The superiority of the lugger, in 
 sailing, was now so great, as to put it out of all question 
 that she was not to be overtaken in the chase; and Raoul, a\ 
 one time, actually thought of turning up along the land, and 
 going into Bastia, where he might even provide himself with 
 a new mainmast, at need. But this idea, on reflection, he 
 abandoned, as too hazardous ; and he continued on, in the 
 direction of the mouth of the Golo. 
 
 Throughout the day the Proserpine had shown no colours, 
 except for the short period when her boats were engaged, 
 and v/hile she herself was firing at the lugger. The same 
 was the fact with le Feu-Follet, though Raoul had run up 
 the tri-colour, as he opened on the felucca, and he kept it 
 flying as long as there was any appearance of hostilities. 
 As the two vessels drew in near to the land, several coasters 
 were seen beating up against the westerly wind, or running 
 down before it, all of which, however, seemed so much to dis 
 trust the appearance of the lugger, as to avoid her as far as 
 was possible. This was a matter of indifference to our 
 hero, who knew that they were all probably countrymen ; 
 or, at least, smugglers, who would scarcely reward him for 
 the trouble, had he the time to bring them to, and capture 
 them. Corsica was then, again, in the hands of the French, 
 the temporary and imperfect possession of the English hav 
 ing terminated three or four years earlier ; and Raoul felt 
 certain of a welcome anywhere in the island, and of pro 
 tection wherever it could be offered. Such was the state of 
 14 
 
158 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 things, when, just as the lugger was preparing to ente* 
 among the shoals, the Proserpine unexpectedly tacked, and 
 seemed to bestow all her attention on the coasters of which 
 three or four were so near that two fell into her hands almost 
 without an effort to escape. 
 
 It appeared to Raoul, and those with him in his little craft, 
 that the English seized these insignificant vessels solely with 
 a wish for vengeance, since it was not usual for ships of the 
 force of the Proserpine to turn aside to molest the poor fish 
 ermen and coasters. A few execrations followed, quite as 
 a matter of course, but the intricacy of the channel and the 
 necessity of having all his eyes about him, soon drove every 
 other thought from the mind of the dashing privateersman, 
 but such as were connected with the care and safety of -his 
 own vessel. 
 
 Just as the sun set le Feu-Follet anchored. She had 
 chosen a berth sufficiently within the shallow water to be 
 safe from the guns of the frigate, though scarcely within the 
 river. The latter the depth of the stream hardly permitted, 
 though there was all the shelter that the season and weather 
 required. The Proserpine manifested no intention to give 
 up her pursuit; for she, too, came off the outlet, and brought 
 up with one of her bowers, about two miles to-seaward of the 
 lugger. She seemed to have changed her mind as to the 
 coasters, having let both proceed, after a short detention ; 
 though, it falling calm, neither was enabled to get any ma 
 terial distance from her, until the land breeze should rise. 
 In these positions, the belligerents prepared to pass the night, 
 each party taking the customary precautions as to his ground 
 tackle, and each clearing up the decks and going through 
 the common routine of duty, as regularly as if he lay in a 
 friendly port. 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 159 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 "The human mind, that lofty thing, 
 
 The palace and the throne, 
 Where reason sits, a scepter d king, 
 
 And breathes his judgment tone ; 
 Oh ! who with silent step shall trace 
 The borders of that haunted place, 
 
 Nor in his weakness own, 
 That mystery and marvel bind 
 That lotty thing the human mind. 
 
 ANONYMOUS. 
 
 IT is unnecessary to dwell on the glories of the Mediter 
 ranean. They are familiar to every traveller, and books 
 have, again and again, laid them before the imaginations of 
 readers of all countries and ages. Still, there are lights and 
 shades peculiar to every picture, and this of ours has some 
 of its own that merit a passing notice. A sunset, in mid 
 summer, can add to the graces of almost any scene. Such 
 was the hour when Raoul anchored ; and Ghita, who had 
 come on deck, now that the chase was over, and the danger 
 was thought to be past, fancied she had never seen her own 
 Italy, or the blue Mediterranean, more lovely. 
 
 The shadows of the mountains were cast far upon tho 
 sea, long ere the sun had actually gone down, throwing tha 
 witchery of eventide over the whole of the eastern coast, 
 some time before it came to grace its western. Corsica 
 and Sardinia resemble vast fragments of the Alps, which 
 have fallen into the sea by some accident of nature, where 
 they stand in sight of their native beds, resembling, as it 
 might be, out-posts to those great walls of Europe. Their 
 mountains have the same formations, the same white peaks, 
 for no small portion of the year at least, and their sides the 
 same mysterious and riven aspect. In addition, however, to 
 their other charms, they have one that is wanting in most 
 of Switzerland, though traces of it are to be found in Savoy 
 and on the southern side of the Alps; they have that strange 
 admixture of the soft and the severe, of the sublime and 
 beautiful, that so peculiarly characterize the witchery of 
 
160 LEFEU-FOLLET. 
 
 Italian nature. Such was now the aspect of all visible from 
 the deck of le Feu-Follet. The sea, with its dark-blue tint, 
 was losing every trace of the western wind, and was be 
 coming glassy and tranquil ; the mountains on the other side 
 were solemn and grand, just showing their ragged outlines 
 along a sky glowing with " the pomp that shuts the day ;" 
 while the nearer valleys and narrow plains were mysterious, 
 yet soft, under the deep shadows they cast. Pianosa lay 
 nearly opposite, distant some twenty miles, rising out of the 
 water like a beacon ; Elba was visible to the north-east, a 
 gloomy confused pile of mountain at that hour; and Ghita, 
 once or twice thought she could trace on the coast of the main, 
 the dim outline of her own hill, Monte Argentaro ; though 
 the distance, some sixty or seventy miles, rendered this 
 improbable. Outside, too, lay the frigate, riding on the glassy 
 surface of the sea, her sails furled, her yards squared, every 
 thing about her cared for and in its place, until she formed 
 a faultless picture of nautical symmetry and naval propriety, 
 There are all sorts of men in a marine, as well as in civil 
 life ; these taking things as they come, content to perform 
 their duties in the most quiet manner, while others again 
 have some such liking for their vessels as the dandy has for 
 his own person, and are never happy unless embellishing 
 them. The truth, in this, as in most other matters, lies in a 
 medium; the officer who thinks too much of the appearance 
 of his vessel, seldom having mind enough to bestow due at 
 tention on the great objects for which she was constructed, 
 and is sailed; while, on the other hand, he who is altogether 
 indifferent to these appearances is usually thinking of things 
 foreign to his duty and his profession ; if, indeed, he thinks 
 at all. Cuffe was near the just medium, inclining a little too 
 much, perhaps, to the naval dandy. The Proserpine, thanks 
 to the builders of Toulon, was thought to be the handsomest 
 model then afloat in the Mediterranean, and like an estab 
 lished beauty, all who belonged to her were fond of deco 
 rating her, and of showing her fine proportions to advantage. 
 As she now lay, at single anchor, just out of gun-shot from 
 his own berth, Raoul could not avoid gazing at her with 
 envy, and a bitter feeling passed through his rnind, when 
 he recalled the chances of fortune and of birth, which de 
 prived him of the hope of ever, rising 10 the command of 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 101 
 
 such a frigate, but which doomed him, seemingly, to the fate 
 of a privateersman for life. 
 
 Nature had intended Raoul Yvard for a much higher 
 destiny than that which apparently awaited his career. He 
 had come into active life with none of the advantages that 
 accompany the accidents of birth, and, at a moment, in the 
 history of his great nation when its morals, and its religious 
 sentiments, had become unsettled by the violent reaction 
 which was throwing off the abuses of centuries. They who 
 imagine, however, that France, as a whole, was guilty of 
 the gross excesses that disfigured her struggles for liberty, 
 know little of the great mass of moral feeling that endured 
 through all the abominations of the times ,* and mistake the 
 crimes of a few desperate leaders, and the exaggerations of 
 misguided impulses, for a radical and universal depravity. 
 The France of the Reign of Terror, even, has little more to 
 answer for than the compliance which makes bodies of men 
 the instruments of the enthusiastic, the designing, and the 
 active our own country often tolerating error, that differs 
 only in the degree, under the same blind submission to com 
 binations and impulses ; this very degree, too, depending 
 more on the accidents of history and natural causes, than 
 any agencies which are to be imputed to the one party, as a 
 Quilt, or, to the other, as a merit. It was with Raoul, as it 
 nad been with his country each was the creature of circum 
 stances ; and if the man had some of the faults, he had also 
 most of the merits of his nation and his age. The looseness 
 on the subject of religion, which was his principal defect in 
 the eyes of Ghita, but which could scarcely fail to be a 
 material one, with a girl educated and disposed as; was the 
 case with our heroine, was the error of the day, and with 
 Raoul it was, at least, sincere ; a circumstance that rendered 
 him, with one so truly pious as the gentle being he loved, 
 the subject of a holy interest, which, in itself, almost rivalled 
 the natural tenderness of her sex, in behalf of the object of 
 her affections. 
 
 While the short engagement with the boats lasted, and 
 during the few minutes he was under the fire of the frigate, 
 Raoul had been himself; the excitement of actual war always 
 nerving him to deeds worthy of his command, and the high 
 name he had acquired ; but, throughout the remainder of the 
 14* 
 
162 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 day, he had felt little disposed to strife. The chase, once 
 assured that his spars were likely to stand, gave him little 
 concern ; and now that he was at anchor within the shallow 
 water, he felt much as the traveller who has found a com 
 fortable inn, after the fatigue of a hard day s ride. When 
 Ithuel suggested the possibility of a night-attack, in boats, 
 he laughingly reminded the American that " the burnt child 
 dreads the fire," and gave himself no great concern in the 
 matter. Still, no proper precaution was neglected. Raoul 
 was in the habit of exacting much of his men, in moments 
 of necessity ; but, at all other times, he was as indulgent as 
 a kind father, among obedient and respectful children. This 
 quality, and the never-varying constancy and coolness that 
 he displayed in danger, was the secret of his great influence 
 with them ; every seaman under his orders feeling certain, 
 that no severe duty was required at his hands, without a 
 corresponding necessity for it. 
 
 On the present occasion, when the people of le Feu-Follet 
 had supped, they were indulged in their customary dance ; 
 and the romantic songs of Provence were heard on the fore 
 castle. A light-hearted gaiety prevailed, that wanted only 
 the presence of woman, to make the scene resemble the 
 evening amusement of some hamlet on the coast. Nor was 
 the sex absent in the sentiment of the hour, or wholly so in 
 person. The songs were full of chivalrous gallantry, and 
 Ghita listened, equally touched and amused. She sat on 
 the taffrail, with her uncle standing at her side, while Raoul 
 paced the quarter-deck, stopping, in his turn, to utter some 
 thought, or wish, to ears that were always attentive. At 
 length the song and the dance ended, and all but the few 
 who were ordered to remain on watch, descended to their 
 hammocks. The change was as sudden, as it was striking. 
 The solemn, breathing stillness of a star-lit night succeeded 
 to the light laugh, melodious song, and spirited merriment 
 of a set of men, whose constitutional gaiety seemed to be 
 restrained by a species of native refinement, that is unknown 
 to the mariners of other regions, and who, unnurtured as 
 they might be deemed, in some respects, seldom or never 
 offended against the proprieties ; as is so common with the 
 mariners of the boasted Anglo-Saxon race. By this time 
 ihe cool air from the mountains began to descend, and float- 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 163 
 
 ing over the heated sea, it formed a light land-breeze, that 
 blew in an exactly contrary direction to that, which, about 
 the same hour, came off from the adjacent continent. There 
 was no moon ; but the night could riot be called dark. 
 Myriads of stars gleamed out from the fathomless firmament, 
 filling the atmosphere with a light that served to render 
 objects sufficiently distinct ; while it left them clad in a semi- 
 obscurity that suited the witchery of the scene and the hour. 
 Raoul felt the influence of all these circumstances in an 
 unusual degree. It disposed him to more sobriety of thought 
 than always attended his leisure moments, and he took a 
 seat on the taffrail, near Ghita, while her uncle went below, 
 to his knees and his prayers. 
 
 Every foot-fall in the lugger had now ceased. Ithuel 
 was posted on a knight-head, where he sat watching his old 
 enemy, the Proserpine ; the proximity of that ship not allow 
 ing him to sleep. Two experienced seamen, who alone 
 formed the regular anchor-watch, as it is termed, wero 
 stationed apart, in order to prevent conversation ; one on the 
 starboard cat-head, and the other in the main rigging ; both 
 keeping vigilant ward over the tranquil sea, and the different 
 objects that floated on its placid bosom. In that retired spot, 
 these objects were necessarily few, embracing the frigate, 
 the lugger, and three coasters ; the latter of which had all 
 been boarded before the night set in, by the Proserpine, and, 
 after short detentions, dismissed. One of these coasters lay 
 about half-way between the two hostile vessels, at anchor, 
 having come-to, after making some fruitless efforts to get 
 to the northward, by means of the expiring west-wind. 
 Although the light land-breeze would now have sufficed to 
 carry her a knot or two through the water, she preferred 
 maintaining her position, and giving her people a good 
 night s rest, to getting under-way. The situation of this 
 felucca, and the circumstance that she had been boarded by 
 the frigate, rendered her an object of some distrust with 
 Raoul, through the early part of the evening, and he had 
 ordered a vigilant eye to be kept on her ; but nothing had 
 been discovered to confirm these suspicions. The move 
 ments of her people the manner in which she brought-up 
 the quiet that prevailed on board her, and even the lubberly 
 disposition of her spars and rigging, went to satisfy Raoul 
 
164 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 that she had no man-of-war s men on board her. Still, as 
 she lay less than a mile outside of the lugger, though now 
 dead to leeward all that distance, she was to be watched , 
 and one of the seamen, he in the rigging, rarely had his eyes 
 off her, a minute at a time. The second coaster was a little 
 to the southward of the frigate, under her canvass, hauling 
 in for the land ; doubtless with a view to get as much as 
 possible of the .breeze from the mountains ; and standing 
 slowly to the south. She had been set by compass, an hour 
 before, and all that time had altered her bearings but half a 
 point, though not a league off a proof how light she had 
 the wind. The third coaster, a small felucca, too, was to 
 the northward ; but, ever since the land-breeze, if breeze it 
 could be called, had come, she had been busy turning slowly 
 up to windward ; and seemed disposed either to cross the 
 shoals, closer in than the spot where the lugger lay, or to 
 enter the Golo. Her shadowy outline, was visible, though 
 drawn against the land, moving slowly athwart the lugger s 
 hawse, perhaps half-a-mile in-shore of her. As there was a 
 current setting out of the river, and all the vessels rode with 
 their heads to the island, Ithuel occasionally turned his head 
 to watch her progress ; which was so slow, however, as to 
 produce very little change. 
 
 After looking around him several minutes, in silence, 
 Raoul turned his face upward, and gazed at the stars. 
 
 " You probably do not know, Ghita," he said, " the use 
 those stars may be, and are, to us mariners. By their aid, 
 we are enabled to tell where we are, in the midst of the 
 broadest oceans to know the points of the compass ; and so 
 feel at home even when furthest removed from it. The sea 
 man must go far south of the equator, at least, ere he can 
 reach a spot where he does not see the same stars that he 
 beheld from the door of his father s house." 
 
 " That is a new thought, to me," answered Ghita, quickly, 
 her tender nature, at once, struck with the feeling and poe 
 try of such an idea ; " that is a new thought, to me, Raoul ; 
 and I wonder you never mentioned it before. It is a great 
 thing to be able to carry home and familiar objects with you, 
 when so distant from those you love." 
 
 " Did you nsver hear that lovers have chosen an hour 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 165 
 
 and a star, by gazing at which they might commune toge 
 ther, though separated by oceans and countries?" 
 
 "That ii a question you might put to yourself, Raoul ; 
 nil I have ever heard of lovers, and love, having come from 
 your own lips." 
 
 "Well, then, I tell it you; and hope that we shah\ not 
 part, again, without selecting our star, and our hour if, 
 indeed, we ever part more. Though I have forgotten to tell 
 you this, Ghita, it is because you are never absent from my 
 thoughts no star is necessary to recall Monte Argentaro 
 and the Towers." 
 
 If we should say Ghita was not pleased with this, it would 
 be to raise her above an amiable and a natural weakness. 
 Raoul s protestations never fell dead on her heart ; and few 
 things were sweeter, to her ear, than his words, as they 
 declared his devotedness and passion. The frankness with 
 which he admitted his delinquencies, and most especially the 
 want of that very religious sentiment which was of so much 
 value in the eyes of his mistress, gave an additional weight 
 to his language, when he affirmed his love. Notwithstand 
 ing Ghita blushed, as she now listened, she did not smile; 
 she rather appeared sad. For near a minute she made no 
 reply ; and when she did answer, it was in a low voice, like 
 one who felt and thought intensely. 
 
 " Those stars may well have a higher office," she said. 
 "Look at them, Raoul; count them we cannot, for they 
 seem to start out of the depths of heaven, one after another, 
 as the eye resfs upon the space, until they mock our efforts 
 at calculation. We see they are there in thousands, and 
 may well believe they are in myriads. Now, thou hast been 
 taught, else couldst thou never be a navigator, that those 
 stars are worlds, like our own, or suns, with worlds sailing 
 around them ; how is it possible to see and know this, without 
 believing in a God, and feeling the insignificance of our 
 being?" 
 
 "I do not deny that there is a power to govern all this, 
 Ghita but I maintain that it is a principle ; nofa being, in 
 our shape and form ; and that it is the reason of things, 
 rather than a deity." 
 
 " Who has said that God is a being, in our shape and 
 
166 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 form, Raoul ? None know that none can know it ; none 
 say it, who reverence and worship him as they ought !" 
 
 " Do not your priests say that man has been created in 
 his image ? and is not this creating him in his form and 
 likeness?" 
 
 " Nay, not so, dear Raoul, but in the image of his spirit 
 that man hath a soul which partakes, though in a small 
 degree, of the imperishable essence of God ; and thus far 
 doth he exist in his image. More than this, none have pre 
 sumed to say. But what a being, to be the master of all 
 those bright worlds !" 
 
 " Ghita, thou know st my way of thinking, on these mat 
 ters ; and thou also know st that I would not wound thy 
 gentle spirit by a single word that could grieve thee." 
 
 " Nay, Raoul, it is not thy way of thinking, but thy 
 fashion of talking, that makes the difference between us. 
 No one, who thinks, can ever doubt the existence of a being 
 superior to all of earth, and of the universe ; arid who is 
 Creator and Master of all." 
 
 " Of a principle, if thou wilt, Ghita ; but of a being, I ask 
 for the proof. That a mighty principle exists, to set all 
 these planets in motion to create all these stars, and to 
 plant all these suns, in space, I never doubted ; it would be 
 to question a fact which stands, day and night, before my 
 eyes ; but to suppose a being capable of producing all these 
 thing s, is to believe in beings I never saw." 
 
 " And why not as well suppose that it is a being that does 
 all this, Raoul, as to. suppose it what you call .,a principle V 
 
 " Because I see principles, beyond my understanding, at 
 work all around me: in yonder heavy frigate, groaning 
 under her load of artillery, which floats on this thin water; 
 in the trees, of the land that lies so near us ; in the animals, 
 which are born, and die ; the fishes, the birds, and the 
 human beings. But I see no being know no being, that is 
 able to do all this." 
 
 " That is because thou know st not God ! He is the 
 creator of the principles of which thou speak st, and is 
 greater than thy principles, themselves." 
 
 " It is easy to say this, Ghita but hard to prove. I take 
 the acorn, and put it in the ground ; in due time it comes up 
 a plant ; in the course of years, it becomes a tree. Now, 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 167 
 
 all this depends on a certain mysterious principle, which ig 
 unknown to me, but which I am sure exists, for I can cause 
 it, myself, to produce its fruits, by merely opening the earth 
 and laying the seed in its bosom. Nay, I can do more 
 so well do I understand this principle, to a certain extent, at 
 least, that, by choosing the season and the soil, I can hasten 
 or retard the growth of the plant, and, in a manner, fashion 
 the tree." 
 
 " True, Raoul, to a certain extent thou canst ; and it is 
 precisely because thou hast been created after the image of 
 God. The little resemblance thou enjoyest to that Mighty 
 being, enables thee to do this much more than the beasts of 
 the field : wert thou his equal, thou couldst create that prin 
 ciple of which thou speakest, and which, in thy blindness, 
 thou mistakest for its master." 
 
 This was said with more feeling than Ghita had ever 
 before manifested, in their frequent discourses on this sub 
 ject, and with a solemnity of tone that startled her listener. 
 Ghita had no philosophy, in the common acceptation of the 
 term, while Raoul fancied he had much, under the limita 
 tions of a deficient education; and yet the strong religious 
 sentiment of the girl so quickened her faculties, that he had 
 often been made to wonder why she had seemingly the best 
 of the argument, on a subject in which he flattered himself 
 with being so strong. 
 
 " I rather think, Ghita, we scarcely understand each 
 other," answered Raoul. " I pretend not to see any more 
 than is permitted to man ; or, rather, more than his powers 
 can comprehend ; but this proves nothing, as the elephant 
 understands more than the horse, and the horse more than 
 the fish. There is a principle which pervades everything, 
 which we call Nature ; and this it is which has produced 
 these whirling worlds, and all the mysteries of creation. 
 One of its laws is, that nothing it produces shall comprehend 
 its secrets." 
 
 " You have only to fancy your principle a spirit, a being 
 with mind, Raoul, to have the Christian God. Why not 
 believe in him, as easily as you believe in your unknown 
 principle, as you call it? You know that you exist that 
 you can build a lugger can reason on the sun and stars, 
 so as to find your way across the widest ocean, by means 
 
168 LTEL FEU- FOL LET. 
 
 of your mind ; and why not suppose that some superior being 
 exists, who can do even more than this ? Your principles 
 can be thwarted, even by yourself the seed can be deprived 
 of its power to grow the tree destroyed ; and, if principles 
 can thus be destroyed, some accident may one day destroy 
 creation, by destroying its principle. I fear to speak to 
 you of revelation, Raoul, for I know you mock it !" 
 
 " Not when it comes from thy lips, dearest. I may not 
 believe, but I never mock at what thou utterest and rove- 
 rencest." 
 
 " I could thank thee for this, Raoul, but I feel it would bo 
 taking to myself a homage that ought to be paid elsewhere. 
 But, here is my guitar, and I am sorry to say that the hymn 
 to the Virgin has not been sung on board this lugger to 
 night ; thou canst not think how sweet is a hymn sung upcn 
 the waters. I heard the crew that is anchored towards the 
 frigate, singing that hymn, while thy men were at their light 
 Provencal songs, in praise of woman s beauty ; instead of 
 joining in praise of their Creator." 
 
 " Thou mean st to sing thy hymn, Ghita, else the guitar 
 would not have been mentioned?" 
 
 " Raoul, I do. I have ever found thy soul the softest, after 
 holy music. Who knows, but the mercy of God may one 
 day touch it, through the notes of this very hymn !" 
 
 Ghita paused a moment, and then her light fingers passed 
 over the strings of her guitar, in a solemn symphony ; after 
 which came the sweet strains of " Ave Maria," in a voice 
 and melody that might, in sooth, have touched a heart of 
 stone. Ghita, a Neapolitan by birth, had all her country s 
 love for music ; and she had caught some of the science that 
 seems to pervade nations, in that part of the world. Nature 
 had endowed her with one of the most touching voices of her 
 sex ; one less powerful, than mellow and sweet; and she never 
 used it, in a religious office, without its becoming tremulous 
 and eloquent with feeling. While she was now singing this 
 well-known hyrnn, a holy hope pervaded her moral system, 
 that, in some miraculous manner, she might become the 
 agent of turning Raoul to the love and worship of God ; and 
 the feeling communicated itself to her execution. Never 
 before had she sung so well; as a proof of which, IthucI left 
 his knight-head, and came aft, to listen, while the two French 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 169 
 
 manners on watch, temporarily forgot their duty, in en 
 tranced attention. 
 
 " If anything could make me a believer, Ghita," mur 
 mured Raoul, when the last strain had died on the lips of 
 his beloved, " it would be to listen to thy melody ! What 
 now, Monsieur Etooell ! are you, too, a lover of holy music?" 
 
 " This is rare singing, Captain Rule ; but we have different 
 business on hand. If you will step to the other end of the 
 lugger, you can take a look at the craft that has been crawl 
 ing along, in-shore of us, for the last three hours there is 
 something about her that is unnat ra. ; she seems to be drop 
 ping down nearer to us, while she has no motion through 
 the water. The last circumstance I hold to be unnat ral 
 with a vessel that has all sail set, and in this breeze." 
 
 Raoul pressed the hand of Ghita, and whispered her to go 
 below, as he was fearful the air of the night might injure her. 
 He then went forward, where he could command as good a 
 view of the felucca, in-shore, as the obscurity of the hour 
 permitted ; and he felt a little uneasiness, when he found 
 how near she had got to the lugger. When he last noted 
 her position, this vessel was quite half-a-mile distant, and 
 appeared to be crossing the bows of le Feu-Follet, with 
 sufficient wind to have carried her a mile ahead, in the inter 
 val ; yet could he not perceive that she had advanced as far, 
 in that direction, as she had drifted down upon the lugger 
 the while, 
 
 " Have you been examining her long ?" he demanded of 
 the New-Hampshire-man. 
 
 " Ever since she has seemed to stand still ; which is now 
 some twenty minutes. She is dull, I suppose, for she has 
 been several hours getting along a league ; and there is now 
 air enough for such a craft to go three knots to the hour. 
 Her coming down upon us is easily accounted for, there 
 being a considerable current out of this river, as you may 
 see by the ripple at our own cut-water ; but I find nothing to 
 keep her from going ahead, at the same time. I set her by 
 the light you see, here, in the wake of the nearest mountain, 
 at least a quarter of an hour since, and she has not advanced 
 five times her own length, since." 
 
 " T is nothing but a Corsican coaster, after all, Etooell : 
 I hardly think the English would risk our canister, again 
 15 
 
170 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 for the pleasure of being beaten off, in another attempt to 
 board!" 
 
 " They re a spiteful set, aboard the frigate ; and the Lord 
 only knows ! See, here is a good heavy night-air y and that 
 felucca is not a cable s-length from us ; set her by the jib- 
 stay, and judge for yourself, how slowly she goes ahead ! 
 That it is, which non-plushes me /" 
 
 Raoul did as the other desired, and, after a short trial, he 
 found that the coaster had no perceptible motion ahead, while, 
 it was certain, she was drifting down with the current, 
 directly athwart the lugger s hawse. This fact satisfied him 
 that she must have drags astern ; a circumstance that, at 
 once, denoted a hostile intention. The enemy was probably 
 on board the felucca, in force ; and it was incumbent on him 
 to make immediate preparations for defence. 
 
 Still, Raoul was reluctant to disturb his people. Like all 
 firm and cool men, he was averse to the parade of a false 
 alarm ; and it seemed so improbable that the lesson of the 
 morning was so soon forgotten, that he could hardly per 
 suade himself to believe his senses. Then the men had been 
 very hard at work, throughout the day ; and most of them 
 were sleeping the sleep of the weary. On the other hand, 
 every minute brought the coaster nearer, and increased the 
 danger, should the enemy be really in possession of her. 
 Under all the circumstances, he determined, first, to hail ; 
 knowing that his crew could be got up in a minute, and that 
 they slept with arms at their sides, under an apprehension 
 that a boat attack might possibly be attempted, in the course 
 of the night. 
 
 " Felucca, ahoy !" called out the captain of leFeu-Follel, 
 the other craft being too near to render any great effort of 
 the voice necessary ; " What felucca is that? and why have 
 you so great a drift ?" 
 
 " La Bella Corsienne !" was the answer, in a patois, half 
 French, half Italian, as Raoul expected, if all were right. 
 " We are bound into la Padulella ; and wish to keep in with 
 the land, to hold the breeze the longer. We are no great 
 sailer, at the best, and have a drift, because we are, just now 
 in the strength of the current." 
 
 " At this rate, you will come athwart my hawse. You 
 know I am armed, and cannot suffer that I" 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 171 
 
 " Ah, Signore, we are friends of the republic, and would 
 not harm you, if we could. We hope you will not injure 
 poor mariners, like us. We will keep away, if you please, 
 and pass you under your stern " 
 
 This proposition was made so suddenly, and so unexpect 
 edly, that Raoul had not time to object ; and, had he been 
 disposed to do so, the execution was too prompt to allow him 
 the means. The felucca fell broad otF, and came down 
 almost in a direct line for the lugger s bows, before the wind 
 and current ; moving fast enough, now, to satisfy all IthuePs 
 scruples. 
 
 "Call all hands to repel boarders!" cried Raoul, spring- 
 ing aft to the capstan, and seizing his own arms " Come 
 up lively, mes enfans! here is treachery !" 
 . These words were hardly uttered before Raoul was back 
 on the heel of the bowsprit, and the most active of his men 
 some five or six, at most began to show themselves on deck. 
 In that brief space, the felucca had got within eighty yards, 
 when, to the surprise of all in the lugger, she luffed into the 
 wind, again, and drifted down, until it was apparent that she 
 was foul of the lugger s cable, her stern swinging round 
 directly on the latter s starboard bow. At that instant, or 
 just as the two vessels came in actual contact, and Raoul s 
 men were thronging around him, to meet the expected attack, 
 the sounds of oars, pulled for life or death, were heard, and 
 flames burst upward from the open hatch of the coaster. 
 Then a boat was dimly seen gliding away, in a line with the 
 hull, by the glowing light. 
 
 " Un brulot ! un brulot ! a fireship !" exclaimed twenty 
 voices together, the horror that mingled in the cries pro 
 claiming the extent of a danger which is, perhaps, the most 
 terrific that seamen can encounter. 
 
 But the voice of Raoul Yvard was not among them. 
 The moment his eye caught the first glimpse of the flames, 
 he disappeared from the bowsprit. He might have been 
 absent about twenty seconds. Then he was seen on the tafT- 
 rail of the felucca, with a spare shank-painter, which had 
 been lying on the forecastle, on his shoulder. 
 
 " Antoine ! Francois ! Gregoire !" he called out, in a 
 voice of thunder, "follow me! the rest, clear away the 
 cable, and bend a hawser to the better end 1" 
 
172 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 The people of le Feu-Follet were trained to order and 
 implicit obedience. By this time, too, the lieutenants were 
 among them ; and the men set about doing as they had been 
 directed. Raoul, himself, passed into the felucca, followed 
 by th e three men he had selected by name. The adventu 
 rers had no difficulty, as yet, in escaping the flames, though 
 f>y this time, they were pouring upward from the hatch in a 
 torrent. As Raoul suspected, his cable had been grappled ; 
 and, seizing the rope, he tightened it to a severe strain, 
 securing the in-board part. Then he passed down to the 
 cable, himself, directing his companions to hand him the 
 rope-end of the shank-painter, which he fastened to the cable 
 by a jamming hitch. This took half-a-minute ; in half- 
 a-minute more, he was on the felucca s forecastle, again. 
 Here the chain was easily passed through a hawse-hole; and 
 a knot tied, with a marlinespike passed through its centre. 
 To pass the fire, on the return, was now a serious matter ; 
 but it was done without injury, Raoul driving his companions 
 before him. No sooner did his foot reach the bows of le 
 Feu-Follct, again, than he shouted 
 
 "Veer away! payout cable, men, if you would save 
 our beautiful lugger from destruction!" 
 
 Nor was there a moment to spare. The lugger took the 
 cable that was given her, fast enough, under the pressure of 
 the current, and helped by the breeze ; but at first the fire- 
 vessel, already a sheet of flarne, her decks having been satu 
 rated with tar, seemed disposed to accompany her. To the 
 delight of all in the lugger, however, the stern of the felucca 
 was presently seen to separate from their own bows; and a 
 sheer having been given to le Feu-Follet, by means of the 
 helm, in a few seconds even her bowsprit and jib had cleared 
 he danger. The felucca rode stationary, while the lugger 
 dropped astern, fathom after fathom, until she lay more than 
 a hundred yards distant from the fiery mass. As a matter 
 of course, while the cable was paid out, the portion to which 
 the lanyard, or rope part of the shank-painter was fastened, 
 dropped into the water, while the felucca rode by the chain. 
 
 These events occupied less than five minutes ; and all had 
 been done with a steadiness and promptitude that seemed 
 more like instinct, than reason. Raoul s voice was no^ 
 heard, except in the few orders mentioned ; and when, by th 
 
LB FEU-FOLLET. 173 
 
 glaring light, which illuminated all in the lugger and the 
 adjacent water to some distance, nearly to the brightness of 
 noon-day, he saw Ghita gazing at the spectacle in awed 
 admiration and terror, he went to her, and spoke as if the 
 whole were merely a brilliant spectacle, devised for their 
 amusement. 
 
 " Our girandola is second only to that of St. Peter s," he 
 said, smiling. " T was a narrow escape, love ; but, thanks 
 to thy God, if thou wilt it shall be so, we have received no 
 harm." 
 
 " And you have been the agent of his goodness, Raoul ; 
 I have witnessed all, from this spot. The call to the men 
 brought me on deck ; and, Oh ! how I trembled, as I saw 
 you on the flaming mass !" 
 
 " It has been cunningly planned, on the part of Messieurs 
 tes Anglais; but it has signally failed. That coaster has a 
 cargo of tar, and naval stores, on board ; and, capturing her, 
 this evening, they have thought to extinguish our lantern by 
 the brighter and fiercer flame of their own. But, le Feu- 
 Follet will shine again, when their fire is dead !" 
 
 " Is there, then, no danger that the brulot will yet come 
 down upon us she is fearfully near!" 
 
 " Not sufficiently so to do us harm ; more especially as 
 our sails are damp with dew. Here she cannot come, so 
 long as our cable stands ; and, as that is under water, where 
 she lies, it cannot burn. In half-an-hour there will be little 
 of her left ; and we will enjoy the bonfire, while it lasts." 
 
 And, now the fear of danger was past, it was a sight truly 
 to be enjoyed. Every anxious and curious face in the lug 
 ger was to be seen, under that brilliant light, turned toward 
 the glowing mass, as the sun-flower folio svs the great source 
 of heat, in his track athwart the heavens; while the spars, 
 sails, guns, and even the smallest object on board the lug 
 ger, started out of the obscurity of night, into the brightness 
 of such an illumination, as if composing parts of some bril 
 liant scenic display. But so fierce a flame soon exhausted 
 itself. Ere long, the felucca s masts fell, and with them a 
 pyramid of fire. Then the glowing deck tumbled in; and, 
 finally, timber after timber, and plank after plank fell, until 
 the conflagration, in a great measure, extinguished itself in 
 15* 
 
174 LEFEU-FOLLET. 
 
 the water on which it floated. An hour after the flames 
 appeared, little remained but the embers which were glow 
 ing in the hold of the wreck. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 " A justice of the peace, for the time being, 
 They bow to, but may turn him out, next year: 
 They reverence their priest, but, disagreeing 1 , 
 In price or creed, dismiss him without fear; 
 They have a natural talent for foreseeing 
 And knowing all things; and should Park appear 
 From his long tour in Africa, to show 
 The Niger s source, they d meet him with We know." 
 
 IJALLECK. 
 
 RAOUL was not mistaken as to the manner in which they 
 were obtained, and the means employed by his enemies. 
 The frigate had found one of the feluccas loaded with naval 
 stores, including some ten or fifteen barrels of tar; and it 
 instantly struck Griffin, who was burning to revenge the 
 defeat of the morning, that the prize might be converted into 
 a fire-vessel. As the second lieutenant volunteered to carry 
 her in, always a desperate service, Cufie gave his consent. 
 Nothing could have been better managed than the whole 
 duty connected wilh this exploit, including the manner in 
 which our hero saved his vessel from destruction. The 
 frigate kept between her prize and the lugger, to conceal the 
 fact that a boat remained on board the former ; and, when 
 all was ready, the felucca was apparently permitted to pro 
 ceed on her voyage. The other two prizes were allowed to 
 go free, also, as cloaks to the whole affair. Griffin, as has 
 been seen, kept standing in Tor the land ; his object being to 
 get up stream from the lugger, and as near her as possible. 
 When he found himself almost as far ahead as was desirable, 
 drags were used, to keep the craft stationary ; and, in this 
 manner, she drifted down on her intended victim, as has 
 been already described. But for the sagacity and uneasiness 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 175 
 
 of Ithuel, the plan would altogether have escaped detection; 
 and, but for the coolness, courage, and resources of Raoul, 
 it would infallibly have succeeded, notwithstanding the sus 
 picions that had been excited. 
 
 CiuTe, and the people on deck, watched the whole affair 
 with the deepest interest. They were barely able to see 
 the sails of the felucca, by means of a night-glass, as she 
 was dropping down on the lugger ; and Yelverton had just 
 exclaimed that the two vessels were foul of each other, when 
 the flames broke out. As a matter of course, at that dis 
 tance, both craft seemed on fire ; and when le Feu-Follet 
 had dropped a hundred yards nearer to the frigate, leaving 
 the felucca blazing, the two were so exactly in a line, as to 
 bring them together, as seen from the former s decks. The 
 English expected, every moment, to hear the explosion of 
 the lugger s magazine ; but, as it did not happen, they came 
 to the conclusion it had been drowned. As for Griffin, he 
 pulled in-shore, both to avoid the fire of le Feu-Follet, in 
 passing her broadside, and in the hope of intercepting Raoul, 
 while endeavouring to escape in a boat. He even went to 
 a landing in the river, quite a league from the anchorage, 
 and waited there until long past midnight, when, finding the 
 night beginning to cloud over, and the obscurity to increase, 
 he returned to the frigate, giving the smouldering wreck a 
 wide berth, for fear of accidents. 
 
 Such, then, was the state of things, when Captain Cuffe 
 appeared on deck, just as the day began to dawn, on the 
 following morning. He had given orders to be called at 
 that hour, and was now all impatience to get a view of the 
 sea, more particularly in-shore. At length the curtain began 
 slowly to rise, and his view extended farther and farther 
 towards the river, until all was visible, even to the very land. 
 Not a craft of any sort was in sight. Even the wreck had 
 disappeared; though this was subsequently discovered in the 
 surf; haying drifted out with the current, until it struck an 
 eddy, which carried it in again, when it was finally stranded. 
 No vestige of le Feu-Follet, however, was to be seen. Not 
 even a tent on the shore, a wandering boat, a drifting spar, 
 or a rag of a sail ! All had disappeared, no doubt, in the 
 conflagration. As Cuffe went below, he walked with a more 
 erect mien than he had done since the affair of the pre- 
 
176 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 vious morning ; and as he opened his writing-desk, it was 
 with the manner of one entirely satisfied with himself, and 
 his own exertions. Still, a generous regret mingled with 
 his triumph. It was a great thing to have destroyed the 
 most pernicious privateer that sailed out of France ; and yet 
 it was a melancholy fate to befall seventy or eighty human 
 beings to perish like so many curling caterpillars, de 
 stroyed by fire. Nevertheless, the thing was done ; and it 
 must be reported to the authorities above him. The follow 
 ing letter was consequently written to the commanding 
 officer in that sea, viz : 
 
 His Majesty s Ship, Proserpine, off the mouth of the Golo, 
 
 Island of Corsica, July 23, 1799. 
 
 My Lord I have the satisfaction of reporting, for the 
 information of my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, 
 the destruction of the Republican privateer, the le Few-Folly, 
 commanded by the notorious Raoul Yvard, on the night of 
 the 22d inst. The circumstances attending this important 
 success, are as follows. Understanding that the celebrated 
 picaroon had been on the Neapolitan and Roman coasts, 
 doing much mischief, I took His Majesty s ship close in, 
 following up the peninsula, with the land in sight, until we 
 got through the Canal of Elba, early on the morning of the 
 21st. On opening Porto Ferrajo bay, we saw a lugger 
 lying at anchor off the town, with English colours flying. 
 As this was a friendly port, we could not suppose the craft 
 to be the le Few-Folly ; but, determined to make sure, we 
 beat in, signalling the stranger, until he took advantage of 
 our stretching well over to the eastward, to slip round the 
 rocks, and get off to-windward. We followed, for a short 
 distance, and then ran over under the lee of Capraya, where 
 we remained until the morning of the 22d, when we again 
 went off the town. We found the lugger in the offing ; and 
 being now well satisfied of her character, and it falling calm, 
 I sent the boats after her, under Messrs. Winchester and 
 Griffin, the first and second of this ship. After a sharp 
 skirmish, in which we sustained some loss, though that of 
 the Republicans was evidently much greater, Monsieur 
 Yvard succeeded in effecting his escape, in consequence of a 
 breeze s suddenly springing up. Sail was now made on the 
 ship, and we chased the lugger into the mouth of the Golo, 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 177 
 
 Having fortunately captured a felucca, with a quantity of 
 tar, and other combustible materials on board, as we drew 
 in with the land, I determined to make a fire-ship of her, and 
 to destroy the enemy by that mode; he having anchored 
 within the shoals, beyond the reach of shot. Mr. Winches 
 ter, the first, having been wounded in the boat-affair, I 
 entrusted the execution of this duty to Mr. Griffin, who 
 handsomely volunteered, and by whom it was effectually 
 discharged, about ten last evening, in the coolest and most 
 officer-like manner. I enclose this gentleman s report of 
 the affair, and beg leave to recommend him to the favour of 
 my Lords Commissioners. With Mr. Winchester s good 
 conduct, under a sharp fire, in the morning, the service has 
 also every reason to be satisfied. I hope this valuable officer 
 will soon be able to return to duty. 
 
 Permit me to congratulate you, my lord, on the complete 
 destruction of this most pernicious cruiser of the enemy. So 
 effectual has it been, that not a spar, or a fragment of wreck, 
 remains. We have reason to think every soul on board 
 perished ; and though this fearful loss of human life is to be 
 deeply deplored, it has been made in the service of good 
 government and religion. The lugger was filled with loose 
 women ; our people hearing them singing their philosophical 
 and irreligious songs, as they approached With the fire-vessel. 
 I shall search the coast for any rafts that may be drifting 
 about, and then proceed to Leghorn for fresh provisions. 
 I have the honour to be, rny lord, 
 
 Your lordship s most obedient servant, 
 RICHARD CUFFE 
 
 To Rear Admiral the Right Hon. Lord Nelson, 
 Duke of Bronte, &c., &c., &c. 
 
 Cuffe read this report over twice ; then he sent for Griffin, 
 to whom he read it aloud, glancing his eye meaningly at his 
 subordinate, when he came to the part where he spoke of 
 the young man ? good conduct. 
 
 "So much for that d d Jack-o -Lantern, Griftn t 
 
 fancy it will lead no one else on a wild-goose chase." 
 
 " I trust not, sir. Will you allow me to suggest a slight 
 alteration in the spelling of the lugger s name, Captain Cuffe ; 
 the clerk can make it, when he writes out the letter fairly.* 
 
17S LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 " Ay I dare say, it is different from what we would have 
 it ; French spelling being no great matter, in general. Put 
 it as you please ; though Nelson has as great a contempt 
 for their boasted philosophy and learning, as I have myself. 
 I fancy you will find all the English spelt right. How do 
 you write their conibunded gibberish ?" 
 
 " Feu-Foliet, sir, pronouncing the last part of it fol-lay ; 
 not fol-ly. 1 was thinking of asking leave, Captain CufFe, 
 to take one of the cutters, and pull up to the lugger s anchor 
 age, and see if anything can be found of her wreck. The 
 ship will hardly get under-way until the westerly wind 
 comes." 
 
 " No, probably not. I will order my gig manned, and 
 we 11 go together. Poor Winchester must keep house 
 awhile ; so there is no use in asking him. I saw no neces 
 sity for putting Nelson into a passion, by saying anything 
 about the exact amount of our loss, in that boat scrape, 
 Griffin." 
 
 " I agree with you, sir, that it is best as it is. * Some loss 1 
 covers every thing it means, more or less. " 
 
 " That was just my notion. I dare say, there may have 
 been twenty women in the lugger ?" 
 
 " I can t answer for the number, sir ; but I heard female 
 singing, as we got near, in the fire-ship ; and think it likely 
 there may have been that number. The lugger was full- 
 manned ; for they were like bees swarming on her forecastle, 
 when we were dropping foul. I saw Raoul Yvard, by the 
 light of the fire, as plainly as I now see you ; and might 
 have picked him off with a musket ; but that would hardly 
 have been honourable." 
 
 To this Cuffe assented, and then he led the way on deck, 
 having previously ordered the boats manned. The two 
 officers proceeded to the spot where they supposed the Feu- 
 Follet had been anchored, and rowed round, for near an 
 hour, endeavouring to find some traces of her wreck on the 
 bottom. Griffin suggested that, when the magazine was 
 drowned, in the hurry and confusion of the moment, the cock 
 may have been left open a circumstance that might very 
 well have carried down the bottom of so small a vessel, in 
 two or three hours; more especially after her hull had 
 burnt to the water s edge. The next thing was to find this 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 179 
 
 bottom, by no means a hopeless task, as the waters of the 
 Mediterranean are usually so clear, that the eye can pene 
 trate several fathoms, even off the mouth of the Golo ; a 
 stream that brought more or less debris from the mountains. 
 It is scarcely necessary to say, that the search was not 
 rewarded with success, the Feu-Follet being, just at that 
 time, snug at anchor at Bastia, where her people had already 
 taken out her wounded mainmast, with a view to step a new 
 one in its place. At that very moment, Carlo Giuntotardi 
 his niece, and Raoul Yvard, were walking up the principal 
 street of the town, the place standing on a hill, like Porto 
 Ferrajo, perfectly at their ease, as regards fire-ships, Eng 
 lish frigates, and the dangers of the seas. But all this was 
 a profound mystery to Cuffe and his companions, who had 
 long been in the habit of putting the most favourable con 
 structions on the results of their professional undertakings, 
 and, certainly, not altogether without reason ; and who 
 nothing doubted that le Feu-Foliet had, to use their own 
 language, " laid her bones somewhere along-shore, here." 
 
 After two or three hours passed in a fruitless search, Cuffe 
 determined to return to his ship. He was a keen sportsman, 
 and had brought a fowling-piece with him, in his gig, with a 
 half-formed design of landing, and whiling away the time, 
 until the westerly wind came, among some marshes that he 
 saw near the shore ; but had been persuaded, by Griffin, not 
 to venture. 
 
 " There must be woodcock in that wet ground, Griffin," 
 he said, as he reluctantly yielded a little in his intention ; 
 " and Winchester would fancy a bird, exceedingly, in a day 
 or two. I never was hit, in my life, that I did "not feel a 
 desire for game, after the fever was gone. Snipe, too, must 
 live on the banks of that stream. Snipe are coming in 
 season, now, Griffin ?" 
 
 " It s more likely, sir, that some of the privateersmen 
 have got ashore on planks, and empty casks, and are prowl 
 ing about in the weeds, watching our boats. * Three or four 
 of them would be too much for you, Captain Cuffe, as the 
 scoundrels all carry knives as long as ships cutlasses." 
 
 ." I suppose your notion may be true ; and I shall have to 
 give it up. Pull back to the frigate, Davy, and we 11 be off 
 after some more of these French ragamuffins." 
 
180 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 This settled the matter. In half-an-hour, the boats were 
 swinging at the Proserpine s quarters ; and three hours 
 later, the ship was under her canvass, standing slowly off 
 the land. That day, however, the zephyr was exceedingly 
 light, and the sun set, just as the ship got the small island 
 of Pianosa abeam ; when the air came from the northward, 
 and the ship s head was laid in to the eastward ; the course 
 lying between the land just mentioned, and that of Elba. 
 All night the Proserpine was slowly fanning her way along 
 the south side of the latter island, when, getting the southerly 
 air again, in the morning, she reappeared in the Canal of 
 Piombino, as the day advanced, precisely as she had done 
 before, when first introduced to the acquaintance of the 
 reader. Cuffe had given orders to be called, as usual, when 
 the light was about to return ; it being a practice with him, 
 in that active and pregnant war, to be on deck at such mo 
 ments, in order to ascertain, with his own eyes, what the 
 fortunes of the night had brought within his reach. 
 
 " Well, Mr. Griffin," he said, as soon as he had received 
 the salutation of the officer of the watch, " you have had a 
 still night of it. Yonder is the Point of Piombino, I see ; and 
 here we have got Elba, and this little rocky island, again, 
 on our larboard hand. One day is surprisingly like another, 
 about these times, for us mariners, in particular." 
 
 " Do you really think so, Captain Cuffe ? Now, to my 
 notion, this day hasn t had its equal on the Proserpine s log, 
 since we got hold of 1 Epervier, and her convoy. You for 
 get, sir, that we destroyed le Feu-Follet, last night !" 
 
 "Ay that is something especially for you, Griffin. 
 Well, Nelson will hear of it by mail, as soon as we can set 
 into Leghorn ; which will be immediately after I have had 
 an opportunity of communicating with these people in Porto 
 Ferrajo. After all that has passed, the least we can do is to 
 let your veechy-govern-the-tories know of our success." 
 
 " Sail, ho !" shouted the look-out, on the foretopsail-yard. 
 
 The two officers turned, and gazed around them, in every 
 direction, when the captain made the customary demand of 
 * Where-away ?" 
 
 " Here, sir, close aboard of us, on our larboard hand, and 
 in our weathe-r quarter." 
 
 " On our weather quarter ! D n me, if that ca be 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 181 
 
 true, Griffin. There is nothing but the island, there. Tke 
 felloAv cannot have mistaken this little island for the hull of 
 a ship !" 
 
 " If he has, sir," answered Griffin, laughing, " it must be 
 for a twenty-decker. T-hat is Ben Brown, aloft ; and he is 
 as good a look-out as we have in the. ship." 
 
 " Do you see her, sir ?" demanded Ben Brown, looking 
 over his shoulder, to put the question. 
 
 " Not a bit of her," cried Cuffe. " You must be dream 
 ing, fellow. What does she look like !" 
 
 " There, this small island shuts her in, from the deck, sir. 
 She is a lugger ; and looks as much like the one we burnt 
 last night, sir, as one of our cat-heads is like t other." 
 
 " A lugger !" exclaimed Cuffe. " What, another of the 
 blackguards ! By Jove ! I 11 go aloft, and take a look for 
 myself. It s ten to one that I see her from the maintop." 
 
 In three minutes more, Captain Cuffe was in the top in 
 question ; having passed through the lubber-hole, as every 
 sensible man does, in a frigate, more especially when she 
 stands up for want of wind. That was an age in which 
 promotion was rapid ; there being few grey-bearded lieuten 
 ants, then, in the English marine; and even admirals were 
 not wanting who had not cut all their wisdom-teeth. Cuffe, 
 consequently, was still a young man ; and it cost him no 
 great effort to get up his ship s ratlins, in the manner named. 
 Once in the top, he had all his eyes about him. For quite 
 a minute, he stood motionless, gazing in the direction that 
 had been pointed out by Ben Brown. All this time Griffin 
 stood on the quarter-deck, looking quite as intently at his 
 superior, as the latter gazed at the strange sail. Then Cuffe 
 deigned to cast*a glance literally beneath him, in order to 
 appease the curiosity, which, he well understood, it was so 
 natural for the officer of the watch to feel. Griffin did not 
 dare to ask his captain what he saw ; but he looked a volume 
 of questions on the interesting subject. 
 
 " A sister corsair, by Jupiter Amrnon !" cried Cuffe ; " a 
 twin sister, too ; for they are as much alike as one cat-head 
 is like another. More, by Jove, if 1 am any judge." 
 
 " What will you have us do, Captain Cuffe ?" inquired the 
 lieutenant. "We are now going to leeward, all the while 
 16 
 
182 LB FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 I don t know, sir, that there is positively a current here 
 but" 
 
 " Very well, sir very well haul up on the larboard 
 tack, as soon as possible, and get the larboard batteries clear. 
 We may have to cripple the chan^in order to get hold of 
 him." 
 
 As this was said, Cuffe descended through the same lubber- 
 hole, and soon appeared on deck. The ship, now, became 
 a scene of activity and bustle. All hands were called, and 
 the guns were cleared away, by some, while others braced 
 the yards, according to the new line of sailing. 
 
 The reader would be greatly aided, in understanding what 
 is to follow, could he, perchance, cast a look at a map of 
 the coast of Italy. He will there see that the eastern side 
 of the Island of Elba, runs in a nearly north and south 
 direction, Piombino lying off about north-north-east, from its 
 northern extremity. Near this northern extremity, lies the 
 little rocky islet, so often mentioned, or the spot which Na 
 poleon, fifteen years later, selected as the advanced redoubt 
 of his insular empire. Of course, the Proserpine was on one 
 side of this islet, and the strange lugger on the other. The 
 first had got so far through the Canal, as to be able to haul 
 close upon the wind, on the larboard tack, and yet to clear 
 the islet ; while the last was just far enough to windward, or 
 sufficiently to the southward, to be shut out from view, frorr. 
 the frigate s decks, by the intervening rocks. As the dis 
 tance from the islet to the island did not much exceed a 
 hundred or two yards, Captain Cuffe hoped to enclose his 
 chase between himself and the land, never dreaming that 
 the stranger would think of standing through so narrow and 
 rocky a pass. He did not know his man, however, who 
 was Raoul Yvard ; and who had come this way, from Bastia, 
 in the hope of escaping any further collision with his formi 
 dable foe. He had seen the frigate s lofty sails, above the 
 rock, as soon as it was light; and being under no hallucina 
 tion, on the subject of her existence, he knew her at a glance. 
 His first order was to haul everything as flat as possible ; 
 and his great desire was, to get from under the lee of iha 
 mountains of Elba, into this very pass, through which the 
 wind drew with more force, than it blew anywhere, near by. 
 
 As the Proserpine was quite a league off, in the Canal, le 
 
L"E FEU-FOLLET. 183 
 
 Feu-Follet, which sailed so much the fastest, in light winds, 
 had abundance of time to effect her object. Instead of 
 avoiding the narrow pass between the two islands, Raoul 
 glided boldly into it ; and, by keeping vigilant eyes on his 
 fore-yard, to apprize him of danger, he succeeded in making 
 two stretches, in the strait itself, coming out to the southward, 
 on the starboard tack, handsomely clearing the end of the 
 islet, at the very instant the frigate appeared on the other 
 side of the pass. The lugger had now an easy task of it; 
 for she had only to watch her enemy, and tack in season, to 
 deep the islet between them ; since the English did not dare 
 to carry so large a ship through so narrow an opening. 
 This advantage Raoul did not overlook, and Cuffe had gone 
 about twice, closing, each time, nearer and nearer to the islet, 
 before he was satisfied that his guns would be of no service, 
 until he could, at least, weather the intervening object ; after 
 which they would most probably be useless, in so light a 
 wind, by the distance between them and their enemy. 
 
 " Never mind, Mr. Griffin; let this scamp go," said the 
 captain, when he made this material discovery ; "it is pretty 
 well to have cleared the seas of one of them. Besides, we 
 do not know that this is an enemy, at all. He showed no 
 colours, and seems to have just come out of Porto Ferrajo, 
 a friendly haven." 
 
 " Raoul Yvard did that, sir, not once, but twice," muttered 
 Yelverton, who, from the circumstance that he had not been 
 employed in the different attempts on le Feu-Follet, was one 
 of the very few dissentients in the ship, touching her fate. 
 " These twins are exceedingly alike ; especially Pomp, as 
 the American negro said of his twin children." 
 
 This remark passed unheeded ; for so deep was the delu 
 sion, in the ship, touching the destruction of the privateer, it 
 would have been as hopeless an attempt, to try to persuade 
 her officers and people, generally, that le Feu-Follet was not 
 burnod, as it would be to induce a "great nation" to believe 
 it had any of the weaknesses and foibles that confessedly 
 beset smaller communities. The Proserpine was put about, 
 again ; and, setting her ensign, she stood into the bay of 
 Porto Ferrajo ; anchoring quite near the place that Raoul 
 had selected for the same purpose, on two previous occasions. 
 The gig was lowered, and Cuffe, accompanied by Griffiu, as 
 
184 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 an interpreter, landed, to pay the usual visit of ceremony to 
 the authorities. 
 
 The wind being so light, several hours were necessary 
 to effect all these changes ; and, by the time the two officers 
 were ascending the terraced street, the day had advanced 
 sufficiently to render the visit suitable, as to time. Cuffe 
 appearing in full uniform, with epaulettes and sword, his 
 approach attracted notice; and Vito Viti had hurried off to 
 apprize his friend of the honour he was about to receive. 
 The vice-governatore was not taken by surprise, therefore, 
 but had some little time to prepare his excuses, for being the 
 dupe of a fraud, as impudent as that which Raoul Yvard 
 had so successfully practised on him. The reception was 
 dignified, though courteous ; and it had none the less of 
 ceremony, from the circumstance that all which was said by 
 the respective colloquists, had to be translated, before it 
 could be understood. This circumstance rendered the few 
 first minutes of the interview a little constrained ; but each 
 party having something on his mind, of which it was his 
 desire to be relieved, natural feeling soon got the better of 
 forms. 
 
 " I ought to explain to you, Sir CufFe, the manner in 
 which a recent event occurred in our bay, here," observed 
 the vice-governatore; " since, without such explanation, you 
 might be apt to consider us neglectful of our duties, and 
 unworthy of the trust which the Grand Duke reposes in 
 us. I allude, as you will at once understand, to the circum 
 stance that le Feu-Follet has twice been lying peaceably 
 under the guns of our batteries, while her commander, and, 
 indeed, some of her crew, have been hospitably entertained 
 on shore." 
 
 " Such things must occur, in times like these, Mr. Veechy- 
 Governatory ; and we seamen set them down to the luck of 
 war," Cuffe answered, graciously, being much too magnani 
 mous, under his own success, to think of judging others too 
 harshly. " It might not be so easy to deceive a man-of- 
 war s-man, like myself; but, I dare say, Veechy-Governa- 
 tory, had it been anything relating to the administration of 
 your little island, here, even Monsieur Yvard would have 
 found you too much for him ?" 
 
 The reader will perceive that Cuffe had got a new way 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 185 
 
 of pronouncing the appellation of the Elban functionary; a 
 circumstance that was owing to the desire we all have, when 
 addressing foreigners, to speak in their own language, rather 
 than in our own. The worthy captain had no more precise 
 ideas of what a rice-governor means, than the American 
 people, just now, seem to possess of the signification of vice- 
 president ; but, as he had discovered that the word was 
 pronounced " veechy," in Italian, he was quite willing to 
 give it its true sound ; albeit, a smile struggled round the 
 mouth of Griffin, while he listened. 
 
 " You do me no more than justice, Signor Kooffe, or Sir 
 KoofFe, as, I presume, I ought to address you," answered the 
 functionary ; " for, in matters touching our duties on shore, 
 here, we are by no means as ignorant, as on matters touch 
 ing your honourable calling. This Raoul Yvard presented 
 himself, to me, in the character of a British officer, one I 
 esteem and respect ; having audaciously assumed the name 
 of a family of high condition, and of great power, I believe, 
 among your people " 
 
 Ah the Barone !" exclaimed Cuffe ; who, having dis 
 covered by his intercourse with the southern Italians that 
 this word meant a " rascal," as well as a " baron," was fond 
 of using it, on suitable occasions. " Pray, Veechy-Gover- 
 natory, what name did he assume ? Ca endish, or Howard, 
 or Seymour, or some of those great nobs, Griffin, I 11 engage ! 
 I wonder that he spared Nelson !" 
 
 " No, Signore, he took the family appellation of another 
 illustrious race. The republican corsair presented himself 
 before me as a Sir Smees the son of a certain Milordo 
 Smees." . 
 
 " Smees Smees Smees ! I ve no recollection of any 
 such name, in the peerage. It can t be Seymour that the 
 Veechy means ! That is a great name, certainly; and some 
 of them have been in the service ; it is possible this barone 
 may have had the impudence to hail for a Seymour !" 
 
 " I rather think not, Captain Cuffe. Smees is very 
 much as an Italian would pronounce Smith, as, you know, 
 the French call it Smeet. It will turn out ihat this Mr. 
 Raoul has seized upon the first English name he fell in with, 
 as a man overboard clutches at a spar adrift, or a life-buoy ; 
 and that happened to be * Smith. " 
 16* 
 
186 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 " Who the devil ever heard of a my lord Smith ! A 
 pretty sort of aristocracy we should have, Griffin, if it were 
 made up of such fellows !" 
 
 " Why, sir, the name can make no great difference ; the 
 deeds and the antiquity forming the essentials." 
 
 " And he assumed a title to Sir Smees ! I dare say, he 
 was ready to swear His Majesty made him a Knight. Ban- 
 neret, under the royal ensign, and on the deck of his own 
 ship ; as was done with some of the old admirals. The 
 veechy, however, has forgotten a part of the story, as it 
 must have been Sir John, or Sir Thomas Smees, at least." 
 
 "No, sir ; that is the way with the French and the Italians, 
 who do not understand our manner of using Christian names 
 with titles ; as in our Sir Edwards, and Lord Harrys, and 
 Lady Bettys." 
 
 " Blast the French ! I can believe anything of them, 
 (hough I should have thought that these Italians knew bet 
 ter. However, it may be well to give the veechy a hint of 
 what we have been saying, or it may seem rude and, 
 hearkee, Griffin, while you are about it, rub him down a 
 fittle touching books, and that sort of thing ; for the surgeon 
 tells me, he has heard of him, in Leghorn, as a regular leaf 
 cutter." 
 
 The lieutenant did as ordered, throwing in an allusion to 
 Andrea s reputation for learning, that, under the circum 
 stances, was not ill-timed ; and which, as it was well-enough 
 expressed, was exceedingly grateful to his listener, just at 
 that awkward moment. 
 
 " My claims to literature are but small, Signore," an- 
 swered Andrea, with humility, " as I beg you will inform 
 SirKoofFe;but they were sufficient to detect certain assump 
 tions of this corsair; a circumstance, that came very near 
 bringing about an exposure, at a most critical moment. He 
 had the audacity, Signore, to wish to persuade me, that there 
 was a certain English orator of the same name, and of equal 
 merit of him of Roma and Pompeii one Sir Cicero !" 
 
 " The Barone !" again exclaimed CufFe, when this new 
 offence of Raoul s was explained to him. " I believes tho 
 rascal was up to anything. But there is an end of him, 
 now, with all his Sir Smees, and Sir Ciceroes, into the bar- 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 187 
 
 gain. " Just let the veechy into the secret of the fellow s fate, 
 Griffin." 
 
 Griffin then related to the vice-governatore the manner in 
 which it was supposed that le Feu-Follet, Raoul Yvard, and 
 all his associates, had been consumed, like caterpillars on a 
 tree. Andrea Barrofaldi listened, with a proper degree of 
 horror expressed in his countenance ; but Vito Viti heard the 
 tale with signs of indifference and incredulity that he did not 
 care to conceal. Nevertheless, Griffin persevered, until he 
 had even given an account of the manner in which he and 
 CufTe examined the lugger s anchorage, in the bootless attempt 
 to discover the wreck. 
 
 To all this, the two functionaries listened with profound 
 attention, and a lively surprise. After looking at each other 
 several times, and exchanging significant gestures, Andrea 
 assumed the office of explaining. 
 
 " There is some extraordinary mistake in this, Signer 
 Tenente," he said ; " for Raoul Yvard still lives. He passed 
 this promontory just as day dawned, in his lugger, this very 
 morning !" 
 
 " Ay, he has got that notion from having seen the fellow 
 we fell in with off the harbour, here," answered Cuffe, when 
 this speech was translated to him ; " and I don t wonder at 
 it, for the two vessels were surprisingly alike. But the 
 Baronc, that we saw burned with our own eyes, Griffin, can 
 never float again. I say Barone ; for, in my opinion, the 
 Few-Folly was just as much of a rascal, as her commander, 
 and all who sailed in her." 
 
 Griffin explained this ; but it met with no favour from the 
 two Italians. 
 
 " Not so, Signer Tenente not so," returned the vice- 
 governatore ; " the lugger that passed, this morning, we 
 know to be le Feu-Follet, inasmuch as she took one of our 
 own feluccas, in the course of the night, coming from 
 Livorno, and Raoul Yvard permitted her to come in, as he 
 said to her padrone, on account of the civil treatment he had 
 received, while lying in our port. Nay, he even carried his 
 presumption so far, as to send me, by means of the same 
 man, the compliments of Sir Smees, and his hopes of being 
 able, some day, to make his acknowledgments in person." 
 
188 LE FEU-FOLLET 
 
 The English Captain received this intelligence, as might 
 be expected ; and, unpleasant as it was, after putting various 
 questions to the vice-governatore, and receiving the answers, 
 he was obliged, unwillingly enough, to believe it all. He 
 had brought his official report in his pocket ; and, as the 
 conversation proceeded, he covertly tore it into fragments, 
 so small, that even a Mahommedan would reject them, as 
 not large enough to write the word " Allah" on. 
 
 " It s d h lucky, Griffin, that letter didn t get to Leg 
 horn, this morning," he said, after a long pause. " Nelson 
 would have Bronted me, famously, had he got it ! Yet, I 
 never believed half as devoutly in the twenty -nine articles, 
 
 " I believe there are thirty-woe of them, Captain Cuffe," 
 modestly put in Griffin. 
 
 " Well, thirty-nine, if you will what signifies ten, more 
 or less, in such matters? A man is ordered to believe them 
 all, if there were a hundred. But I never believed in them, 
 as devoutly, as I believed in the destruction of that infernal 
 picaroon. My faith is unsettled, for Hie !" 
 
 Griffin offered a few words of condolence, but he was also 
 too much mortified to be very able to administer consolation. 
 Andrea Barrofaldi, understanding the state of the case, now 
 interposed with his courtesies, and the two officers were in 
 vited to share his bachelor s breakfast. What followed, in 
 consequence of this visir, and the communications to which 
 it gave "ise, will appear in the course of the narrative, 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 189 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 u If ever you have looked on better days, 
 If ever been where bells have knolled to church; 
 If ever sat at any good man s feast ! 
 If ever from your eyelids wiped a tear, 
 And know what tis to pity, and be pitied, 
 Let gentleness my strong enforcement be." 
 
 SHAKSFEARE. 
 
 IT is now necessary to advance (.he time, and to transfer 
 the scene of our talo to another, but not a distant part of the 
 same sea. Let the reader fancy himself standing at the 
 mouth of a large bay, of some sixteen or eighteen miles 
 in diameter, in nearly every direction; though the shores 
 must be indented, with advancing promontories, and receding 
 curvatures, while the depth of the whole might possibly a little 
 exceed the greatest width. He will then occupy the spot at 
 which we wish to present to him one of the fairest panoramas 
 of earth. On his right stands a high, rocky island, of dark 
 tufa, rendered gay, amid all its magnificent formations, by 
 smiling vineyards and teeming villages, and interesting by 
 ruins that commemorate events as remote as the Csesars. 
 A narrow passage of the blue Mediterranean separates this 
 island from a bold cape on the main, whence follows a suc 
 cession of picturesque, village-clad heights and valleys, 
 relieved by scenery equally bold and soft, and adorned by 
 the monkish habitations called in the language of the coun 
 try, Camaldolis, until we reach a small city which stands on 
 a plain that rises above the water between one and two hun 
 dred feet, on a base of tufa, and the houses of which extend 
 to the very verge of the dizzy cliffs that limit its extent on 
 the north. The plain, itself, is like a hive, with its dwellings 
 and scenes of life, while the heights behind it teem with cot 
 tages and the signs of human labour. Quilting this smiling 
 part of the coast, we reach a point, always following the 
 circuit of the bay, where the hills or heights tower into 
 ragged mountains, which stretch their pointed peaks up 
 wards to some six or seven thousand feet towards the 
 
190 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 clouds, having sides now wild with precipices and ravines, 
 now picturesque with shooting-towers, hamlets, monasteries 
 and bridle-paths; and bases dotted, or rather lined, with 
 towns and villages. Here the mountain formation quits the 
 margin of the bay, following the coast southward, or running 
 into the interior of the country ; and the shore, sweeping 
 round to the north and west, oflers a glimpse into a back 
 ground of broad plain, ere it meets a high, insulated, conical 
 mountain, which properly forms the head of the coast in 
 dentation. The human eye never beheld a more affluent 
 scene of houses, cities, villages, vineyards and country resi 
 dences, than was presented by the broad breast of this 
 isolated mountain ; passing which, a wider view is obtained 
 of the rich plain that seems to lie behind it, bounded, as it is, 
 by a wall of a distant and mysterious-looking, yet bold 
 range of the Apennines. Returning to the shore, which now 
 begins to incline more westwardly, we come to another swell 
 of tufa, which has all the characteristic fertility and abrupt 
 ness of that peculiar formation, a vast and populous town of 
 near half a million of souls being seated, in nearly equal 
 parts, on the limits of the plain and along the margin of the 
 water, or on the hill-sides, climbing to their summits. From 
 this point, the northern side of the bay is a confused mass 
 of villages, villas, ruins, palaces and vines, until w 7 e reach 
 its extremity ; a low promontory, like its opposite neigh 
 bour, A small island comes next, a sort of natural sentinel; 
 then the coast sweeps northward, into another and a smaller 
 bay, rich, to satiety, with relics, of the past, terminating at a 
 point, some miles farther seaward, with a high, reddish, 
 sandy bluff, which almost claims to be a mountain. After 
 this we see two more islands, lying westward, one of which 
 is flat, fertile, and more populous, as is said, than any other 
 part of Europe of the same extent ; while the other is a 
 glorious combination of pointed mountains, thronged towns, 
 fertile valleys, castles, country-houses, and the wrecks of 
 long-dormant volcanoes, thrown together in a grand, yet 
 winning confusion. If the reader will, to this description, 
 add a shore that has scarce a foot that is not interesting 
 with some lore of the past, extending from yesterday into the 
 darkest recesses of history, give life to the water-view with a 
 fleet of little latine-rigged craft, rendered more picturesque by 
 
LEFEU-FOLLET. 191 
 
 an occasional ship, dot the bay with countless boats of fisher 
 men, and send up a wreath of smoke from the summit of the 
 cone-like mountain that forms the head of the bay, he will 
 get an outline of all that strikes the eye, as the stranger 
 approaches Naples from the sea. 
 
 The zephyr was again blowing, and the daily fleet of 
 sparanaras, or undecked feluccas, that passes every morning, 
 at this season, from the south shore to the capital, and re 
 turns at this hour, was stretching out from under Vesuvius; 
 some looking up as high as Massa; others heading towards 
 Sorrento, or Vico, or Persano, and many keeping more 
 before the wind, towards Castel a Mare, or the landings in 
 that neighbourhood. The breeze was getting to be so fresh, 
 that the fishermen were beginning to pull in towards the land, 
 breaking up their lines, which, in some places, had extended 
 nearly a league, and this, too, with the .boats lying within 
 speaking distance of each other. The head of the bay, 
 indeed, was alive with craft, moving in different directions, 
 while a large fleet of English, Russians, Neapolitans, and 
 Turks, composed of two-deckers, frigates and sloops, lay at 
 their anchors, in front of the town. On board of one of the 
 largest of the former, was flying the flag of a rear-admiral 
 at the mizzen, the symbol of the commander s rank. A 
 corvette, alone, was under-way. She had left the anchor 
 age an hour before, and, with studding-sails on her starboard 
 side, was stretching diagonally across the glorious bay, 
 apparently heading towards the passage between Capri arid 
 the Point of Campanella, bound to Sicily. This ship might 
 easily have weathered the island ; but her commander, an 
 easy sort of person, chose to make a fair wind of it from the 
 start, and he thonght, by hugging the coast, he might pos 
 sibly benefit by the land-breeze, during the night, trusting to 
 the zephyr that was then blowing, to carry him across the 
 Gulf of Salerno. A frigate, too, shot out of the fleet, under 
 her staysails, as soon as the westerly wind made ; but, she 
 had dropped an anchor under-foot, and seemed to wait some 
 preparation, or orders, before taking her departure ; her 
 captain being, at that moment, on board the flag-ship, on 
 duty with the rear-admiral. This was the Proserpine thirty 
 six, Captain CufFe, a vessel and an officer that are already 
 both acquaintances of the reader. About an hour before the 
 
192 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 present scene opens, Captain Cuffe, in fact, had been called 
 on board the Foudroyant, by signal, where he had found a 
 small, sallow-looking, slightly-built man, with his right arm 
 wanting, pacing the deck of the fore-cabin, impatient for his 
 appearance. 
 
 " Well, Cuffe," said this uninviting-looking personc ge, 
 twitching the stump of the maimed arm, " I see you are out 
 of the flock; are you all ready for sailing?" 
 
 " We have one boat ashore, after letters, my lord ; as 
 soon as she comes off, we shall lift our anchor, which is only 
 undor-foot." 
 
 " Very well I have sent the Ringdove to the southward, 
 on the same errand, and I see she is half-a-league from the 
 anchorage, on her way, already. This Mr. Griffin appears 
 to be a fine young man I like his account of the way he 
 handled his fire-ship ; though the French scoundrel did con 
 trive to escape ! After all, this Rowl E E how do you 
 pronounce the fellow s name, Cuffe? I never can make 
 anything out of their gibberish " 
 
 " Why, to own the truth, Sir Horatio I. beg pardon my 
 lord there is something in the English grain of my feelings 
 that would prevent my ever learning French, had I been 
 born and brought up in Paris. There is too much Saxon in 
 me, to swallow words that half the time have no meaning." 
 
 " I like you all the better, for that, Cuffe," answered the 
 admiral, smiling, a change that converted a countenance that 
 was almost ugly, when in a state of rest, into one that was 
 almost handsome a peculiarity that is by no means of rare 
 occurrence, when a strong will gives the expression to the 
 features, and the heart, at bottom, is really sound. * An 
 Englishman has no business with any Gallic tendencies. 
 This young Mr. Griffin seems to have spirit; and I look 
 upon it, always, as a good sign, when a young man volun 
 teers for a desperate thing of this sort but, he tells me, he 
 is only second ; where was your first, all the while /" 
 
 " Why, my lord, he got a little hurt in the brush of the 
 morning; and I would not let him go, as a matter of course. 
 His name is Winchester ; I think you must remember him, 
 as junior of the Captain, at the affair off St. Vincent. Miller* 
 
 * Ralph Willet Miller, the officer who commanded the ship to which 
 Nelson shifted his pennant, at the battle of Cape St. Vincent. This 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 193 
 
 had a good opinion of him ; and, when I went from the 
 Arrow to the Proserpine, he got him sent as my second. 
 The death of poor Drury made him first, in the natural 
 way." 
 
 " I have some recollection of him, Cuffe. That was a 
 brilliant day, and all its events should be impressed on my 
 mind. You tell me, Mr. Griffin fairly grappled the lugger s 
 cable ?" 
 
 " Of that there can be no manner of doubt. I saw the 
 two vessels foul of each other, with my night-glass and, 
 seemingly, both were on fire as plainly as I ever saw Vesu 
 vius, in a dark night." 
 
 " And yet this Few-Folly has escaped ! Poor Griffin has 
 run a desperate risk, for little purpose." 
 
 " He has, indeed, my lord." 
 
 Here, Nelson, who had been pacing the cabin with quick 
 steps, while CufTe stood, respectfully declining the gesture to 
 be seated, at the table in its centre, suddenly stopped, and 
 looked the Captain steadily in the face. The expression of 
 his countenance was now mild and earnest, and the pause 
 which preceded his words, gave the latter solemnity and 
 weight. 
 
 " The day will come, CufFe," he said, " when this young 
 man will rejoice that his design on these picaroons, French 
 men as they are, failed. Yes, from the bottom of his heart, 
 will he be glad." 
 
 * My lord !" 
 
 "I know you think this strange, Captain Cuffe; but no 
 man sleeps the sounder for having burnt or blown up a 
 hundred of his fellow-creatures, like so many widows at a 
 suttee. But we are not the less to commend those who did 
 what was certainly their duty." 
 
 " Am I to understand, Lord Nelson, that the Proserpine 
 is not to destroy the Few-Folly, at every hazard, should we 
 again have the luck to fall in with her?" 
 
 "By no means, sir. Our orders are to burn, sink and 
 
 gentleman was an American, and a native Manhattanese ; his near 
 relatives, of the same name, still residing 1 in New York. It is I elieved 
 that he got the name of Willet from the first English mayor ; a gentle, 
 man from whom are descended many of the old families of the lower 
 part of tiie state ; more particulary those on Long-Island. 
 17 
 
194 LE PEU-POLLET. 
 
 destroy. Such is England s policy, in this desperate war, 
 and it must be carried out. You know what we are con 
 tending for, as well as I do ; and it is a struggle that is not 
 to be carried on with courtesies; still, one would not wish to 
 see a glorious and sacred cause tarnished by inhumanity. 
 Men that fall in fair, manly combat, are to be envied rathe* 
 than pitied, since it is only paying the great debt of nature 
 a little sooner than might otherwise have happened ; but 
 there is something revolting to humanity, in burning up our 
 fellow-creatures, as one would burn rags, after the plague. 
 Nevertheless, this lugger must be had, at any price; for 
 English commerce and English power are not to be cut up 
 and braved, in this audacious manner, with impunity. The 
 career of these French tigers must be stopped, at every sacri 
 fice, Captain CuiTe." 
 
 " I know that, my lord ; and I like a republican as little 
 as you can do ; or His Majesty, himself, for that matter ; 
 and, I take it, he has as little relish for the animal as flesh 
 and blood can give." 
 
 " I know you do, CufTe I m sure you do ; and I esteem 
 you all the more for it. It is a part of an Englishman s 
 religion, in times like these, to hate a Frenchman. I went 
 across the Channel, after the peace of 83, to learn their 
 language, but had so little sympathy with them, even in 
 peaceable times, as never to be able to make out to write a 
 letter in it, or even to ask intelligibly for the necessaries of 
 life." 
 
 " If you can ask for anything, it far surpasses my efforts; 
 I never can tell head from stern, in their dialect." 
 
 " It is an infernal jargon, Cuffe, and has got to be so con 
 fused by their academies, and false philosophy, and infidelity, 
 that they will shortly be at a loss to understand it them 
 selves. What sort of names they give their ships, for in 
 stance, now they have beheaded their king, and denounced 
 their God ! Who ever heard of christening a craft, as you 
 tell me this lugger is named, the * Few-Folly V I believe 
 I ve got the picaroon s title right?" 
 
 " Quite right Griffin pronounces it so, though he has 
 got to be a little queerish, in his own English, by using so 
 much French and Italian. The young man s father was a 
 consul ; and he has half-a-dozen foreign lingos stowed away 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 195 
 
 in his brain. He pronounces Folly, something broadish 
 like Fol/a?/, I believe but it means all the same thing. 
 Folly is lolly, pronounce it as you will." 
 
 Nelson continued to pace his cabin, working the stump 
 of his arm, and smiling half-bitterly ; half in a sort of irony 
 that inclined him to be in a good-humour with himself. 
 
 " Do you remember the ship, Cuffe, we had that sharp 
 brush with, off Toulon, in old Agamemnon?" he said, after 
 making a turn or two, in silence? " I mean the dismasted 
 eighty-four, that was in tow of the frigate, and which we 
 peppered until their Gallic soup had some taste to it ! Now, 
 do you happen to know her real name, in good honest Eng 
 lish?" 
 
 " I do not, my lord. I remember, they said she was 
 called the Ca Ira ; and I always supposed that it -was the 
 name of some old Greek or Roman or, perhaps, of one of 
 their new-fangled republican saints." 
 
 " They ! D n em, they ve got no saints, to name, 
 
 my good fellow, since they cashiered all the old ones ! 
 There is something respectable in the names of a Spanish 
 fleet ; and one feels that he is flogging gentlemen, at least, 
 while he is at work on them. No, sir, Ca Ira means, neither 
 more nor less, than That 11 Do ; and, I fancy, Cuffe, they 
 thought of their own name more than once, while the old 
 Greek was hanging on their quarter, smashing their cabin- 
 windows for them ! A pretty sound it would have been, had 
 we got her, and put her into our own service His Majesty s 
 ship That ll Do, 84, Captain Cuffe !" 
 
 " I certainly should have petitioned my Lords Commis 
 sioners to change her name." 
 
 " You would have done quite right. A man might as 
 well sail in a man-of-war called the Enough. Then, there 
 was the three-decker, that helped her out of the scrape, the 
 Sans-Culottes, as the French call her ; I suppose, you know 
 what that, means ?" 
 
 " Not I, my lord ; to own the truth, I m no scholar ; and 
 am entirely without ambition, in that way. Sans, I sup 
 pose, is the French for saint ; but who Culottes was, I ve 
 not the least notion." 
 
 Nelson smiled, and the turn the conversation had taken 
 appeared to give him secret satisfaction. If the truth were 
 
100 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 known, something lay heavily on his mind ; and, with one 
 of his strong impulses, his ieelings disposed him to rush 
 from one extreme to the other, as is often the case, with men 
 who are controlled by such masters ; more especially, if their 
 general disposition is to the right. 
 
 " You re wrong, this time, my dear Cuffe," he said ; " for 
 sans, means without, in French, and culottes, means 
 breeches. Think of naming a three-decker, the Without 
 Breeches ! I do not see how any respectable flag-officer 
 can mention such names, in his despatches, without a feeling 
 of awkwardness, that must come near to capsizing all his 
 philosophy. The line was formed by the Republic s ship, 
 the That 11 Do, leading, supported by the Without 
 
 Breeches, as her second astern ! Ha ! Cuffe D e, sir, 
 
 if I d serve in a marine, that had such names to the ships ! 
 It s a thousand times worse, than all those saints, the Span 
 iards tack on to their vessels like a line of boats, towing a 
 ship up to her moorings !" 
 
 Here the conversation was interrupted by the appearance 
 of a midshipman, who came down to say that a man and a 
 woman, from the shore, wished to see the rear-adrniral, on 
 pressing business. 
 
 " Let them come down, sir," answered Nelson ; " I ve a 
 hard life of it, Cuffe ; there is not a washerwoman, or a shop 
 keeper, in Naples, who docs not treat me exactly as if I 
 were a podesta, and it were my duty to hear all the con 
 tentions about lost clothes, and mislaid goods. His Majesty 
 must appoint a Lord Chief Justice of the Steerage, to admin 
 ister the law, for the benefit of the young gentlemen, or he ll 
 soon get no officer to serve, with a flag at his mast-head." 
 
 " Surely, my lord, the captains can take this weight off 
 your shoulders !" 
 
 " Ay, there are men, in the fleet, that can, and there are 
 men who do; but there are men who do not. But. here 
 comes the plaintiff., I suppose you shall hear the case, and 
 act as a puisne judge, in the matter." 
 
 This was said as the cabin-door opened, and the expected 
 gur-sts entered. They were, a man turned of fifty, and a 
 girl of nineteen. The former was a person of plain exterior, 
 abstracted air, and downcast look ; but the latter had all 
 the expression, beauty, nature, and grace of mien, that so 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 197 
 
 singularly marked the deportment and countenance of Ghita 
 Caraccioii. In a word, the two visiters were Carlo Giunto- 
 tardi, and his gentle niece. Nelson was struck with the 
 modesty of mien and loveliness of the latter, and he courte 
 ously invited her to be seated, though he and Cuffe both 
 continued standing. A few efforts at making himself under 
 stood, however, soon satisfied this renowned admiral that he 
 had need of an interpreter, his guests speaking no English, 
 and his own Italian being too imperfect to carry on anything 
 like a connected conversation. He hesitated an instant, and 
 then went to the door of the inner cabin, an apartment in 
 which voices had occasionally been heard, the whole time, 
 one of the speakers being evidently a female. .Here he stood, 
 leaning against the bulkhead, as if in doubt; and then he 
 uttered his wishes. 
 
 " I must ask a service of you, which I would not think of 
 doing in any ordinary case," he said, with a gentleness of 
 voice and manner that showed he addressed one who had 
 habitual influence over him. " I want an interpreter, 
 between myself and the second handsomest woman in the 
 kingdom of Naples ; and I know no one so fit for the office, 
 as the first," 
 
 " With all my heart, dear Nelson," answered a full, rich, 
 female voice from within. " Sir William is busied in his 
 antiquities ; and I was really getting to be ennuieed, for want 
 of an occupation. I suppose you have the wrongs of some 
 injured lady to redress, in your capacity of Lord High Chan 
 cel lor of the Fleet." 
 
 " I am yet ignorant of the nature of the complaint ; but it 
 is not unlikely it will turn out to be something like thai 
 which you suspect. Even in such a case, no better inter 
 cessor can be required, than one who is so much superior to 
 the frailties and weaknesses of her sex, in general." 
 
 The lady who now made her appearance from the inner 
 cabin, though strikingly handsome, had not that in her 
 appearance which would justify the implied eulogium of the 
 British admiral s last speech. There was an appearance of 
 art and worldiiness, in the expression of her countenance, 
 that was only so much the more striking, when placed in 
 obvious contrast to the ingenuous nature and calm purity 
 hat shone in every lineament of the face of Gh ta. One 
 17* 
 
198 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 might very well have passed for an image of the goddess 
 Circe ; while the other would have made no bad model for 
 a vestal, could the latter have borne the moral impression 
 of the sublime and heart-searching truths that are inculcated 
 by the real oracles of God. Then the lady was a woman 
 in the meridian of her charms, aided by all the cunning of 
 the toilet, and a taste that was piquant and peculiar, if not 
 pure; while the other stood in her simple, dark Neapolitan 
 boddice, and a head that had no other ornament than its own 
 silken tresses; a style of dress, however, that set off her 
 faultless form, and winning countenance, more than could 
 have been done by any of the devices of the mantua-maker 
 or the milliner. The lady betrayed a little surprise, and, 
 perhaps, a shade of uneasiness, as her glance first fell on 
 Ghita; but, much too good an actress to be disconcerted 
 easily, she smiled, and immediately recovered her ease. 
 
 "Is this the being, Nelson, who comes with such a peti 
 tion?" she demanded, with a touch of natural, womanly 
 sensibility, in her voice ; " and that poor old man, I dare 
 say, is the heart-stricken father." 
 
 " As to the errand, you will remember, 1 know nothing, 
 as yet; and pledge myself to nothing." 
 
 " Captain CufFe, I hope I have the pleasure to see you 
 well. Sir William joins the admiral, in hoping you will 
 make one of our little family party to-day, at dinner, and " 
 
 " And what says the mistress not of the house, but of 
 the ship ?" put in Nelson, whose eyes had scarce turned an 
 instant from the face of the siren, since she entered the 
 fore-cabin. 
 
 "That she always disclaiming the title, honourable 
 though it be that she unites with all the rest, in inviting 
 Captain CufTe to honour us with his company. Nelson tells 
 me you were one of his old Agamemnons, as he calls you 
 all, aged and young, men and boys, little and big; and I 
 love even the sound of the name. What a glorious title for 
 a ship Agamemnon ! A Greek, led on by a true English 
 heart !" 
 
 " Ay, it is somewhat better than That 11 Do, and the 
 other affair, Ha ! Cuffe !" returned the admiral, smiling, and 
 glancing at his subordinate " But, all this time, we are 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 19 
 
 ignorant of the errand of this honest-looking Italian, and his 
 exceedingly innocent-looking companion." 
 
 " Well, then, in this matter, gentlemen, I am only 10 ta 
 regarded as a mere mouth-piece," put in the lady " an 
 echo, to repeat what reaches my ear, though it be an Irish 
 echo, which repeats in a different tongue from that in which 
 the sounds first reach it. Put your questions, my lord ; they 
 shall be faithfully rendered, with all the answers that may 
 be given. I only hope Captain Cuffe will come out of this 
 affair, as innocent as he now looks." 
 
 The two gentlemen smiled ; but the trifling could not dis 
 turb its subject, as he was profoundly ignorant of the exist 
 ence of the two strangers, five minutes before ; while the 
 boldness of the allusions, rather suited the freedom of a ship, 
 and the habits of the part of the world in which they happened 
 to be. 
 
 * We will first inquire the name of this worthy man, if 
 you will condescend to ask it," observed Nelson, to his fair 
 friend. 
 
 " Carlo Giuntotardi, noble lady once a poor scholar, in 
 Napoli, here, and now a keeper of the prince s watch-towers, 
 on the heights of Argentaro," was the quiet, but respectful 
 answer of the man, who, like his niece, had declined taking 
 a seat, a circumstance that left the whole party standing ; 
 " Carlo Giuntotardi, illustrious lady." 
 
 " A very good name, Signore, and one of which you have 
 no need to be ashamed. And thine?" turning to the girl. 
 
 " Ghita Caraccioli, Eccellenza ; the sister s daughter of 
 this honest tower-keeper of the prince." 
 
 Had a bomb exploded over the Foudroyant, Nelson cer 
 tainly would not have been as much startled ; while the 
 lady s beautiful face assumed a look of dark resentment, not 
 unmingled with fear. Even Cuffe understood enough of the 
 sounds to catch the name, and he advanced a step, with 
 lively curiosity, and an anxious concern expressed on his 
 ruddy face. But these emotions soon subsided, the lady 
 first regaining her self-possession, though Nelson paced the 
 cabin five or six-times, working the stump of his arm, before 
 he even looked up, again. 
 
 " I was about to ask if there never is to be an end of these 
 annoyances," observed the lady, in English ; " but there must 
 
200 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 be some mistake in this. The house of Caraccioli is one of the 
 most illustrious of Italy, and can scarcely have any of this 
 class, who feel an interest in him of whom we are thinking. 
 I will, therefore, inquire further into this matter. Signorina," 
 changing the language to Italian, and speaking with se 
 verity, like one who questioned what she- heard " Carac- 
 cioli is a noble name ; and is not often borne by the daughter 
 of any prince s tower-keepers !" 
 
 Ghita trembled, and she looked abashed. But she was 
 sustained by too high a principle, and was too innocent, 
 herself, to stand long rebuked, in the presence of guilt; and, 
 as the flush, which resembled that which so often passes over 
 her native skies, at even, left her countenance, she raised 
 her eyes to the dark-looking face of the lady, and gave her 
 answer. 
 
 " I know what your Eccellenza means," she said, " and 
 feel its justice. Still, it is cruel to the child, not to bear the 
 name of her parent. My father was called Caraccioli; and 
 he left me his name as my sole inheritance. What may 
 have been his right to it, let my uncle say." 
 
 " Speak, then, Signer Giuritotardi. First, give us the 
 history of this name ; then tell us what has brought you 
 here." 
 
 " Noble lady, my sister, as pious and innocent a woman 
 as ever lived in Italy, and now, blessed in heaven, married 
 Don Francesco Caraccioli, the son of Don Francesco of that 
 illustrious family, who now stands condemned to death, for 
 having led the fleet against the king ; and Ghita, here, is 
 the only fruit of the union. It is true, that the church did 
 not authorize the connection which brought my niece s 
 father into being; but the noble admiral never hesitated to 
 acknowledge his son, and he gave him his name, until love 
 bound him in wedlock with a poor scholar s sister. Then, 
 indeed, his father turned his face from him ; and death soon 
 removed both husband and wife from the reacR of all earthly 
 displeasure. This is our simple story, noble and illustrious 
 signora ; and the reason why my poor niece, here, bears a 
 name as great as that of Caraccioli." 
 
 " You mean us to understand, Signer Giuntotardi, that 
 your niece is the grand-daughter of Don Francesco Carac 
 cioli, through a natural son of that unfortunate admiral ?" 
 
I, E FEU-FOLLET. 20) 
 
 " Such is the fact, Signora. As my sister was honestly 
 married, I could do no less than bring up her daughter to 
 bear a name that her father was permitted to bear before 
 her." 
 
 " Such things are common ; and require no apology. 
 One question more, before I explain to the English admiral 
 what you have said. Does Prince Caraccioli know of the 
 existence of this grand-daughter?" 
 
 " Eccellenza, I fear not. Her parents died so soon 1 
 loved the child so well and there was so little hope that one 
 illustrious as he, would wish to acknowledge a connection 
 through the holy church, with persons humble as we, that I 
 have np.ver done more to make my niece known, than to let 
 her bear the same name as her father." 
 
 The lady seemed relieved, by this ;" and she now briefly 
 explained to Nelson, the substance of what the other had 
 said. 
 
 " It may be," she added, " they are here on that errand, 
 concerning which we have, already, heard so much, and so 
 uselessly ; but I rather think not, from this account ; for 
 what interest can they feel in one who is absolutely a 
 stranger to them. It may be some idle conceit, however, 
 connected with this same affair. What is your wish, Ghita? 
 This is Don Horatio Nelsoni, the illustrious English ad 
 miral, of whom you have heard so much." 
 
 " Eccellenza. I am sure of it," answered Ghita, earnestly ; 
 " my good uncle, here, has told you who we are ; and you 
 may well guess our business. We came from St. Agata, on 
 the other side of the bay, only this morning, and heard from 
 a relation in the town, that Don Francesco had been seized, 
 that very hour. Since, we are told, that he has been con 
 demned to die, for treason against the king; and that, by 
 officers who met in this very ship. Some even say, signora 
 that he is to meet his fate ere the sun set !" 
 
 " If this should be so, what reason is it that thou shoulds* 
 give thyself concern?" 
 
 " Eccellenza, he was my father s father ; and though I 
 never saw him, I know that the same blood runs in our 
 veins. W T hen this is so, there should be the same feelings 
 in our hearts." 
 
 " This is well, Ghita i-n appearance, at least ; but thou 
 
202 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 canst hardly feel much for one thou never saw st, and who 
 has even refused to own thee for a child. Thou art young, 
 too, and of a sex that should ever be cautious ; it is unwiso 
 for men, even, to meddle with politics, in these troubled 
 timos." 
 
 " Signora, it is not politics that brings me here, but nature, 
 and duty, and pious love for my father s father." 
 
 " What wouldst thou say, then?" answered the lady, im? 
 patiently ; " remember, thou occupiest one whose time is 
 precious, and of high importance to entire nations." 
 
 " Eccellenza, I believe it ; and will try to be brief. I wish 
 to beg my grandfather s life, of this illustrious stranger. 
 They tell me, the king will refuse him nothing ; and he hag 
 only to ask it of Don Ferdinando, to obtain it." 
 
 Many would have thought the matured charms of the 
 lady superior to the innocent-looking beauty of the girl ; but 
 no one could have come to such an opinion, who saw them 
 both, at that moment. While Ghita s face was radiant with 
 a holy hope, and the pious earnestness which urged her on, 
 a dark expression lowered about the countenance of the 
 English beauty, that deprived it of one of its greatest attrac 
 tions, by depriving it of the softness and gentleness of her 
 sex. Had there not been observers of what passed, it is 
 probable the girl would have been abruptly repulsed ; but 
 management formed no small part of the character of this 
 woman ; and she controlled her feelings, in order to effect 
 her purposes. 
 
 " This admiral is not a Neapolitan, but an Englishman," 
 she answered ; " and can have no concern with the justice 
 of your king. He would scarcely think it decent, to inter 
 fere with the execution of the laws of Naples." 
 
 " Signora, it is always decent to interfere to save life ; 
 nay, it is more it is merciful, in the eyes of God." 
 
 " What canst thou know of this ! A conceit that thou 
 nast the blood of the Caraccioli, has made thee forget thy 
 sex and condition, and placed a romantic notion of duty 
 before thine eyes." 
 
 " No, signora, it is not so. For eighteen years have I 
 been taught that the unfortunate admiral was my grand 
 father ; but, as it has been his pleasure to wish not to see 
 me, never have I felt the desire to intrude on his time 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 203 
 
 Before this morning, never has the thought that I have the 
 blood of the Caraccioli, crossed my mind ; unless it was to 
 mourn for the sin of my grandmother ; and even now, it has 
 come to cause me to mourn for the cruel fate that threatens 
 the days of her partner in guilt." 
 
 " Thou art bold, to speak thus of thy parents, girl ; and 
 they, too, of the noble and great 1" 
 
 This was said with a flushed brow, and still more lowering 
 look; for, haply, there were incidents in the past life of that 
 lady, which made the simple language of a severe morality, 
 alike offensive to her ears and her recollections. 
 
 " It is not I, Eccellenza, but God, that speaketh thus. 
 The crime, too, is another reason why this great admiral 
 should use his influence to save a sinner from so hurried an 
 end. Death is terrible, to all, but to those who trust, with 
 heart and soul, to the mediation of the Son of God ; but 
 it is doubly so, when it comes suddenly, and unlocked for. 
 It is true, Don Francesco is aged ; but have you not re 
 marked, signora, that it is these very aged who become 
 hardened to their state, and live on, as if never to die? I 
 mean those aged, who suffer youth to pass, as if the pleasures 
 of life are never to have an end." 
 
 " Thou art too young to set up for a reformer of the 
 world, girl ; and forgettest that this is the ship of one of the 
 greatest officers of Europe, and that he has many demands 
 on his time. Thou canst now go ; I will repeat what thou 
 hast said." 
 
 " I have another request to ask, Eccellenza permission 
 to see Don Francesco ; that I may, at least, receive his bless 
 ing." 
 
 " He is not in this ship. Thou wilt find him on board the 
 Minerva frigate ; no doubt, he will not be denied. Stop 
 these few lines will aid thy request. Addio, signorica." 
 
 " And may I carry hope with me, Eccellenza 1 Think 
 how sweet life is to those who have passed their days, so 
 long, in affluence and honour. It would be like a messenger 
 from heaven, for a grandchild to bring but a ray of hope." 
 
 " I authorize none. The matter is in the hands of the 
 Neapolitan authorities ; and we English cannot meddle. Go, 
 now, both of you the illustrious admiral has business of 
 importance, that presses." 
 
204 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 Ghita turned, and slowly and sorrowfully she left the 
 cabin. At its very door, she met the English lieutenant, 
 who was in charge of the unhappy prisoner, coming with a 
 last request that he might not be suspended like a thief, but 
 might, at least, die the death of a soldier. It would exceed 
 the limits set to our tale, were we to dwell on the conver 
 sation which ensued ; but every intelligent reader knows, 
 that the application failed. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 ** Like other tyrants, Death delights to smite 
 What smitten most proclaims the pride of power. 
 And arbitrary nod." 
 
 YOUNG. 
 
 IT is probable that Nelson never knew, precisely, what 
 passed between Ghita and the lady mentioned in the last 
 Chapter. At all events, like every other application that 
 was made to the English admiral, in connection with this sad 
 affair, that of Ghita produced no results. Even the mode of 
 execution was unchanged ; an indecent haste accompanying 
 the whole transaction ; as in the equally celebrated trial and 
 death of the unfortunate Due d Enghien. Cuffe remained to 
 dine with the commander in chief, while Carlo Giuntotardt 
 and his niece got into their boat, and took their way, through 
 the crowded roadstead, towards the Neapolitan frigate, that 
 now formed the prison of the unfortunate Caraccioli. 
 
 A request, at the gangway, was all that was necessary, to 
 procure an admission on board the ship. As soon as the 
 Signor Giuntotardi reached the quarter-deck, he let his 
 errand be known, and a messenger was sent below, to ascer 
 tain if the prisoner would see two visiters ; the name of the 
 uncle being alone given. Francesco Caraccioli, of the 
 Princes Caraccioli, or, as he was more commonly called, in 
 English, Prince Caraccioli, was now a man approaching 
 seventy ; and being a member of one of the most illustrious 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 205 
 
 houses of Lower Italy, he had long been trusted in employ 
 ments of high dignity and command. On his offence its 
 apology the indecent haste of his trial and execution, and 
 the irregularity of the whole proceedings, it is now unneces 
 sary to dwell ; they have all passed into history, and are 
 familiarly known to the world. That very morning had he 
 been seized, and sent on board the Foudroyant; in the 
 cabin of that vessel had a court of his own countrymen con 
 vened ; and there had he been hastily condemned to death. 
 The hour of doom was near ; and he was already in the 
 ship where the execution was to take place. 
 
 The messenger of Carlo Giuntotardi found this unfortu 
 nate man with his confessor ; by whom he had just been 
 shrived. He heard the request with cold indifference, but 
 granted it on the instant, under the impression that it came 
 from some dependent of his family, or estates, who had a 
 last favour to ask, or an act of justice to see performed. 
 
 " Remain here, father, I beseech you," said the prisoner, 
 perceiving that the priest was about to retire ; " it is some 
 contadino, or some tradesman, whose claims have been over 
 looked. I am happy that he has come ; for one would wish 
 to stand acquitted of injustice, before he dies. Let them 
 come in, my friend." 
 
 A sign was given, with these words, the door of the cabin 
 was opened, and Ghita, with her uncle, entered. A pause 
 of quite a minute followed, during which the parties regarded 
 each other in silence ; the prisoner endeavouring, in vain, to 
 recall the countenances of his guests, and the girl trembling, 
 equally with grief and apprehension. Then the last ad 
 vanced to the feet of the condemned man, knelt, bowed 
 her head, and said 
 
 " Grandfather, your blessing, on the child of your only 
 son." 
 
 " Grandfather ! Son ! and his child !" repeated Don 
 Francesco. " I had a son, to my shame and contrition be 
 it now confessed ; but he has long been dead. I never knew 
 that he left a child." 
 
 " This is his daughter, Signore," replied Carlo Giunto 
 tardi ; " her mother was my sister. You thought us, then, 
 too humble to be received into so illustrious a connection ; 
 18 
 
206 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 ind we have never wished to bring ourselves before your 
 eyes, until we thought our presence might be welcome." 
 
 * And thou comest now, good man, to claim affinity with 
 a condemned criminal !" 
 
 "Not so, grandfather," answered a meek voice, at his 
 feet ; " it is your son s daughter, that craves a blessing from 
 her dying parent. The boon shall be well requited, in 
 prayers for your soul." 
 
 " Holy father ! I deserve not this ! Here has this tender 
 plant lived, neglected in the shade, until it raises its timid 
 head to offer its fragrance in the hour of death ! I deserve 
 not this !" 
 
 " Son, if heaven offered no mercies, until they are merited, 
 hopeless, truly, would be the lot of man. But we must not 
 admit illusions, at such a moment. Thou art not a husband, 
 Don Francesco ; hadst thou ever a son ?" 
 
 " That, among other sins, have I long since confessed ; 
 and, as it has been deeply repented of, I trust it is forgiven. 
 I had a son a youth who bore my name, even ; though he 
 never dwelt in my palace ; until a hasty and indiscreet mar 
 riage, banished him from my presence. I ever intended 
 to pardon him, and to make provision for his wants ; but 
 death came too soon, to both husband and wife, to grant the 
 time. This much I did know ; and it grieved me that it 
 was so ; but, of his child, never, before this instant, have I 
 heard ! T is a sweet countenance, father ; it seems the very 
 abode of truth!" 
 
 " Why should we deceive you, grandfather," rejoined 
 Ghita, stretching h?r arms upward, as if yearning for an 
 embrace ; " most of all, at a time like this 1 We come not 
 for honours, or riches, or your great name ; we come simply 
 to crave a blessing, and to let you know that a child of your 
 own blood will be left on earth, to thy aves, in behalf of 
 your soul !" 
 
 " Holy priest, there can be no deception, here ! This 
 dear child even looks like her wronged grandmother ; and 
 my heart tells me she is mine. I know not whether to con* 
 sider this discovery a good or an evil, at this late hour; 
 coming, as it does, to a dying man !" 
 
 " Grandfather, your blessing. Bless Ghita, once, that I 
 may hear the sound of a parent s benediction." 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 207 
 
 " Bless thee ! bless thee, daughter !" exclaimed the ad 
 miral, bending over the weeping girl, to do the act she 
 solicited, and then, raising her to his arms, and embracing 
 her tenderly ; " this must be my child I feel that she is no 
 other." 
 
 " Eccellenza," said Carlo, " she is the daughter of your 
 son, Don Francesco, and of my sister, Ghita Giuntotardi, 
 born in lawful wedlock. I would not deceive any least of 
 all, a dying man." 
 
 " I have no estates to bequeath no honours to transmit 
 no name to boast of. Better the offspring of the lazzaroni, 
 than a child of Francesco Caraccioli, at this moment." 
 
 " Grandfather, we think not of this care not. for this. I 
 have come only to ask the blessing you have bestowed, and 
 to offer the prayers of believers, though we are so lowly. 
 More than this we ask not wish not seek not. Our 
 poverty is familiar to us, and we heed it not. Riches would 
 but distress us, and we care not for them." 
 
 " I remember, holy father, that one great reason of dis 
 pleasure at my son s marriage, was distrust of the motive of 
 the family which received him ; and yet, here, have these 
 honest people suffered me to live on unmolested in prosperity, 
 while they now first claim the affinity, in my disgrace and 
 ignominy ! I have not been accustomed to meet with wishes 
 and hearts like these !" 
 
 " You did not know us, grandfather," said Ghita, simply, 
 her face nearly buried in the old man s bosom. " We have 
 long prayed for you, and reverenced you, and thought of 
 you as a parent, whose face was turned from us in anger ; 
 but we never sought your gold and honours." 
 
 " Gold and honours !" repeated the admiral, gently placing 
 nis grand-daughter in a chair. " These are tilings of the past, 
 for me. My estates are sequestered my name disgraced ; 
 and, an hour hence, I shall have suffered an ignominious 
 death. No selfish views can have brought these good 
 people, father, to claim affinity with me, at a moment like 
 this." 
 
 " It comes from the goodness of God, son. By letting 
 you feel the consolation of this filial love, and by awakening 
 in your own bosom the spark of parental affection, he fore 
 shadows the fruits of his own mercy and tenderness, to the 
 
208 LE PEU-FOLLET. 
 
 erring but penitent. Acknowledge his bounty, in your soul, 
 it may bring a blessing on your last moment." 
 
 " Holy priest, I hope I do. But what says this . " 
 
 Don Francesco took a note from the hand of a servant, 
 and read its contents eagerly ; the world, and its feelings, 
 having too much hold on his heart, to be plucked cut in an 
 instant. Indeed, so sudden had been his arrest, trial and 
 conviction, that it is not surprising the priest found in him a 
 divided spirit, even at an instant like that. His countenance 
 fell ; and he passed a hand before his eyes, as if to conceal a 
 weakness that was unbecoming. 
 
 " They have denied my request, father," he said ; ** and 
 I must die like a felon " 
 
 "The Son of God suffered on the cross, suspended be 
 tween two thieves." 
 
 " I believe there is far less, in these opinions, than we are 
 accustomed to think yet it is cruel for one who has filled 
 so high employments a prince a Caraccioli, to die like a 
 lazzarone !" 
 
 " Grandfather " 
 
 " Did you speak, child ? I wonder not that this indignity 
 should fill thee with horror." 
 
 " It is not that, grandfather." resumed Ghita, shaking off 
 her doubts, and looking up with flushed cheeks, and a face 
 radiant with holy feelings " Oh ! it is not that. If my 
 life could save thine, gladly would I give it up for such a 
 purpose ; but, do not do not at this awful moment, mis 
 take the shadow for the substance. What matters it how 
 death is met, when it opens the gates of heaven ? Pain, I 
 am sure, you cannot fear ; even I, weak and feeble girl 
 that I am, can despise that ; what other honour can there 
 be, in the hour of death, than to be thought worthy of the 
 mercy and care of God ? Caraccioli or lazzarone prince 
 or beggar it will matter not, two hours hence ; and let me 
 reverently beg of you, to humble your thoughts to the level 
 which becomes all sinners." 
 
 " Thou say st thou art my grand-child, Ghita the daugh 
 ter of my son Francesco ?" 
 
 4< Signore, I am, as all tell me as my heart tells me 
 and as I believe." 
 
 " And thou look st upon these opinions as unworthy 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 209 
 
 unsuitcd, if thou lik st that better to this solemn moment, 
 find considerest the manner of a death, as matter of incihTe 
 rence, even to a soldier ]" 
 
 " YVhon placed in comparison with his hopes of heaven 
 when viewed through his own demerits, and the merits o-f 
 his Saviour, grandfather." 
 
 " And wilt thou, then, just entering on the stage of life, 
 with the world before thee, and all that its future can offer, 
 accompany me to the scaffold ; let it be known to the 
 mocking crowd, that thou derivest thy being through the 
 felon, and art not ashamed to own him for a parent!" 
 
 " 1 will, grandfather this have I come to do," answered 
 Ghita, steadily. " But do not ask me to look upon thy 
 sufferings! All that can be done to lessen, by sharing 
 thy disgrace, if disgrace it be, will I most gladly do; though 
 I dread to see thy aged form in pain !" 
 
 " And this wilt thou do for one thou never beheld st, until 
 this hour? one thou canst hardly have been taught to con 
 sider just to thyself?" 
 
 "If I have never seen thee before this visit, grandfather, 
 I have loved thee, and prayed for thee, from infancy. My 
 excellent uncle early taught me this lesson in duty; but he 
 never taught me to hate thee, or any one. My own father 
 is taken away ; and that which he would have been to thee, 
 this day, will I endeavour to be for him. The world is 
 nought to me ; and it will console thee to think that one is 
 near, whose heart weeps for thee, and whose soul is lost in 
 prayers, for thy eternal pardon." 
 
 " And this being, father, is made known to me, an hour 
 before I die ! God punishes me sufficiently for the wrong 
 I *ve done her, in letting me thus know her worth, when it 
 is loo late to profit by it. No, Ghita blessed child, such a 
 sacrifice shall not be asked of thee. Take this cross it 
 was my mother s; worn on her bosom, and has long been 
 worn on mine keep it as a memorial of thy unhappy pa 
 rent, and pray for me ; but, quit this terrible ship, and do 
 not grieve thy gentle spirit with a scene that is so unfit for 
 thy sex and years. Bless thee bless thee, my child. 
 Would to heaven I had earlier known thee but even this 
 glimpse of thy worth, has lightened my heart. Thou find st 
 me, here, a poor condemned criminal ; unable to provide for 
 18* 
 
210 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 thy future wants nay, I can yet do a little for thee, too. 
 This bag contains gold. It has been sent to me by a rela 
 tive, thinking it might be of service, in averting the punish 
 ment that awaits me. For that purpose, it is now useless j 
 with thy simple habits, however, it will render thy life easy, 
 and above care." 
 
 Ghita, with streaming eyes, steadily put aside the gold, 
 though she pressed the cross to her bosom, kissing it fervently, 
 again and again. 
 
 " Not that not that, grandfather," she said ; " I want it 
 not wish it not. This is enough ; and this will I keep to 
 my own last moment. I will quit the ship, too ; but not the 
 place. I see many boats collecting, and mine shall be among 
 them ; my prayers shall go up to God for thee, now thou 
 art living ; and, daily, after thou art dead. There needs no 
 gold, grandfather, to purchase a daughter s prayers." 
 
 Don Francesco regarded the zealous and lovely girl with 
 intense feeling ; then he folded her to his heart, once more, 
 blessing her audibly, again and again. While thus employed, 
 the Foudroyant s bell struck once, and then those of all the 
 surrounding ships, English and Neapolitan, repealed the 
 stroke. This, Caraccioli, a seaman himself, well knew 
 denoted that the time was half-past four ; five being the hour 
 named for his execution. He felt it necessary, therefore, 
 to dismiss his new-found relative, that he might pass a few 
 more minutes alone with his confessor. The parting was 
 solemn, but tender; and as Ghita left the cabin, her con 
 demned grandfather felt, as he would, had he taken leave, 
 for ever, of one whom he had long loved, and whose virtues 
 had been a solace to him from the hour of his birth. 
 
 The deck of the Minerva presented a sorrowful scene. 
 Although the prisoner had been condemned by a court of 
 Neapolitan officers, the trial was had under the British 
 ensign ; and the feeling of" the public was with the prisoner. 
 There existed no necessity for the hurry in which everything 
 had been done ; for no immediate danger pressed ; and an 
 example would have been more impressive, had there been 
 less of the appearance of a desire for personal vengeance, 
 and more of the calm deliberation of justice, in the affair 
 Ghita s connexion with the prisoner could not be even sus 
 pected ; but, as it was known that she had been in the cabin, 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 211 
 
 and believed that she felt an interest in the condemned, the 
 officers manifested an interest in her wishes, and too evident 
 emotions. An immense throng of boats had assembled 
 around the ship ; for, hasty as had been the proceedings, the 
 tidings that Francesco Caraccioli was to be hanged for 
 treason, spread like wild-fire ; and scarce a craft, of proper 
 size, was left within the mole, so eager was the desire to 
 witness that which was to occur. Either in the confusion, 
 or bribed by money, the man who had brought off Carlo 
 Giunlotardi and his niece, was no longer to be found ; and 
 the means of quitting the ship seemed, momentarily, to be 
 lost. 
 
 " Here is a boat, close to our gangway," said the officer 
 of the deck, who had kindly interested himself in behalf of 
 so interesting a girl, " with a single man in it ; a few grani 
 would induce him to put you ashore." 
 
 The fellow in the boat was of the class of the lazzaroni, 
 wearing a clean cotton shirt, a Phrygian cap, and cotton 
 trowsers, that terminated at the knees ; leaving his muscular 
 arms and legs entirely bare ; models for the statuary, in their 
 neatness, vigour and proportions. The feet, alone, formed 
 an exception to the ordinary attire, for they were cased in a 
 pair of quaint canvass shoes, that were ornamented a little 
 like the moccasins of the American Indian. Carlo caught 
 the eye of this man, who appeared to be eagerly watching 
 the frigate s gangway, for a fare, and, holding up a small 
 piece of silver, in a moment the light boat was at the foot 
 of the accommodation-ladder. Ghita now descended ; and, 
 as soon as her uncle and she were seated, the skiff, for it 
 was little more, whirled away from the ship s side, though 
 two or three more, who had also been left by recreant boat 
 men, for better fares, called out to him to receive them, also. 
 
 " We had best go alone, even though it cost us a heavier 
 price," quietly observed Carlo, to his niece, as he noted this 
 occurrence. " Pull us a short distance from the ship, friend; 
 here, where there are fewer boats ; and thou shall meet 
 with a fair reward. We have an interest in this solemn 
 scene, and could wish not to be observed." 
 
 " 1 know that well, Signer Carlo," answered the boat 
 man ; " and will see that you are not molested." 
 
 Ghita uttered a faint exclamation, and, looking up, nrst 
 
212 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 saw that the feigned lazzarone was no other than Raou. 
 Yvard. As her uncle was too unobservant, in general, to 
 detect his disguise, he made a sign for her to command her 
 self, and continued rowing, as if nothing had occurred. 
 
 " Be -at ease, Ghita, 1 said Carlo : " it is not yet the time, 
 and we have twenty good minutes, for our aves." 
 
 Ghita, however, was far from being at ease. She felt all 
 the risks that the young man now ran, and she felt that it 
 was on her account, solely, that he incurred them. Even 
 the solemn feeling of the hour, and the occasion, was dis 
 turbed by his presence ; and she wished he were away, on 
 more accounts than one. Here he was, nevertheless, and in 
 the midst of enemies; and it would not have been in nature, 
 for one of her years and sex, and, most of all, of her feelings, 
 not to indulge in a sentiment of tender gratitude towards 
 him, who had, as it were, thrust his head into the very lion s 
 mouth, to do her a service. Between Kabul and Ghita, there 
 had been no reserves, on the subject of parentage ; and the 
 former understood why his mistress was here, as well as the 
 motive that brought her. As for the last, she glanced timidly 
 around her, fearful that the lugger, too, had been brought 
 into the throng of ships that crowded the anchorage. For 
 this, however, Raoul was much too wary, nothing resembling 
 his little craft being visible. 
 
 The reader will have understood that many vessels of war, 
 English, Russian, Turkish and Neapolitan, were now an 
 chored in the -bay. As the French still held the Castle of 
 St. Elmo, or the citadel that crowns the heights, that, in their 
 turn, crown the town, the shipping did not lay quite as close 
 to the mole as usual, lest a shot from the enemy above might 
 do them injury; but they were sufficiently near to permit all 
 the idle and curious of Naples, who had the hearts and the 
 means, to pull off and become spectators of the sad scene 
 that was about to occur. As the hour drew near, boat after 
 boat arrived, until the Minerva was surrounded with specta 
 tors, many of whom belonged even to the higher classes of 
 society. * 
 
 The distance between the Neapolitan frigate, and the ship 
 of the English rear-admiral, was not great; and everything 
 that occurred on board the former, and which was not actu 
 ally hidden by the sides and bulwarks of the vessel itself. 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 213 
 
 was easily to be seen from the decks of the latter. Still, the 
 Foudroyant lay a little without the circle of boats ; and in 
 that direction Raoul had pulled, to avoid the throng, resting 
 on his oars, when about a third of a cable s-length from the 
 British admiral s stern. Here it was determined to wait for 
 the awful signal, and its fatal consequences. The brief 
 interval was passed, by Ghita, in telling her beads, while 
 Carlo joined in the prayers, with the devotion of a zealot. It 
 is scarcely necessary to say, that all this Raoul witnessed 
 without faith, though it would be doing injustice to his na 
 ture, as well as to his love for Ghita, to say he did so with 
 out sympathy. 
 
 A solemn and expecting silence reigned in all the neigh 
 bouring ships. The afternoon was calm and sultry, the 
 zephyr ceasing to blow, earlier than common, as if unwilling 
 to disturb the melancholy scene, even with its murmurs. On 
 board the Minerva, no sign of life- scarcely of death was 
 seen ; though a single whip was visible, rigged to the fore- 
 yard-arm, one end being led in-board, while- the other ran 
 along the yard, passed through a leading-block, in its quarter, 
 and descended to the deck. There was a platform fitted, on 
 two of the guns, beneath this expressive, but simple arrange 
 ment; but, as it was in-board, it was necessarily concealed 
 from all but those who were on the Minerva s decks. With 
 these preparations Raoul was familiar, and his under 
 standing eye saw the particular rope that was so soon to 
 deprive Ghita of her grandfather; though it was lost to her 
 and her uncle, among the maze of rigging by which it was 
 surrounded. 
 
 There might have been ten minutes passed, in this solemn 
 stillness, during which the crowd of boats continued to col 
 lect ; and the crews of the different ships were permitted to 
 take such positions, as enabled them to become spectators 
 of a scene that it was hoped might prove admonitory. It is 
 part of the etiquette of a vessel of war to make her people, 
 keep close ; it being deemed one sign of a well-ordered ship, 
 to let as few men be seen as possible, except on those occa 
 sions when duty requires them to show themselves. This 
 rigid rule, however, was momentarily lost sight of, and the 
 toeming masses that floated around La Minerva, gave up 
 their thousands, like bees clustering about their hives. It 
 
214 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 was in the midst of such signs of expectation, that the call 
 of the boatswain was heard piping the side, on board thr 
 Foudroyant, and four side-boys lay over on the accommo 
 dation-ladder, a mark of honour never paid to one of a rank 
 less than that of a captain. Raoul s boat was within fifty 
 yards of that very gangway, and he turned his head in idle 
 curiosity, to see who might descend into the gig that was 
 lying at the foot of the long flight of steps. A stranger, with 
 two epaulettes, came first, showing the way to two civilians, 
 and a sea-lieutenant ; when all descended in a line, and 
 entered the boat. The next instant, the oars fell, and the 
 gig whirled round under the Foudroyant s stern, and came 
 glancing up towards his own skiff. Four or five cf the 
 strong man-of-war jerks, sufficed to send the long, narrow 
 boat as far as was desired, when the men ceased rowing, 
 their little craft losing her way within ten feet of the skiff 
 occupied by our party. Then it was that Raoul, to his 
 surprise, discovered that the two civilians were no other than 
 Andrea Barrofaldi, and Vito Viti, who had accompanied 
 Cuffe and Griffin, their companions in the gig, on a cruise ; 
 of which the express object was to capture himself and his 
 vessel. 
 
 Another man would have been alarmed, at finding himself 
 in such close vicinity to his enemies ; but Raoul Yvard was 
 amused, rather than rendered uneasy, by the circumstance. 
 He had faith in his disguise; and he was much too familiar 
 with incidents of this sort, not to retain his self-command 
 and composure. Of course, he knew nothing of the persons 
 of the two Englishmen; but, perfectly aware of the presence 
 of the Proserpine, he guessed at their identity, and very 
 correctly imagined the circumstances that brought compa 
 nions, so ill-assorted, together. He had taken no precau 
 tions to disguise his face; and the red Phrygian cap which 
 he wore, in common with thousands on that bay, left every 
 , feature and lineament fully exposed. With Ghita, however, 
 the case was different. She was far belter known to the 
 two El bans, as indeed was the person of her uncle, than he 
 was himself ; but both had veiled their faces in prayer. 
 
 " I do not half like this business, Griffin," observed the 
 captain, as his gig entirely lost its way ; " and wish, with all 
 tiny heart, we had nothing to do with it. I knew this old 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 215 
 
 Caraccioli ; and a very good sort of man he was ; and, as to 
 treason, it is not easy to say who is, and who is not a traitor, 
 in times like these, in such a nation as this. Ha I I believe 
 my soul, this is the same old man, and the same pretty girl, 
 that came to see Nelson, half-an-hour ago, about this very 
 execution ?" 
 
 " What could they have to do with Prince Caraccioli, or 
 his treason, sir? The old chap looks bookish ; but he is not 
 a priast ; and, as to the girl, she is trim-built enough ; I fancy 
 the face is no great matter, however, or she would not take 
 so much pains to hide it." 
 
 Raoul muttered a " sacr-r-re," between his teeth, but he 
 succeeded in suppressing all outward expression of feeling. 
 Cuffe, on the contrary, saw no other motive for unusual dis 
 cretion, beyond the presence of his boat s crew, before whom, 
 however, he was accustomed to less reserve, than with his 
 people in general. 
 
 " If she be the same as the one we had in the cabin," he 
 answered, " there is no necessity for a veil ; for a prettier 
 or a more modest-looking girl, is not often fallen in with. 
 What she wanted, exactly, is more than I can tell you, as 
 she spoke Italian, altogether; and miladi had the interview 
 pretty much to herself. But her good looks seem to have 
 taken with this old bachelor, the justice of the peace, who 
 eyes her as if he had an inclination to open his mind to the 
 beauty. Ask him, in Italian, Griffin, what mare s nest he 
 has run foul of, now." 
 
 " You seem to have found something to look at, beside the 
 Minerva, Signer Podcsta," observed Griffin, in an under 
 tone ; " I hope it is not Venus." 
 
 " Cospetto !" grunted Vito Viti, nudging his neighbour, 
 the vice-governatore, and nodding towards the other boat; 
 " if that be not little Ghita, who came into our island like a 
 comet, and went out of it to what shall I liken her sudden 
 and extraordinary disappearance, Signor Andrea? " 
 
 "To that of le Feu-Follet, or ze Ving-y-Ving," put in 
 Griffin ; who, now he had got the two functionaries fairly 
 afloat, spared none of the jokes that come so easy and natural 
 to a man-of-war s man. " She went out, too, in an extra 
 ordinary disappearance, and perhaps the lady and the lugger 
 went out together." 
 
216 LE PEU-FOLLET. 
 
 Vito Viti muttered an answer; for, by this time, he had 
 discovered that he was a very different personage, on board 
 the Proserpine, from what the other had appeared to consider 
 him, while in his native island. He might have expressed 
 himself aloud, indeed; but, at that instant, a column of 
 smoke glanced out of the bow part of the Minerva a yellow 
 flag was shown aloft and then came the report of the signal- 
 gun. 
 
 It has been said that vessels of war, of four different 
 nations, were, at that time, lying in the Bay of Naples. 
 Nelson had come in, but a short time previously, with seven 
 teen ships of the line; and he found several more, of his 
 countrymen lying there. This large force had been assem 
 bled to repel an expected attack on the Island of Minorca ; 
 and it was still kept together in an uncertainty of the future 
 movements of the enemy. A Russian force had come out 
 of the Black Sea, to act against the French, bringing with 
 it a squadron of the Grand Signor ; thus presenting to the 
 world the singular spectacle of the followers of Luther, devo 
 tees of the Greek church, and disciples of Mahomet, uniting 
 in defence of " our rights, our firesides, and our altars !" 
 To these vessels must be added a small squadron of ships 
 )f the country ; making a mixed force of four different 
 ensigns, that was to witness the melancholy scene we are 
 about to relate. 
 
 The yellow flag, and the signal-gun, brought everything, 
 in the shape of duty, to a stand-still, in all the fleets. The 
 hoarse commands ceased the boatswains, and their mates, 
 laid aside their calls., and the echoing midshipmen no longer 
 found orders to repeat. The seamen gathered to the sides 
 cf *heir respective vessels every part glistened with expec 
 tant eyes the booms resembled clusters of bees, suspended 
 from the boughs of a forest and the knight-heads, taffrails 
 gangways, and stretchers of the rigging, were garnished with 
 fhose whose bright buttons, glazed hats, epaulettes, and 
 dark-blue dresses, denoted to belong to the privileged classes 
 of a ship. Notwithstanding all this curiosity, nothing like 
 the feeling which is apt to be manifested, at an exhibition of 
 merited punishment, was visible in a single countenance. 
 An expression resembling a sombre gloom, appeared to have 
 settled on all those grim warriors of the deep ; English, 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 217 
 
 Russian, Neapolitan or Turk, apparently reserving all his 
 sympathies for the sufferer, rather than for the majesty of 
 justice. Still, no murmur arose no sign of resistance was 
 made no look of remonstrance given. The unseen mantle 
 of authority covered all ; and these masses of discontented 
 men submitted, as we bow to what is believed to be the fiat 
 of fate. The deep-seated and unresisting habit of discipline, 
 suppressed complaint ; but there was a general conviction 
 that some act was about to be committed, that, it were better 
 for humanity and justice, should not be done; or, if done at 
 all, that it needed more of form, greater deliberation, and a 
 fairer trial, to be so done as to obtain the commendation of 
 men. The Turks, alone, showed apathy ; though all showed 
 submission. These subjects of destiny looked on coldly ; 
 though even among them, a low rumour had passed, that a 
 malign influence prevailed in the fleet ; and that a great and 
 proud spirit had gotten to be mastered by the passion that so 
 often deprives heroes of their self-command and indepen 
 dence. 
 
 Ghita ceased her prayers, as the report of the gun broke 
 rudely on her ears, and, with streaming eyes, she even 
 dared to look towards the frigate. Raoul, and all the rest, 
 bent their gaze in the same direction. The sailors, among 
 them, saw the rope at the fore-yard-arm move, and then 
 heads rose slowly above the hammock-cloths ; when the pri- 
 Borier and his attendant priest were visible even to their feet. 
 The unfortunate Caraccioli, as has been said, had nearly 
 numbered his threescore and ten years, in the regular course 
 of nature; and his bare head now showed the traces of 
 time. He wore no coat ; and his arms were bound behind 
 his back, at the elbows, leaving just motion enough to the 
 hands, to aid him in the slighter offices about his own person. 
 His neck was bare, and the fatal cord was tightened suffi 
 ciently around it, to prevent accidents, constantly admonish 
 ing its victim of its revolting office. 
 
 A low murmur arose among the people in the boats, as 
 this spectacle presented itself to their eyes ; and many bowed 
 their faces in prayer. The condemned man caught a ray 
 of consolation from this expression of sympathy ; and he 
 looked around him, an instant, with something like a return 
 of those feelings of the world, which it had been his effort 
 19 
 
218 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 and his desire totally to eradicate, since he had taken leave 
 of Ghita, and learned that his last request that of 
 changing his mode of punishment had been denied. That 
 was a fearful moment, for one like Don Francesco Carac- 
 cioli, who had passed a long life in the midst of the "scene 
 that surrounded him illustrious by birth, affluent, honoured 
 for his services, and accustomed to respect and deference. 
 Never had the glorious panorama of the bay, appeared more 
 lovely than it did at that instant, when he was about to quit 
 it for ever, and this by means of a violent and disgraceful 
 death. From the purple mountains the cerulean void above 
 him the blue waters over which he seemed already to be 
 suspended and the basking shores, rich in their towns, 
 villas and vines, his eye turned toward the world of ships, 
 each alive with its masses of living men. A glance of 
 melancholy reproach was cast upon the little flag that was 
 just waving at the mizzen-mast-head of the Foudroyant; 
 and then it fell on the carpet of faces beneath, that seemed 
 fairly to change the surface of the smooth sea, into an arena 
 of human countenances. His look was steady, though his 
 soul was in a tumult. Ghita was recognized by her com 
 panion, and by her dress. He moved towards the edge of 
 his narrow scaffolding, endeavoured to stretch forth his arms, 
 and blessed her, again, aloud. The poor girl dropped on 
 her knees, in the bottom of the boat, bowed her head, and in 
 that humble attitude did she remain, until all was over ; not 
 daring once to look upward, again. 
 
 " Son," said the priest, "this is a moment when the earth, 
 and its feelings, must be forgotten." 
 
 " I know it, father," answered the old man, his voice 
 trembling with emotion, for his sensations were too powerful, 
 too sublime, even, for the degrading passion of fear " but 
 never before did this fair piece of the creation seem so lovely 
 in my eyes, as now, when I am about to quit it for the last 
 time." 
 
 " Look beyond this scene, into the long vista of eternity, 
 son ; there thou wilt behold that, which mocks at all human, 
 all earthly means, to equal. I fear that our time is but 
 short hast thou aught yet to say, in the flesh ?" 
 
 " Let it be known, holy priest, that in my dying moment 
 I prayed for Nelson, and for all who have been active iu 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 219 
 
 bringing me to this end. It is easy for the fortunate, and the 
 untemptcd, to condemn ; but he is wiser, as he is safer, who 
 puts more reliance on the goodness of God, than on his own 
 merits." 
 
 A ray of satisfaction gleamed athwart the pale countenance 
 of the priest a sincerely pious man, or fear of personal 
 consequences might have kept aloof from such a scene 
 and he closed his eyes, while he expressed his gratitude to 
 God, in the secret recesses of his own spirit. Then he 
 turned to the prince, and spoke cheeringly. 
 
 " Son," he said, " if thou quittest life with a due depend 
 ence on the Son of God, and in this temper towards thy 
 fellow-creatures, of ail this living throng, thou art he who is 
 most to be envied ! Address thy soul in prayer, once more, 
 to Him, whom thou feelest can alone serve thee." 
 
 Caraccioli, aided by the priest, knelt on the scaffold ; for 
 the rope hung loose enough to permit that act of humiliation, 
 and the other bent at his side. 
 
 " I wish to God, Nelson had nothing to do with this !" 
 muttered Cuffe, as he turned away his face, inadvertently 
 bending his eyes on the Foudroyant, nearly under the stern 
 of which ship, his gig lay. There, in the stern- walk, stood 
 the lady, already mentioned in this Chapter, a keen specta 
 tor of the awful scene. No one, but a maid, was near her, 
 however, the men of her companionship not being of moods 
 stern enough to be at her side. Cuffe turned away from 
 this sight, in still stronger disgust ; and just at that moment, 
 a common cry arose from the boats. Looking round, he 
 was just in time to see the unfortunate Caraccioli dragged 
 from his kne^, by the neck, until he rose, by a steady, man- 
 of-war pull, to the end of the yard ; leaving his companion 
 alone on the scaffold, still lost in prayer. There was a 
 horrible minute, of the struggles between life and death, 
 when the body, so late the tenement of an immortal spirit, 
 hung, like one of the jewel-blocks of the ship, dangling pas 
 sively at the end of the spar, as insensible as the wood which 
 sustained it. 
 
220 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 M Sleep, sleep, thou sad one, on the sea ! 
 The wash of waters lulls thee, now ; 
 His arm no more will pillow thee, 
 Thy hand upon his brow. 
 He is not near, to hurt thee, or to save : 
 The ground is his the sea must be thy grave." 
 
 DANA. 
 
 A. LONG summer s evening did the body of Francesco 
 C> raccioli hang suspended at the yard-arm of the Minerva ; 
 a revolting spectacle to his countrymen, and to most of the 
 sti angers who had been the witnesses of his end. Then was 
 it lowered into a boat, its feet loaded with double-headed 
 shot, and it was carried out a league, or more, into the bay, 
 and cast into the sea. The revolting manner in which it 
 rose to the surface, and confronted its destroyers, a fortnight 
 later, has passed into history ; and, to this day, forms one 
 of the marvels related by the ignorant and wonder-loving of 
 that region.* As for Ghita, she disappeared, no one knew 
 how ; Vito Viti, and his companions, being too much absorbed 
 with the scene, to note the tender and considerate manner in 
 which Raoul rowed her off from a spectacle that could but 
 be replete with horrors, to one so situated. Cuffe, himself, 
 stood but a few minutes longer ; but he directed his boat s 
 crew to pull alongside of the Proserpine. In half-an-hour 
 after the execution took place, this frigate was aweigh ; and 
 then she was seen standing out of the bay, before a light air, 
 
 * Singular as was this occurrence, and painful as it must have 
 proved to the parties to the execution, it is one of the simplest conse- 
 quences of natural causes. All animal matter swells, in water, pre 
 viously to turning corrupt. A body that has become of twice its 
 natural size, in this manner, as a matter of course, displaces twice the 
 usual quantity of water; the weight of the mass remaining the same. 
 Most human frames floating, in their natural state, so long as the 
 lungs are inflated with air, it follows that one in this condition would 
 bring up with it, as much weight, in iron, as made the difference be. 
 tween its own gravity, and that of the water it displaced. The upright 
 attitude of Caraccioli, was owing to the shot attached to the feet ; of 
 which, it is also probable, one or two had become loosened 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 covered with canvass, from her truck to her hammock- 
 cloths. Leaving her, for the moment, we will return to the 
 party in the skiff. 
 
 Neither Carlo Giuntotardi, nor Ghita Caraccioli for so 
 we must continue to call the girl, albeit the name is much 
 too illustrious to be borne by one of her humble condition in 
 life but, neither of these two had any other design, in thus 
 seeking out the unfortunate admiral, than to perform what 
 each believed to be a duty. As soon as the fate of Carac 
 cioli was decided, both were willing to return to their old 
 position in life; not that they felt ashamed to avow their 
 connection with the dead ; but because they were quite de 
 void of any of that worldly ambition, which renders rank 
 and fortune necessary to happiness. 
 
 When he left the crowd of boats, Raoul pulled towards 
 the rocks which bound the shores of the bay, near the gar 
 dens of Portici. This was a point sufficiently removed from 
 the common anchorage, to be safe from observation ; and 
 yet so near, as to be reached in considerably less than an 
 hour. As the light boat proceeded, Ghita gradually regained 
 her composure. She dried her eyes, and looked around her 
 inquiringly, as if wondering whither their companion was 
 taking them. 
 
 " I will not ask you, Raoul, why you are here, at a mo 
 ment like this, and whence you have come," she said ; " but 
 I may ask whither you are now carrying us ? Our home 
 is at St. Agata, on the heights above Sorrento, and on the 
 other side of the bay. We come there, annually, to pass 
 a month with my mother s sister ; who asks this much of 
 our love." 
 
 " If I did not know all this, Ghita, I would not, and could 
 not be here. I have visited the cottage of your aunt, this 
 day ; followed you to Naples ; heard of the admiral s trial 
 and sentence ; understood how it would affect your feelings ; 
 traced you on board the English admiral s ship, and was in 
 waiting, as you found me ; having first contrived to send 
 away the man who took you off. All this has come about 
 as naturally, as the feeling which has induced me to venture, 
 again, into the lion s mouth." 
 
 "The pitcher that goes often to the well, Raoul, gets 
 broken at last," said Ghita, a little reproachfully, though it 
 19* 
 
222 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 surpassed her power to prevent the tones of tenderness from 
 mingling with her words. 
 
 " You know all, Ghita. After months of perseverance, 
 and a love such as man seldom felt before, you deliberately 
 and coldly refused to be my wife ; nay, you have deserted 
 Monte Argentaro, purposely to get rid of my importunities ; 
 for there I could go with the lugger, at any moment ; and 
 have come here, upon this bay, crowded with the English, 
 and other enemies of France, fancying that I would not dare 
 to venture hither. Well, you see with what success ; for 
 neither Nelson, nor his two-deckers, can keep Raoul Yvard 
 from the woman he loves, let him be as victorious and skil 
 ful as he may !" 
 
 The sailor had ceased rowing, to give vent to his feelings 
 in this speech, neither of the two colloquists regarding the 
 presence of Carlo Giuntotardi, any more than if he had been 
 a part of themselves. This indifference to the fact that a 
 third person was a listener, proceeded from habit, the worthy 
 scholar and religionist being usually too abstracted to attend 
 to concerns as light as love, and the youthful affections. 
 Ghita was not surprised, either at the reproaches of her 
 suitor, or at his perseverance ; and her conscience told her 
 he uttered but the truth, in attributing to her the motives he 
 had, in urging her uncle to make their recent change of resi 
 dence ; for, while a sense of duty .had induced her to quit 
 the towers, her art was not sufficient to suggest the expedi 
 ency of going to any other abode than that which she was 
 accustomed to inhabit periodically, and about which Raoul 
 knew, from her own innocent narrations, nearly as much as 
 she knew herself. 
 
 "I can say no more than I have said, already," the 
 thoughtful girl answered, after Raoul had begun again to 
 row. " It is better, on every account, that we should part. 
 I cannot change my country ; nor can you desert that 
 glorious republic, of which you feel so proud. I am an 
 Italian, and you are French ; while, more than all, I worship 
 my God, while you believe in the new opinions of your own 
 nation. Here are causes enough for separation, surely, 
 however favourably and kindly we may happen to think 
 of each other, in general." 
 
 " Tell me not, any more, of the heart of an Italian girl, 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 and of her readiness to fly to the world s end, with the man 
 of her choice !" exclaimed Raoul, bitterly. " I can find a 
 thousand girls, in Languedoc, who would make the circuit 
 of the earth, yearly, rather than be separated, a day, from 
 the seamen they have chosen for their husbands." 
 
 * Then look among the girls of Languedoc, for a wife," 
 answered Ghita, with a smile so melancholy that it contra 
 dicted her words. " Better to take one of your own nation 
 and opinion, Raoul, than risk your happiness with a stranger; 
 who might not answer all your hopes, when you came to 
 know her better." 
 
 " We will not talk further of this, now, dearest Ghita ; 
 my first care must be to carry you back to the cottage of 
 your aunt unless, indeed, you will at once embark in le 
 Feu-Follet, and return to the towers ?" 
 
 " Le Feu-Follet ! she is hardly here, in the midst of a 
 fleet of her enemies ! Remember, Raoul, that your men 
 will begin to complain, if you place them too often in such 
 risks, to gratify your own wishes." 
 
 "Peste! I keep them in good-humour, by rich prizes. 
 They have been successful ; and that which makes yonder 
 Nelson popular, and a great man, makes Raoul Yvard popu 
 lar, and a great man, also, in his little way. My crew is 
 like its captain it loves adventures, and it loves success." 
 
 " I do not see the lugger among a hundred ships, there 
 is no sign of yours?" 
 
 " The Bay of Napoli is large, Ghita," returned Raoul, 
 laughing ; " and le Feu-Follet takes but little room. See 
 yonder vaisseaux-de-ligne appear trifling among these noblo 
 mountains, and on this wide gulf; you cannot expect my 
 little lugger to make much show. We are small, Ghita 
 mia, if not insignificant !" 
 
 " Still, where there are so many vigilant eyes, there is 
 always danger, Raoul ! Besides, a lugger is an unusual rig, 
 as you have owned to me, yourself." 
 
 " Not here, among all these eastern craft. I have always 
 found, if I wished to be unnoticed, it was best to get into a 
 crowd ; whereas, he who lives in a village, lives in open 
 day-light. But we will talk of these things, when alone, 
 Ghita yonder fisherman is getting ready to receive us." 
 
 By this time the skiff was near the shore, where a little 
 
224 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 yawl was anchored, containing a solitary fisherman. This 
 man was examining them, as they approached ; and, recog 
 nising Raoul, he was gathering in his lines, and preparing 
 to raise his grapnel. In a few minutes the two craft lay 
 side by side ; and then, though not without difficulty, owing 
 to a very elaborate disguise, Ghita recognised Ithuel Bolt. 
 A very few words sufficed to let the American into all that 
 it was -necessary he should know, when the whole party 
 made its arrangements to depart. The skifTwhich RaoOl, 
 having found it lying on the beach, had made fi^e with, 
 without leave, he anchored, in the full expectation that its 
 right owner might find it, some day or other ; while its cargo 
 was transferred to the yawl, which was one of the lugger s 
 own attendants. The latter was a light, swift-pulling little 
 boat, admirably constructed, and fit to live in a sea-way ; 
 requiring, moreover, but two good oars, one of which Raoul 
 undertook to pull, himself, while Ithuel managed the other. 
 In five minutes after the junction was made, the party was 
 moving again from the land, in a straight line across the bay, 
 steering in the direction of its southern cape, and proceeding 
 with the steady, swift movement of men accustomed to the 
 toil. 
 
 There are few portions of the sea in which a single ship 
 or boat is an object of so little notice, as the Bay of Naples. 
 This is true of all times and seasons ; the magnificent scale 
 on which nature has created her panorama, rendering ordi 
 nary objects of comparative insignificance ; while the con 
 stant movement, the fruit of a million of souls thronging 
 around its teeming shores, covers it, in all directions, with 
 boats, almost as the streets of a town are crowded with 
 pedestrians. The present occasion, too, was one likely to 
 set everything in motion; and Raoul judged rightly, when 
 he thought himself less likely to be observed in such a scene, 
 than on a smaller and less-frequented water. As a matter 
 of course, while near the mole, or the common anchorage, 
 it was necessary to pass amid a floating throng; but, once 
 beyond the limits of this crowd, the size of the bay rendered 
 it quite easy to avoid unpleasant collisions, without any ap 
 parent effort ; while the passage of a boat, in any direction, 
 was an occurrence too common to awaken distrust. One 
 would think no more of questioning a craft that was encoun- 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 225 
 
 tered, even in the centre of that spacious bay, than he would 
 think of inquiring about the stranger, met in a market-place. 
 All thit> both Kaoul and Ithuel knew and felt ; and, once in 
 motion, in their yawl, they experienced a sense of security, 
 that, for the four or five previous hours, had not always 
 existed. 
 
 By this time, the sun was low, though it was possible, as 
 Raoul perceived, to detect the speck that was still swinging 
 at the Minerva s fore-yard-arm; a circumstance to which 
 the young man, with considerate feeling, refrained from 
 adverting. The Proserpine had been some time in motion, 
 standing out of the fleet under a cloud of canvass, but with 
 an air so light as to permit the yawl to gain on her, though 
 the heads of both were turned in the same direction. In this 
 manner, mile after mile was passed, untfl darkness came. 
 Then the moon arose, rendering the bay less distinct, it is 
 true, but scarcely more mysterious, or more lovely, than in 
 the hours of stronger light. The gulf, indeed, forms an ex 
 ception, in this particular, to the general rule, by the extent 
 of its shores, the elevation of its mountains, the beauty of its 
 water which has the deep tint of the ocean off soundings 
 and the softness of the atmosphere ; lending to it, by day, 
 all the mellowed and dreamy charms that other scenes bor 
 row from the illusions of night, and the milder brilliance of 
 the secondary planets. Raoul did not exert himself, at the 
 oar ; and, as he sat aft, his companion was obliged to take 
 the stroke from his movement. It was so pleasant to have 
 Ghita with him, on his own element, that he never hurried 
 himself, while in the enjoyment of her society. The con 
 versation, it will readily be imagined, was not lively ; but 
 the saddened melancholy of Ghita s voice, as she occasion 
 ally hazarded a remark of her own, or answered one of his 
 questions, sounded sweeter, in his ears, than the music of 
 the ships bands, that was now wafted to them across the 
 water. 
 
 As the evening advanced, the land-breeze increased, and 
 the Proserpine gradually gained upon the boat. When the 
 latter was about two-thirds of the distance across the bay 
 the frigate caught the stronger current, that came down 
 athwart the campagna, between Vesuvius and the mountains 
 behind Castel a Mare, when she drove ahead fast. Her 
 
226 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 sails, as seamen express it, were all asleep ; or swelled out- 
 ward, without collapsing ; and her rate of sailing was between 
 five and six miles in the hour. This brought them up with 
 the boat, hand-over-hand, as it is called ; and Ghita, at Raoul s 
 request, put the helm aside, in order that they might get 
 out of the way of the huge body that was approaching. It 
 would seem that there was some design, on the part of the 
 ship, in coming so near, for she made a sheer towards the 
 yawl, in a way to frighten the timid helmswoman, and to 
 induce her to relinquish her hold of the tiller. 
 
 " Fear nothing," called out Griffm, in Italian " we in 
 tend to offer you a tow. Stand by, and catch the line 
 Heave" 
 
 A small rrpe v/as thrown; and, falling directly across 
 IthuePs head, that person could do no less than seize it. 
 With all his detestation of the English in general, and of this 
 vessel in particular, the man-of-all-work had the labour- 
 saving propensity of his countrymen ; and it struck him as 
 a good thing, to make a " king s ship" aid an enemy s priva-* 
 teer, by accepting the offer. As he used the line with proper 
 dexterity, the yawl was soon towing on the quarter of the 
 frigate; Raoul taking the helm, and giving the boat the 
 sheer necessary to prevent her dragging in, alongside. This 
 was a change so sudden, and so totally unexpected, that 
 Ghita murmured her disapprobation, lest it should lead to a 
 discovery of the true character of her companions. 
 
 " Fear nothing, dearest," answered Raoul, " they cannot 
 suspect us ; and we may learn something useful by being 
 here. At all events, le Feu-Follet is safe from their designs, 
 just at this moment." 
 
 " Are you boatmen of Capri ?" called out Griffin, who 
 stood on the taffrail of the ship, with Cuffe and the two 
 Italians near by ; the first dictating the questions his lieu 
 tenant put. 
 
 " S nore, si ;" answered Raoul, adopting the patois of the 
 country, as well as he could, and disguising his deep mellow 
 voice, by speaking on a high shrill key. " Boatmen of 
 Capri, that have been to Napoli with wine, and have been 
 kept out later than we intended by the spectacle at the yard- 
 arm of the Minerva. Cospetto ! them signori make no more 
 of a prince, than we do of a quail, in the season, on our 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 227 
 
 little island. Pardon me, dearest Ghita ; but we must throw 
 dust into their eyes." 
 
 " Has any strange sail been seen about your island, 
 within the last twenty-four hours ?" 
 
 " The bay is full of strange sail, S nore ; even the Turks 
 coming to see us, since the last trouble with the French." 
 
 " Ay but the Turks are now your allies, like us Eng 
 lish. Have you seen any other strangers ?" 
 
 " They tell me, there are ships from the far north, too, 
 S nore, off the town. Russians, I believe, they call them. " 
 
 " They, too, are allies ; but, I mean, enemies. Has there 
 not been a lugger seen off your island, within the last day 
 or two a lugger of the French 7" 
 
 "Si si I know what you mean, now, S nore; there 
 has been a vessel like that you mention, off the island ; for I 
 saw her with my own eyes si si. It was about the 
 twenty-third hour, last evening a lugger, and we all said 
 she must be French, by her wicked looks." 
 
 " Raoul !" said Ghita, as if reproaching him for an indis 
 cretion. 
 
 " This is the true way to befog them," answered the young 
 man ; " they have certainly heard of us ; and by seeming 
 to tell a little truth, frankly, it will give me an opportunity 
 of telling more untruth." 
 
 " Ah, Raoul, it is a sad life, that renders untruths neces 
 sary!" 
 
 " It is the art of war, dearest ; without it, we should soon 
 be outwitted, by these knaves of English. Si si, S nori; 
 we all said just that, concerning her looks and rig." 
 
 " Will you sheer your boat alongside, friend !" inquired 
 Griffin, " and come on board of us ? We have a ducat, 
 here, that wants an owner ; I fancy it will fit your pocket, 
 as well as another s. We will haul you ahead, abreast of 
 the gangway." 
 
 " Oh ! Raoul, do not think of this rash act," whispered 
 Ghita ; " the vice-governatore, or the podesta, will recollect 
 you ; and then all will be lost !" 
 
 " Fear nothing, Ghita a good cause, and a keen wit, 
 will carry me through; while the least hesitation might, 
 indeed, ruin us. These English first ask, and then taks, 
 
228 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 without asking, if you tell them no. Corpo di Bacco ! who 
 ever heard, either, of a lazzarone s refusing a ducat !" 
 
 Raoul then whispered a few words to Ithuel, when, tho 
 boat being, by this time, far enough ahead, he gave it a 
 sheer alongside of the ship, seized a man-rope, and went up 
 the elects as actively as a cat. It is certain, not a soul on 
 board that fine frigate had the least suspicion of the true cha 
 racter of the individual who now confidently trod her quar- 
 ter-deck. The young man, himself, loved the excitement of 
 such an adventure, and he felt the greater confidence in his 
 impunity, from the circumstance that there was no other 
 light than that of the moon. The sails, too, cast their sha 
 dows upon deck ; and then, neither of the two Italians was 
 a wizard, at detecting impostors, as he knew by experience. 
 
 The watch was set for the night, and Winchester, who 
 had returned to duty, held the trumpet, while Griffin had no 
 other immediate office, but to interpret. Two or three mid 
 shipmen were lounging about the quarter-deck ; here and 
 there a seaman was on the look-out, at the halyards, or on 
 a cat-head ; some twenty or thirty old sea-dogs were pacing 
 the gangways or the forecastle, with their arms crossed, and 
 hands stuck in their jackets ; and a quick-eyed, active 
 quarter-master stood near the man at the wheel, conning 
 the ship. The remainder of the watch had stowed them 
 selves between the guns, or among the booms, in readiness 
 to act, but, in truth, dozing. " Cuffe, Griffin, and the two 
 Italians, descended from the laffrail, and awaited the ap 
 proach of the supposed lazzarone, or boatman of Capri, as he 
 was now believed to be, near the stern of the vessel. By an 
 arrangement among themselves, Vito Vlti became the spokes 
 man; Griffin translating to the captain, all that passed, in 
 an under-tone, as soon as it was uttered. 
 
 " Come hither, friend," commenced the podesta, in a 
 patronizing, but somewhat lofty manner ; " this generous and 
 noble English captain, Sir Kooffe, desires me to present you 
 with a ducat, by way of showing that he asks no more of 
 you than he is willing to pay for. A ducat* is a great deal 
 
 * The silver ducat of Naples is worth 80 grani, or rather less than 
 80 cents ; the golden ducat, or sequin of Italy, Holland, Turkey, &c. 
 is worth a trifle more than two American dollar*. Raoul was offered 
 the former. 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 229 
 
 of money, as you know ; and good pay merits good ser 
 vices." 
 
 " S nore, si ; your eccellenza says the truth ; a good 
 ducat, certainly, deserves good services." 
 
 " Bene. Now, tell these signori all you know about that 
 said lugger ; where you saw her ; when you saw her ; and 
 what she was about. Keep your mind clear, and tell us 
 one thing at a time." 
 
 " S nore, si. I will keep my mind clear, and tell you no 
 more than one thing at a time. I believe, eccellenza, I am 
 to begin with where I saw her ; then I m to tell you when 
 I saw her ; after which, you wish to know what she was 
 about. I believe, this is the way you put it, S nore ?" 
 
 " Excellently well ; answer in that order, and you will 
 make yourself understood. But, first, tell me ; do all the 
 natives of Capri speak the same sort of Italian as you do 
 yourself, friend ?" 
 
 " S nore, si though my mother having been a French 
 woman, they tell me that I have caught a little from her. 
 We all get something from our mothers, eccellenza ; and its 
 a pity we could not keep more of it." 
 
 " True, friend ; but now for the lugger. Remember that 
 honourable signori will hear what you say ; therefore, for 
 your own credit, speak to the point ; and speak nothing but 
 truth, for the love of God." 
 
 " Then, S nore, first, as to where I saw her does your 
 eccellenza mean, where I was at the time, or where the 
 lugger was ?" 
 
 " Where the lugger was, fellow. Dost think Sir Kooffe 
 cares where thou spent thy day !" 
 
 " Well, then, eccellenza, the lugger was near the Island 
 of Capri, on the side next the Mediterranean, which, you 
 know, S nore, is on the side opposite to the bay, and near, 
 as might be, abreast of the house of Giacomo Alberti does 
 your eccellenza know anything of the house I mean?" 
 
 " Not I ; but tell your story, as if I knew all about it. It 
 is these particulars which give value to a tale. How far 
 from the nearest land ? Mention that fact, by all means, if 
 you happen to remember." 
 
 " Well, eccellenza, could the distance be measured, now, 
 I think it would prove to be about as far not quite, S nore ; 
 20 
 
230 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 but, I say, about about as far as from the said Giacorno a 
 largest fig-tree, to the vines of Giovanni, his wife s cousin. 
 Si I think, just about that distance." 
 
 " And how far may that be, friend. Be precise, as much 
 may depend on your answers." 
 
 " S nore, that may be a trifle farther than it is from the 
 church to the top of the stairs that lead to Ana Capri." 
 
 " Cospetto ! Thou wilt earn thy ducat speedily, at this 
 rate ! Tell us, at once, in miles ; was the lugger one, two, 
 six, or twenty miles from your island, at the time thou 
 speak st of?" 
 
 l - Eccellenza, you bid me speak of the time, in the second 
 place ; after I had told you of the where, in the first place. 
 I wish to do whatever will give you pleasure, S nore." 
 
 " Neighbour Vito Viti," put in the vice-governatore, " it 
 may be well to remember that this matter is not to be re 
 corded, as you would put on file the confessions of a thief; 
 it may be better to let the honest boatman tell his story in his 
 own way." 
 
 " Ay, now the veechy has set to work, I hope we shall 
 get the worth of our ducat," observed Cuffe, in English. 
 
 " S nori," rejoined Raoul, " it shall be just as your 
 eccellenzi say. The lugger you speak of was off the island, 
 last evening, steering towards Ischia ; which place she must 
 have reached, in the course of the night, as there was a good 
 land-wind, from the twenty-third to the fifth hour." 
 
 " This agrees with our account, as to the time and place," 
 said Griffin ; " but not at all, as to the direction the corsair 
 was steering. We hear, she was rather rounding the 
 southern cape, for the Gulf of Salerno." 
 
 Raoul started, and gave thanks, mentally, that he had 
 come on board, as this statement showed that his enemies 
 had received only too accurate information of his recent 
 movements. He had hopes, however, of being able, yet, to 
 change their intentions, and to put them on a wrong scent. 
 
 " S nori," he said, " I should like to know who it is that 
 mistakes south-east for north-west. None of our pilots or 
 boatmen, I should think, could ever make so great a blunder. 
 S nore, you are an officer, and understand such things ; and 
 I will just ask you, if Ischia does not lie north-west of 
 Capri?" 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 231 
 
 " Of that fact, there can be no manner of doubt," returned 
 Griffin ; " it is equally true, that the Gulf of Salerno lies 
 south-east of both " 
 
 " There, now !" interrupted Raoul, with a well-acted 
 assumption of vulgar triumph ; " I knew, your eccellenza, 
 when you came to look into it, would see the folly of saying 
 that a vessel, which was standing from Capri towards Ischia, 
 was going on any other course than north-west !" 
 
 " But this is not the question, amico. We all understand 
 the bearings of these islands, which are the bearings of the 
 whole coast, down here-away ; but the question is, which 
 way the lugger was steering ?" 
 
 " I thought I had said, eccellenza, that she was heading 
 across towards Ischia," answered Raoul, with an air of 
 obtuse innocence. 
 
 " If you do, you give an account exactly different from 
 that which has been sent to the admiral, by the good bishop 
 of your own island. May I never eat another of his own 
 quails, if I think he would deceive us ; and it is not easy to 
 suppose, a man like him, does not know north from south." 
 
 Raoul inwardly muttered a malediction on all priests ; a 
 class of men, which, rightly enough, he believed to be united 
 in their hostility to France. But, it would not do to express 
 this, in his assumed character ; and he affected to listen, as 
 one of his class ought to give ear, to a fact that came from 
 his spiritual father. 
 
 " North from south, eccellenza ! Monsignore knows a 
 great deal more than that, if the truth were said ; though, I 
 suppose, these noble signori are acquainted with the right 
 reverend father s great infirmity ?" 
 
 " Not we none of us, I fancy, ever had the honour to be. 
 in his company. Surely, fellow, your bishop is a man of 
 trjth ?" 
 
 " Truth ! Yes, eccellenza, so true is he, that if he were 
 to tell me that the thing I saw myself, had not, and could 
 not happen, I should rather believe Monsignore, than believe 
 my own eyes. Still, signori, eyes are something; and as 
 the right reverend father has none, or, what are as bad as 
 none, for any use they can be in looking at a vessel half-a- 
 mile off, he may not always see what he thinks he sees. 
 When Monsignore tells us that so and so is Gospel, we all 
 
LE FETJ -FOLLET. 
 
 believe it ; for we know the time has been when he could read ; 
 but we never think of going to his door to ask which way a 
 ship is steering, having the use of our own senses." 
 
 " Can this fellow tell us the truth, Griffin ?" asked Cuffe, 
 a good deal mystified by Raoul s artifice, and his assumed 
 simplicity. " If so, we shall be going exactly on the wrong 
 scent, by hauling round Campanella, and running into the 
 Gulf of Salerno. The French hold Gaeta, yet, and it is 
 quite likely that Master Yvard may wish to keep a friendly 
 port open under his lee !" 
 
 " You forget, Captain Cuffe, that his lordship has sent a 
 light cruiser, already, up that way ; and le Feu-Follet would 
 hardly dare to show herself near one of our regular fel 
 lows" 
 
 "Umph! I don t know that, Mr. Griffin; I don t ex 
 actly know that. The Proserpine is a regular fellow, after 
 a fashion, at least ; and the Few-Folly has dared to show 
 
 herself to her. Jack-o -Lantern ! D n-me, Griffin, but 
 
 I think she is well named, now. I d rather chase a jack-o - 
 lantern, in the Island of Sicily, than be hunting after such a 
 chap ; first, he s here ; then, he s there ; and, presently, 
 he s nowhere. As for the sloop, she s gone south, at my 
 suggestion, to look into the bays along the Calabrian coast. 
 I told Nelson I wanted another ship ; for, just so certain as 
 
 this Rule Raw-owl what the d 1 do you call the 
 
 pirate, Griffin ? " 
 
 " Raoul, Captain Cuffe ;. Raoul Yvard is his name. Tig 
 thoroughly^ French. Raoul, means Rodolph." 
 
 " Well, I told Nelson, if this lad should get to dodging 
 round one of the islands, we might as well set about playing 
 * puss in the corner, by the week, as to think of driving him 
 off the land, for a fair chase. He works his boat like a 
 stage-coach, turning in to an inn-yard !" 
 
 " I wonder my lord did not think of this, and give us a 
 sloop or two, to help us." 
 
 " Catch Nel. at that ! He might send one Englishman to 
 look after two Frenchmen ; but he d never droam of sending 
 two Englishmen to look after one Frenchman." 
 
 "But this is not a fighting matter, sir; only a chase 
 and one Frenchman will run faster than two Englishmen, 
 any day of the week." 
 
L E FEU-FOLLET. 233 
 
 " Sa-c-r-r-r-e," muttered Raoul, in a tone that he en 
 deavoured to suppress, and which was inaudible, to all ears, 
 but those of Andrea Barrofaldi; the vice-governatore hap 
 pening to stand nearer his person, just at that moment, than 
 any other of the party. 
 
 " Very true," answered CufFe ; "but so it is. We are 
 sent alone ; and if this Few-Folly get in between Ischia and 
 Procida, it will be easier to unearth a fox, than to drive her 
 out, single-handed. As for any more boat-service against 
 her, I suppose, you ve all had enough of that ?" 
 
 " Why, sir, I rather think the people would be shy," 
 answered Griffin, with a little hesitation of manner, and yet 
 with the directness and simplicity of a truly brave man. 
 ** We must let them get over the last brush, before they are 
 depended on much, for any new set-to, of that sort." 
 
 " Bon /" muttered Raoul, quite unconscious he was over 
 heard. 
 
 " Nevertheless, we must catch this fellow if we wear out 
 our shoes, in the chase." 
 
 All this time Andrea Barrofaldi and Vito Viti were pro 
 foundly ignorant of what was passing between the two offi 
 cers, though Raoul listened eagerly, and so well understood 
 every syllable they uttered. Until this moment, the vice- 
 governatore had been rather indifferent and inattentive, as to 
 what occurred ; but the two exclamations of Raoul, awakened 
 a vague distrust in his mind, which, while it had no direct ob 
 ject, was certainly pregnant with serious consequences to the 
 Frenchman himself. Deep mortification at the manner in 
 which they had been duped by this celebrated privateersman, 
 with a desire to absent themselves from the island, until the 
 edge was a little taken off the ridicule they both felt they 
 merited, blended with certain longings to redeem their charac 
 ters, by assisting in capturing the corsair, were the reasons 
 why these two worthies, the deputy-governor and the podesta, 
 were now on board the Proserpine. Cuffe had offered them 
 cots in his cabin, and seats at his table, in a moment of con 
 fidence ; and the offer was gladly accepted. Andrea had 
 not been on board the ship a day, however, before he became 
 thoroughly convinced of his utter uselessness ; a circum 
 stance that added materially to the awkwardness of his 
 situation. Like all well-meaning and simple-minded men, 
 20* 
 
234 . LEFEU-FOLLET. 
 
 he had a strong wish to be doing ; and day and night he 
 ruminated on the means, by himself, or discussed them in 
 private dialogues with his friend, the podesta. Vito Viti 
 frankly admonished him to put his faith in heaven ; affirm 
 ing that something worth while, would yet turn up, in the 
 cruise, to render the enterprise memorable ; it being a habit, 
 with the magistrate, to say an ave or two, on all trying 
 occasions, and then trust to God. 
 
 " You never knew a miracle, vice-governatore," said Vito 
 Viti, one day, when they were discussing the matter by 
 themselves ; " you never knew a miracle come to pass, that 
 another was not close on its heels ; the first being a mere 
 preparation for the last, and the last always proving to bo 
 the most remarkable. Now, when Anina Gotti fell off the 
 cliffs, it was a miracle she didn t break her neck ; but, when 
 jhe rolled over into the sea, it was a much greater she wasn t 
 drowned !" 
 
 " It is better to leave these things to the church, neighbour 
 Vito," was the vice-governatore s answer ; " nor do I see, 
 that there has been any miracle in the affair, to start with." 
 
 " How ! Do you not call it a miracle, Signer Andrea, 
 that two such men as you and I, should be deceived, as we 
 were, beyond all doubt, by this knave of a French corsair ? 
 I look upon it as so great a miracle, myself, that it ought 
 to follow, instead of going before its companion." 
 
 To this Andrea made an answer suitable to his greater 
 information, and the discourse took its usual direction, to 
 wards the means of doing something to relieve the two func 
 tionaries from the stigma, that they mutually felt now rested 
 on their sagacity ; and that, too, as this sagacity might be 
 considered conjointly or individually. 
 
 It was probably owing to this fever of the mind, that the 
 vice-governatore, a man usually so simple and confiding, 
 was now so suspicious and keen-sighted. The presence of 
 Carlo Giuntotardi and Ghita had, at first, struck him as a 
 little out of the common way; and, though he could not 
 distinguish their faces by the light of the moon, and at the 
 distance at which they were placed in the yawl, he fancied, 
 from the first, that his old acquaintances were in the boat 
 the ship was towing. Now Andrea Barrofaldi, certainly, 
 ha 1 never, beforo that day, connected Ghita, or her uncle, 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET 235 
 
 in any manner with Raoul Yvard ; but, it was beyond dis- 
 pute, that the mysterious manner in which they disappeared 
 from the island, had excited some remarks ; and, in his 
 present state of mind, it was not an extraordinary circum 
 stance that he had some distant and vague glimmerings of 
 the truth. But for Raoul s indiscreet exclamations, however, 
 nothing probably would have come of these indistinct fancies; 
 nd we are to refer all that followed to those unguarded out- 
 reakings of the Frenchman s humour, rather than to any 
 very clear process of ratiocination on the part of the vice- 
 governatore. 
 
 Just as CufFe made the declaration last recorded, Andrea 
 stepped up to the spot where he and Griffin were conversing 
 apart, and whispered a few words in the ear of the latter. 
 
 "The d 1!" exclaimed the lieutenant, in English. 
 
 " If what the vice-governatore tells me, be true, Captain 
 Cuffe, the work is half done to our hands !" 
 
 " Ay, the veechy is a good fellow, at the bottom, Griffin 
 though he 11 never burn the bay of Naples. What has he 
 to say, now ?" 
 
 Griffin led his captain a little aside, and conferred a mo 
 ment with him, alone. Orders were then passed to the 
 officer of the deck, when Cuffe and his companion went 
 below, like men in a hurry. 
 
236 L FFU-FOLLET. 
 
 CHAPTER XYI. 
 
 *What countryman, I pray?" 
 
 "Of Mantua." 
 
 "Of Mantua, sir? marry, God forbid! 
 And come to Padua, careless of your life ? M 
 
 Taming of the Shrew. 
 
 the momentous five minutes occupied in these 
 private movements, Raoul affected to be gaping about 
 in vulgar astonishment, examining the guns, rigging, orna 
 ments of the quarter-deck, &c. ; though, in truth, nothing 
 that passed among those near him, escaped his vigilant 
 attention. He was uneasy at the signs of the times, and 
 now regretted his own temerity; but still he thought his 
 incognito must be impenetrable. Like most persons, who 
 fancy they speak a foreign language well, he was igno 
 rant, too, in how many little things he betrayed himself; the 
 Englishman, ceeteris paribus, usually pronouncing the Italian 
 better than the Frenchman, on account of the greater affinity 
 between his native language and that of Italy, in what 
 relates to emphasis and sounds. Such was the state of mind 
 of our hero, then, as he got an intimation that the captain 
 of the ship wished to see him below. Raoul observed, as he 
 descended the ladder, to comply with what sounded very 
 much like an order, that he was followed by the two Elban 
 functionaries. 
 
 The cabin-lamp was trimmed, and the privateersman found 
 himself under a strong light, as soon as he had crossed the 
 
LB FEU-FOLLET. 237 
 
 threshold of the apartment. Cuffe and Griffin were standing 
 near the table, where the v ice-go vernatore and the podesta 
 took their stations, also ; giving the whole arrangement a 
 most uncfpnfortable air of investigation and Justice. For an 
 instant, Raoul wished that it was a portion of the Holy Inqui 
 sition, rather than the tribunal before which he now found 
 himself so unexpectedly arraigned. 
 
 " You must be cool," said Griffin, as the other moved 
 slowly up to the table, maintaining the outward signs of 
 steadiness, but cursing, in his heart, the severe ordeal which 
 he felt he was undergoing ; " do me the favour to put this 
 silk handkerchief about your neck." 
 
 " S nore, your eccellenza is pleased to joke ; we men of 
 Capri think little of the nights, at this season of the year- 
 still, as it seems to be your wish, I will honour myself so 
 much." 
 
 In that age, a black silk kerchief was the certain mark 
 of a military man. The old-fashioned stock had gone out, 
 with all but old-fashioned people, and the new-fashioned 
 substitute did not make its appearance until many years 
 later ; the present usage, indeed, having come in from an 
 imitation of the military mania which pervaded Christendom 
 at the close of the last general war. Black around the neck, 
 properly relieved by the white of the linen, was then deemed 
 particularly military ; and even in the ordinary dress, such 
 a peculiarity was as certain a sign, as the cockade, that the 
 wearer bore arms. Raoul knew this, and he felt he was 
 aiding in unmasking himself, by complying ; but he thought 
 there might be greater danger, should he refuse to assume 
 the kerchief. 
 
 " Your eccellenza is making a prince, of a very humble 
 boatman," he said, when his neck was fairly enveloped ; 
 " and my wife will think some great general is coming, 
 when I enter the door." 
 
 " To help the delusion, friend, wear this, also," continued 
 Griffin, throwing the other one of his own undress uniform 
 coats, his stature and that of Raoul being very nearly the 
 same. 
 
 The true state of the case was now getting to be some- 
 what unequivocal; nevertheless, as steadiness and compli 
 ance were his only hopes, Raoul did as desired, and stood 
 
238 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 with all his upper man decorated in an English naval un 
 dress uniform, while the nether remained a la lazzarone. 
 
 " What say you, now, vice-governatore," resumed Griffin, 
 " here are lights, and the dress?" <0 
 
 " I say that this gentleman has done me the honour of 
 several visits, in my poor residence, at Porto Ferrajo," 
 returned Andrea ; " and that never has he been more wel 
 come, than he is at this moment. Signor Smees, you -are a 
 great lover of masquerades, and make a carnival of the 
 whole year. I trust, your distinguished countryman, Sir 
 Cicero, will have it in his power to convince these brave 
 Inglese, that all is done in pure pleasantry, and without a 
 crime." 
 
 " Messieurs," said Raoul, stripping himself of his bor 
 rowed plumes, " it is too late to feign, any longer. If I am 
 Raoul Yvard, as you say, I am certainly not le Feu-Follet." 
 
 " Of course, you are aware, Monsieur," observed Griffin, 
 in French, " that you are a prisoner to His Britannic Ma 
 jesty ?" 
 
 " Sa Majeste Britannique has not made a conquest equal 
 to his success at the Nile," returned Raoul, ironically; 
 " but he has me in his hands. It is not the first time that I 
 have had the honour to be a prisoner of war, and that, too, 
 in one of his own ships." 
 
 " You are not to suppose that such will be your situation, 
 now, Monsieur Yvard. We arrest you in a totally different 
 character." 
 
 " Not as a friend, I trust, Monsieur ; for, I protest, I have 
 not the smallest claim to the character ; as witness a short 
 interview off Porto Ferrajo, and an interesting incident at 
 the mouth of the Golo." 
 
 " Your taunts may be spared, sir ; fortune favoured you, 
 then, we allow; but, now, we arrest you as a spy." 
 
 "Espion!" repeated Raoul, starting; "that is an office 
 f never contemplated, Monsieur, on coming on board your 
 ship. You will do me the justice to acknowledge, that it 
 was only at your own invitation, that I came on deck. 
 T would be an infamy to pretend differently !" 
 
 " We will endure the infamy of our acts, Monsieur Yvard. 
 No one accuses you of having come on board the Proserpine 
 sis a spy ; but, when an enemy is found rowing about our 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 239 
 
 fleet, which is anchored in a hostile bay, and this in a dis 
 guise like yours, it must be a very scrupulous conscience, 
 that hesitates to pronounce him a spy, and liable to the 
 punishment of one." 
 
 This was so true, that the unfortunate young man now 
 felt the exceeding delicacy of his situation. In coming into 
 the bay, he had certainly been led by no other intention than 
 to find Ghita ; and yet he could not but confess, to himself, 
 that he should not have hesitated about profiting, in his pub 
 lic character, by any information incidentally obtained. He 
 had subjected himself to the severest penalties of military 
 law, by yielding to his passion for Ghita ; and he could not 
 discover a single available excuse, to plead in mitigation. 
 
 " What does the poor devil say, Griffin," asked CufFe, 
 who felt regret that so brave an enemy should be reduced to 
 so desperate a strait, notwithstanding his determined hostility 
 to all Frenchmen ; " do not bear too hard upon him, at the 
 first go off. Has he any excuse for his disguise ?" 
 
 " The usual apology, no doubt, sir a desire to serve his 
 one and undivided republic ! If we should believe all such 
 chaps tell us, Captain CufFe, we might go home, and send 
 deputies to the National Convention ; if, indeed, they would 
 do us the favour to admit them to seats." 
 
 " Gentlemen," said Raoul, in English, -* there is no 
 longer any occasion for an interpreter between us ; I speak 
 your language sufficiently well to make myself understood." 
 
 " I am sorry for your situation, Mr. Yvard," said CufFe, 
 " and wish, with all my heart, you had fallen into our hands 
 in open battle, instead of in this irregular way." 
 
 " In which case, Monsieur le Capitaine, le Feu-Follel 
 would have been in your power, also !" returned Raoul, 
 smiling ironically ; " but, messieurs, words are idle, now ; 1 
 am your prisoner, and must take my chance with you. 
 There is no necessity, however, for causing others to suffer 
 for my indiscretion. I shall esteem it a favour, messieurs, if 
 you will let the good people, in the boat alongside, pull 
 ashore, without molestation. It is getting late, and we must, 
 now, be nearly, or quite abeam of the place where they wish 
 to land ; which is the marina grande of Sorrento." 
 
 " Do you wish us to understand that your companions are 
 not French, Monsieur Yvard ?" 
 
240 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 * Oui, Monsieur le Capitaine ; there is not a Frenchman 
 among them, I give you my parole d honneur." 
 
 " Of that fact, it may be well to satisfy ourselves by an 
 examination, Captain CufTe," put in Griffin, drily. 
 
 " I have sent up to beg Mr. Winchester would get these 
 people on board " 
 
 " There is a young woman, in the boat, who is unaccus 
 tomed to entering ships," interrupted Raoul, hastily, " and 
 [ implore your tenderness, in her behalf. Let the men come 
 on board, if you think it necessary; but the signorina can 
 never climb this frigate s sides !" 
 
 " We will see to that ; more especially, Monsieur Yvard, 
 as you appear to be so much interested in the lady s comfort. 
 At present, it will be my duty to put you under a sentry s 
 charge ; and that it may be done in a way the least offen 
 sive to yourself, your prison, for the night at least, shall be 
 this cabin. Mr. Griffin, give orders to the marine officer, 
 accordingly." 
 
 In a few minutes, a soldier was introduced into the for 
 ward cabin, and Raoul was regularly placed under his 
 charge. Not till then did the officers return to the quarter 
 deck. All this time, Ithuel, and his companions in the yawl, 
 were left to their own reflections, which were anything but 
 agreeable. Matters had been conducted so quietly, in-board, 
 .however, that they possessed no clue to what had actually 
 occurred ; though Ghita, in particular, was full of forebodings 
 and apprehensions. The frigate had towed them along at a 
 rate, which, as Raoul had said, had brought them quite 
 abreast of their landing, and within a league of it ; and yet 
 she showed no signs of an intention to abate her speed, nor 
 did any one appear at the gangway, to speak to them. At 
 length a hoarse call was heard on deck, and the ship began 
 to shorten sail. Her fore-course was hauled up, and the 
 spanker was brailed ; then the royals were clewed up, and 
 furled; the top-gallant-sails followed; and presently the 
 Proserpine was reduced to her three topsails and jib. Ail 
 this, finished just as Cuffe reappeared on deck, was done by 
 the watch, and in about five minutes. As soon as sail was 
 thus taken in, the helm was put to port, the ship came up to 
 the wind, on the starboard tack, and the main-topsail was 
 laid to the mast, bringing the yawl under her lee, and close 
 
LEFEU-FOLLET. 24 1 
 
 alongside of the ship. This mauoeuvre was no sooner exe 
 cuted, than a seaman ran lightly down the vessel s side, and 
 entered the yawl. After examining forward and aft, he 
 called out, "all right, sir," and shoved the boat off to a 
 little distance from the frigate. The yard and stay-tackics 
 fell, at the next instant, were overhauled down, and hooked 
 by the man in the boat. The boatswain s mate, in the gang 
 way, piped, " haul-taut," and the slack of the tackle was 
 pulled in ; then followed a long, steady blow of the call, 
 piping, " sway-away," and the boat, with all in her, rose 
 from the water, and ascended as high as the hammock- 
 cloths in the waist, when the stay-tackles took the strain, 
 the yard-tackles " eased-off," and the boat was landed in the 
 waist of the ship, as gingerly as if it were made of glass, 
 and as steadily as if it had no more weight than a seaman s 
 hammock. Ghita uttered a faint scream, when she found 
 herself rising into the air, and then she hid her face, await 
 ing the result with dread. As for Carlo Giuntotardi, the 
 movement aroused him a little from his customary apathy, 
 and that was all ; whereas, Ithuel bethought him seriously 
 of leaping into the water, and striking out for the land. He 
 could swim a league, he thought ; but there was the certainty 
 of being followed by boats, and overtaken ; a consideration 
 that effectually curbed his impatience. It is not easy to 
 describe the sensation with which this man found himself, 
 once more, standing on the deck of his old prison, with the 
 additional danger of being detected and treated as a deserter. 
 It may sound revolting, at the present day, to suppose a case 
 in which a foreigner was thrown by violence, into the military 
 service of a nation, and then was put in jeopardy of his life, 
 because he used a privilege of nature, to fly from such perse 
 cution, as soon as circumstances placed the means in his 
 power. The last age, however, witnessed many scenes of 
 similar wrongs ; and, it is to be feared, in despite of all 
 the mawkish philanthropy, and unmeaning professions of 
 eternal peace, that it is now the fashion to array against the 
 experience of mankind, that the next age will present their 
 parallels, unless the good sense of this nation infuse into the 
 federal legislative bodies juster notions of policy, more ex 
 tended views of their own duties, and more accurate opinions 
 of the conditions of the several communities of Christendom, 
 21 
 
242 JLE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 than has marked their laws and reasoning for the few past 
 months. In a word, the subject of all these tribulations 
 felt an intimate conviction, that his rights, legal and moral, 
 would avail him but little, on the present occasion. Then a 
 man never does wrong, even in defence of that which is 
 inherently his due, without the secret consciousness that 
 " evil may not be done, that good may come of it ;" and Ithuel 
 had a certain inward monitor to remind him, that, much as 
 he had in the way of justifiable complaint, he had carried 
 the war into the enemy s country. 
 
 The boat had no sooner touched the deck, than its cargo 
 was handed out by the boatswain, who, keeping no watch, 
 had not yet turned in ; and who was almost as important a 
 functionary, on board the Proserpine, as was Vito Viti, in 
 ihe town of Porto Ferrajo. He examined each individual, 
 as he or she landed; as he called it ; Ghita attracting so 
 much of his attention, as completely to eclipse her compan 
 ions. The soft air and manner of the girl appeared so win 
 ning, indeed, by the light of the moon, which now fell clear 
 upon the decks, that all near her, including the officers, 
 submitted to very much the same influence. 
 
 " So, so, Master Yvard," said Cuffe, in English, " if you 
 do come into an enemy s camp, incog., it is in reasonably 
 good company. That girl is Italian, Winchester ; and she 
 even seems modest !" 
 
 "Little Ghita!" exclaimed Vito Viti, "as I hope, one 
 day, to lie in the bosom of Father Abraham ! Belissima 
 Ghita, what has brought thee here, and in such evil com 
 pany?" 
 
 Ghita was in tears ; but, uncertain how far Raoul was 
 committed, she struggled for self-command, and did succeed 
 in suppressing emotions that might, otherwise, have rendered 
 his situation more dangerous. Drying her eyes, she curtsied 
 to the vice-governatore and the podesta, and then answered 
 the question. 
 
 " Signori," she said, " it is a relief to meet countrymen 
 and old acquaintances, onboard this strange ship ; and I look 
 to you for protection. I do not call it strange, or evil com 
 pany, for an orphan niece to be on the water with her uncle, 
 und one that has ever been a father to her." 
 
 "Ah sure enough, vice-governatore. this is Carlo Giun- 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 243 
 
 totardi, the uncle ; and the man who dwells so much with 
 the saints, even on earth, that he seldom speaks to a sinner. 
 But thou knowcst, little Ghita, that one of thy watermen is 
 no less a person than Raoul Yvard, the wickedest corsair 
 that sails out of France, and the pest and persecution of the 
 whole Italian coast? Did the church condescend to notice 
 such an unbelieving republican, it would be to command all 
 its faithful to unite in their prayers for his destruction." 
 
 " Raoul Yvard !" repeated Ghita, with sufficient astonish 
 ment in her manner to satisfy any reasonable amount of 
 wonder, on the part of the other. " Are you certain, Signoi 
 Podesta, of the truth of what you say?" 
 
 " As certain as the confession of the party, himself, can 
 make us." 
 
 " Confession, Signore !" 
 
 " Si, bella Ghita ; confession your boatman your man 
 of Capri your lazzarone, confesses himself to be neither 
 more nor less than the commander of that worker of iniquity, 
 le Feu-Follet." 
 
 " Does le Feu-Follet do more than other cruisers of the 
 enemy?" but Ghita felt she was getting to be indiscreet, and 
 she ceased. 
 
 " I do believe, Winchester," said Cuffe, " that this is the 
 very girl, and yonder is the very old man, who came into 
 Nelson s cabin, to-day, with something to say about the 
 poor prince who was executed this afternoon !" 
 
 " What could such people have in common with the un 
 fortunate Caraccioli !" 
 
 " Sure enough yet, these are the people. The Queen 
 of the Fleet our Lady Admiraless, had it all to herself; 
 and what passed between them, in Italian, I know no more 
 than if it had been in Greek. She never told me, you may 
 rest assured ; and, from the look of her eye, I question a 
 good deal if she ever told Nelson." 
 
 " I wish to heaven his lordship would cut adrift from his 
 moorings alongside of that craft, Captain Cuffe. I do assure 
 you, sir, the fleet begins to talk loudly on the subject ; was 
 it any other man, there d be the devil to pay about it but, 
 we can all stand a good deal from Nelson and Bronte." 
 
 " Well well let every man father his own children : 
 you ought to be quiet, Winchester, for he asked very kindly 
 
244 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 about your hurt, to-day, and would have sent you aboard 
 some knick-knack or other, for the stomach,, but I told him 
 you were all a-tanto again, and at duty. What between 
 his head, and his arm, and his eye, he s got to be such a 
 hulk, himself, that he thinks every wounded man a sort of 
 a relation. I should not complain, however, if the small 
 pox could lay hold of that beauty." 
 
 " This has been a bad day s work, for England, depend 
 on it, Captain Cuffe !" 
 
 " Well, if it has, St. Vincent, and the Nile, were good 
 days works ; and we 11 let one balance the other. Inquire 
 of this young woman, Mr. Griffin, if I had not the pleasure 
 of seeing her, to-day, on board the Foudroyant ?" 
 
 The question was put, as desired, and Ghita quietly, but 
 unhesitatingly, answered in the affirmative. 
 
 " Then ask her to explain how she happened to fall into 
 <he company of Raoul Yvard ?" 
 
 " Signori," said Ghita, naturally, for she had nothing to 
 conceal on this point, " we live on Monte Argentaro, where 
 my uncle is the keeper of the Prince s towers. You know, 
 we have much to fear from the barbarians along all that 
 coast ; and last season, when the peace with France kept 
 the Inglesi at a distance I know not how it is, signori, but 
 they say, the barbarians are always hardest on the enemies 
 of Inghilterra but, the past season a boat from a rover had 
 seized upon my uncle and myself, and were carrying us off 
 into captivity, when a Frenchman, and his lugger, rescued us. 
 From that time we became friends ; and our friend has often 
 stopped near our towers, to visit us. To-day, we found him 
 in a boat, by the side of the English admiral s ship; and, as 
 an old acquaintance, he undertook to bring us to the Sorren- 
 tine shore, where we are, at present, staying with my 
 mother s sister." 
 
 This was told so naturally, as to carry with it the convic 
 tion of its truth; and, when Griffin had translated it, he did 
 not fail to assure his superior that he would pledge himself 
 for the accuracy of the statement. 
 
 " Ay, you young luffs, Griffin, are never backward with 
 your vows for or to pretty girls," answered Cuffe. " The 
 girl does seem honest, however ; and, what is more extra 
 ordinary, for the company she is in, she seems modest, too. 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET 245 
 
 Tell her she shall not be harmed, though we cannot deprive 
 ourselves of the pleasure of her company immediately. She 
 shall have the larboard state-room in my cabin, until morn 
 ing, where she and her uncle may live a great deal more 
 comfortably than in one of their out-of-door Neapolitan 
 rookeries. Monte Argentaro, ha! That s a bluff just be 
 yond the Roman coast, and it is famously besprinkled with 
 towers half a dozen of them, at least, within as many 
 miles, and who knows but this Jack-o -Lantern may be 
 extinguished some fine morning, should we fail of laying 
 our hands on it, now f 
 
 " We can hardly fail of the last, Captain CufFe, having 
 her commander in our possession." 
 
 Orders were then given to dispose of the prisoners, leav 
 ing the boat on deck. Raoul was sent below, and put in 
 a canvass state-room, the arms having been removed, even to 
 the razors, and a sentkiel placed at the door. Escape from 
 such a situation was impossible ; and as for self-violence, 
 when that point was considered, Cuffe had coolly remarked 
 " Poor devil ; hanged he must be, and if he should be his 
 own executioner, it will save us the discomfort of having a 
 scene on board. I suppose Nelson will order him to our 
 fore-yard-arm, as a jewel-block. I don t see, why he can 
 not use a Neapolitan frigate, for this job, too ; they are good 
 for nothing else." 
 
 " I rather think, Captain Cuffe, he will swing on board 
 his own lugger, should we succeed in catching her," an 
 swered the lieutenant. 
 
 "By George, you re right, Griffin; and that s anothei 
 inducement for looking out sharp for the Few-Folly. How 
 much better it would have been, had we burnt them all, in 
 a bunch, off the Golo !" 
 
 Then followed the arrangement by which the prisoner 
 was put into the gun-room, as mentioned. Ghita and her 
 uncle were shown into the empty cabin state-room, and 
 mattresses were provided on which they might repose. 
 Then the captain and his two guests retired to the after- 
 cabin, whither Griffin was invited to accompany them. 
 Here the captain recollected that there had been a fourth 
 individual in the boat, and he sent an order on deck for him 
 to come down for examination. Jthuel observing the atten- 
 21 * 
 
246 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 tion of the officers occupied by Ghita and her uncle, had 
 stolon back towards his own yawl, of which he had taken 
 possession, stretching himself out at length, with the appa 
 rent design to sleep, but, in reality, to keep himself " out of 
 mind," by remaining " out of sight ;" reserving, in petto, an 
 intention to jump overboard, should the ship go near enough 
 to the land to give him a chance for his life, after the moon 
 set. In this situation he was found, aroused from his lair, 
 and led into the cabin. 
 
 It has been mentioned th.J-. Ithuel would not consent to 
 trust himself near the Proserpine, without disguising his 
 person. Raoul being well provided with all the materials 
 for a masquerade, this had been effected by putting a black 
 curling wig over his own lank, sandy hair, colouring his 
 whiskers and eye-brows, and trusting- the remainder to the 
 transformation which might be produced by the dress, or 
 rather undress, of a Neapolitan waterman. The greatest 
 obstacle to this arrangement had been a certain queue, 
 which Ithuel habitually wore in a cured eel-skin that he 
 had brought with him from America, eight years before, and 
 both of which, " queue and eel-skin," he cherished as relics 
 of better days. Once a week this queue was unbound and 
 combed, but all the remainder of its existence it continued in 
 a solid mass quite two feet in length, being as hard, and 
 about as thick as a rope an inch in diameter. Now, the 
 queue had undergone its hebdomadal combing just an hour 
 before Raoul announced his intention to proceed .to Naples 
 in the yawl, and it would have been innovating on the only 
 thing that Ithuel treated with reverence, to undo the work 
 until another week had completed its round. The queue, 
 therefore, was disposed of, under the wig, in the bes* man. 
 ner that its shape and solidity would allow. 
 
 Ithuel was left in the fore-cabin, and his presence was 
 announced to CufFe. 
 
 "It s no doubt some poor devil belonging to the Few- 
 Folly s crew," observed the English captain, in a rather 
 compassionate manner, " and we can hardly think of string 
 ing him up, most probably for obeying an order. That would 
 never do, Griffin ; so we 11 just step out and overhaul his 
 log, in French, and send him off to England to a prison- 
 ship, by the first return vessel." 
 
LE FEU-FOI. LET. 
 
 As this was said, the four in the after-cabin left it toge 
 ther, and stood before this new prisoner. Of course Ithuel 
 understood all that was said in English, while the very idea 
 of being catechised in French threw him into a cold sweat. 
 In this strait, the idea suddenly crossed his mind, that his 
 greatest security would be in feigning dumbness. 
 
 * Ecoutez, mon ami," commenced Griffin, in very re 
 spectable English-French, " you are to tell me nothing but 
 the truth, and itmay be all the better for you. You belong 
 to the Feu-Follet, of course ?" 
 
 Ithuel shook his head in strong disgust, and endeavoured 
 to make a sound that he intended to represent a dumb man 
 struggling to utter the word " Napoli." 
 
 What is the fellow after, Griffin ?" said Cuffe. " Can 
 it be he doesn t understand French ! Try him a touch in 
 [talian, and let us see what he will say to that." 
 
 Griffin repeated very much what he had said before, 
 merely changing the language, and received the same gag 
 ging sounds fo an answer. The gentlemen looked at each 
 other, as much as to express their surprise. But, unluckily 
 for Ithuel s plan, he had brought with him from the granite 
 state, a certain propensity to pass all the modulations of his 
 voice through his nose; and the effort to make a suppressed 
 sound brought that member more than usually into requisi 
 tion, thereby producing a certain disagreeable combination 
 that destroyed everything like music that commonly charac 
 terizes the Italian words. Now, Andrea had been struck 
 with this peculiarity about the tones of the American s voice, 
 in the interview at Benedetta s wine-house; and the whole 
 connection between Raoul and this singular person being 
 associated in his mind, the truth flashed on him, as it might 
 be, at a glance. His previous success that night had em 
 boldened the worthy vice-governatore, and, without any 
 remark, he walked steadily up to Ithuel, removed the wig, 
 and permitted the eel-skin queue to resume its natural posi 
 tion down the back of its owner. 
 
 "Ha! What, veechy," exclaimed Cuffe, laughing 
 "you unearth them like so many foxes, to-night. Now, 
 Griffin, hang me if I do not think I Ve seen that chap be 
 fore ! Isn t he the very man we found at the wheel of la 
 Voltigeuse, when we boarded her?" 
 
248 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 "Lord bless me, Captain CufTe no sir. This fellow is 
 as long as two of that chap and yet I know the face, too 
 I wish \ou d let me send for one of the young gentlemen, 
 sir ; they re worth all the rest of the ship at remembering 
 faces." 
 
 The permission was given, and the cabin steward wis 
 sent on deck to desire Mr. Roller, one of the oldest midship 
 men, and who was known to have the watch, to como 
 below. 
 
 " Look at this fellow, Mr. Roller," said Griffin, as soon 
 as the youngster had taken his place in the group, " and 
 tell us if you can make anything of him?" 
 
 " It s the lazy-rony, sir, we hoisted in, a bit ago, when 
 we struck the boat on deck." 
 
 "Ay, no doubt of that but we think we have seen his 
 face before; can you make that out." 
 
 Roller now walked round the immovable subject of all 
 these remarks ; and he, too, began to thin^ the singular- 
 looking object was no stranger to him. As soon, however, 
 as he got a sight of the queue, he struck Ithuel a smart slap 
 on the shoulder, and exclaimed 
 
 " You re welcome back, my lad ; I hope you 11 find youi 
 berth aloft, as much to your mind as it used to be. This 
 is Bolt, Captain Cuffe, the fore-top-man, who ran from us 
 when last in England, was caught and put in a guard-ship, 
 from which they sent us word he stole a boat, and got off 
 with two or three French prisoners, who happened to be 
 there at the moment, on some inquiry or other. Don t you 
 remember it all, Mr. Griffin you may remember the fellow 
 pretended to be an American." 
 
 Ithuel was now completely exposed, and he at once per 
 ceived that his wisest way was to submit. Cuffe s counte 
 nance darkened, for he regarded a deserter with a species 
 of professional horror, and the impressed deserter to whose 
 services England had no other right than that of might, 
 with an additional degree of resentment, that was very 
 fairly proportioned to the inward consciousness he felt that 
 a great wrong was done in detaining the man at all. There 
 is nothing extraordinary in these feelings; a very common 
 resource, under such circumstances, being to imagine delin 
 quencies that justify us to ourselves, by endeavouring to 
 
LE PEU-FOLLET. 249 
 
 believe lhat the subject of any act of our oppression at least 
 merits the infliction. 
 
 " Do you dare to deny what this young gentleman has 
 just said, sirrah?" demanded the captain. "I now remem 
 ber you, myself; you are Bolt, the fore-top-man, that ran 
 at Plymouth." 
 
 " You d a run, too, Captain CufFe, had you been in my 
 place, had the ship been at Jericho." 
 
 "Enough no impudence, sir. Send for the master-at- 
 arms, Mr. Griffin, and have the fellow ironed : to-morrow 
 we 11 look into the affair." 
 
 These orders were obeyed, and Ithuel was removed to the 
 place where the masler-at-arms usually reigns on board 
 ship. Cuffe now gave the lieutenant his conge, and then 
 withdrew to the inmr-cabin, to prepare a despatch for the 
 rear-admiral. He was near an hour writing a letter to his 
 mind, but finally succeeded. Its purport was as follows. 
 He reported the capture of Raoul, explaining the mode, and 
 the circumstances under which that celebrated privateers- 
 man had fallen into his hands. He then asked for instruc 
 tions as to the manner in which he was to dispose of his 
 prisoner. Having communicated this important fact, he 
 ventured some suggestions as to the probable vicinity of the 
 lugger, and the hopes he entertained of being able to find 
 out her precise situation, through the agency of Bolt, whose 
 condition he also explained, hinting at the same time the 
 expediency of bringing both delinquents to as speedy trials 
 as possible, as the most certain manner of using their appre 
 hensions in seizing le Feu-Follet. The letter concluded 
 with an earnest request that another frigate, which was 
 mentioned, her captain being junior to Cuffe, and a fast-sail 
 ing sloop that was lying off Naples, might be sent down to 
 assist him in " heading off" the lugger, as he feared the 
 latter was too swift to be overtaken by the Proserpine alone 
 more especially in the light winds which prevailed. 
 
 When this letter was written, addressed and sealed, Cuffe 
 went on deck, again. It was now nine o clock, or two bells, 
 and Winchester had the quarter-deck nearly to himself. All 
 was as tranquil and calm on the deck of that fine frigate, 
 as a moonlight night, a drowsy watch, a light wind, and 
 smooth water could render things, in a bay like that of Na 
 
250 LB FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 pies. Gleamings of fire were occasionally seen over "Vesu 
 vius, but things in that direction looked misty and mysterious, 
 though Capri loomed up, dark and grand, a few miles to- 
 leeward, and Ischia was visible, a confused but distant pile 
 on the lee-bow. An order from Cuffe, however, set every 
 body in motion. Yard and stay-tackles were overhauled, 
 and hooked on, the boatswam s-mate piped the orders, and 
 the first-cutter was hoisted over the waist-cloths, and low. 
 ered into the water. " Away, there, you first-cutters," had 
 been hoarsely called on the berth-deck, and the crew were 
 ready to enter the boat, by the time the latter was lowered. 
 The masts were stepped, Roller appeared, in a pee-jacket, 
 tc guard against the night air, and Cuffe gave him his in 
 structions. 
 
 " Set your sails, and stretch over under the north shore, 
 Mr. Roller," said the captain, who stood in the lee-gangway, 
 to give a last word. " You will fetch in about Queen Joan s 
 Palace. There, you had better take to your oars, and pull 
 up along the land. Remember, sir, to join us by the first 
 ship that comes out ; and, if none is sent, to come down with 
 the morning breeze, in the boat." 
 
 Roller gave the customary " ay, ay, sir ;" the boat shoved 
 off; as soon as from under the lee of the ship, the luges 
 were set, and half an hour later, the night had swallowed 
 up her form. Cuffe remained an hour longer, walking the 
 deck with his first-lieutenant, and then, satisfied that the 
 night would prove propitious, he went below, leaving orders 
 to keep the ship lying-to, until morning. 
 
 As for Roller, he pulled alongside of the Foudroyanl, just 
 as the bells of the fleet were striking eight, or at midnight. 
 Nelson was still up, writing in his cabin. The despatch 
 was delivered, and then the secretary of the admiral, with 
 a clerk or two, were called from their berths, for nothing 
 lagged that this active-minded man had in charge. Orders 
 were written, copied, signed, and sent to different ships, by 
 two o clock, in order that the morning breeze might not be 
 lost ; and then, and not till then, did the employes think of 
 rest. 
 
 Roller left the flag-ship at two, having eaten a hearty sup 
 per in Nelson s own cabin, and repaired on board the Terp 
 sichore, a smart little frigate of thirty-two guns, twelve- 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 251 
 
 pounders, with instructions to her captain to receive him. 
 Two hours later, this ship, in company with another still 
 smaller, the Ringdove, 18, left her anchorage, under a cloud 
 of canvass, and stood down the bay, carrying studding-sails 
 on both sides, with a light wind at north-west, heading to 
 wards Capri. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. . ./ 
 
 " Speak to the business, Master Secretary : 
 Why are we met in council ?" 
 
 King Henry VIII 
 
 WHEN the idlers of the Proserpine appeared on deck the 
 following morning, the ship was about a league to-windward 
 of Capri, having forged well over towards the north side of 
 the bay, during the night, wore round, and got thus far back 
 on the other tack. From the moment light returned, look 
 outs had been aloft with glasses, examining every nook and 
 corner of the bay, in order to ascertain whether any signs 
 of the lugger were to be seen, under its bold and picturesque 
 shore. So great is the extent of this beautiful basin, so 
 grand the natural objects which surround it, and so clear 
 the atmosphere, that even the largest ships loom less than 
 usual on its waters ; and it would have been a very possible 
 thing for le Feu-Follet to anchor near some of the landings, 
 and lie there unnoticed for a week, by the fleet above, un 
 less tidings were carried to the latter by observers on the 
 shore. 
 
 CufFe was the last to come on deck, six bells, or seven 
 o clock, striking, as the occupants of the quarter-deck first 
 lifted their hats to him. He glanced around him, and then 
 turned towards Griffin, who was now officer of the watch. 
 
 " I see two ships coming down the bay, Mr. Griffin," ho 
 said " no signals yet, I suppose, sir?" 
 
 " Certainly not, sir, or they would have been reported. . 
 
252 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 We make out the frigate to be the Terpsichore, and the 
 sloop, I know by her new royals, is the Ringdove. The 
 first ship, Captain CufFe, brags of being able to travel faster 
 than anything within the Straits !" 
 
 " I 11 bet a month s pay the Few-Folly walks away from 
 her, on a bow-line, ten knots to her nine. If she can do that 
 with the Proserpine, she 11 at least do that with Mistress 
 Terpsichore. There goes a signal from the frigate now, Mr. 
 Griffin, though a conjuror could hardly read it, tailing directly 
 on as it does. Well, quarter-master, what do you make it 
 out to be ?" 
 
 " It s the Terpsichore s number, sir ; and the other ship 
 has just made the Ringdove s." 
 
 " Show ours, and keep a sharp look-out ; there 11 be 
 something else to tell us presently." 
 
 In a few minutes, the Terpsichore expressed a wish tt> 
 speak the Proserpine, when Cuffe filled his main-top-sail, and 
 hauled close upon a wind. An hour later, the three ships 
 passed within hail of each other, when both the junior com 
 manders lowered their gigs and came on board the Proser 
 pine to report. Roller followed in the first-cutter, which had 
 been towed down by the Terpsichore. 
 
 The Terpsichore was commanded by Captain Sir Frede 
 rick Dashwood, a lively young baronet, who preferred tho 
 active life of a sailor, to indolence and six thousand a year 
 on shore ; and who had been rewarded for his enterprise by 
 promotion and a fast frigate, at the early age of two-and- 
 twenty. The Ringdove was under a master-commandant, 
 of the name of Lyon, who was just sixty years old, having 
 worked his way up to his present rank by dint of long and 
 arduous services, owing his last commission and his com 
 mand to the accident of having been a first-lieutenant at the 
 battle of Cape St. Vincent. Both these gentlemen appeared 
 simultaneously on the quarter-deck of the Proserpine, where 
 they were duly received by the captain and all the assem 
 bled officers. 
 
 " Good morrow to you, Cuffe," said Dashwood, giving the 
 other the tip of his fingers, as soon as the ceremonious part 
 of the reception was over ; and casting a glance, half-admi 
 ring, half-critical, at the appearance of things on deck 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET 253 
 
 " What has Nelson sent us down here about, this fine morn 
 ing, and ha ! how long have you had those brass orna 
 ments on ^our capstan? 
 
 " They were only put there yesterday, Sir Frederick ; a 
 "little slush-money did it all." 
 
 " Has Nelson seen them ? I rather fancy not they tell 
 me he s as savage as an Arab about knick-knackery, now- 
 a-days. What an awkward job that was yesterday after 
 noon, by the way, CufFe !" 
 
 " It has been a bad business, and, as an old Agamemnon, 
 I would give a year s rank that it never had taken place." 
 
 " A year s rank ! that s a great deal ; a year would set 
 me back, hard aground alongside of old Lyon, here. I was 
 a lieutenant less than three years since, and couldn t afford 
 half a year. But all you old Agamemnons think as much 
 of your little Ncl. as if he were a pretty girl ; isn t it true, 
 Lyon?" 
 
 " I dare say it may be, Sir Frederick," answered Lyon ; 
 " and if you had been the first-lieutenant of a two-decker, 
 off Cape St. Vincent, on the 14th February, 1797, you would 
 have thought as much of him, too. Here we were, only 
 fifteen sail in all, that is, of vessels of the line with the 
 wind at " 
 
 " Oh, hang your battle, Lyon, I ve heard all that, at least 
 seventeen times !" 
 
 " Well, if ye haave, Sir Frederick," returned Lyon, who 
 was a Scotchman, " it 11 be just once a year since ye war 1 
 born, leaving out the time ye war in the nursery. But 
 we ve not come here to enlighten Captain Cuffe in these 
 particulars, so much as in obedience to an order of the rear- 
 admiral s little Nel. as ye 11 be calling him, I suppose, 
 Sir Frederick Dashwood ?" 
 
 " Nay, it s you old Agamemnons, or old fellows, who 
 gave him that name " 
 
 " Ye 11 please to excuse me, sir," interrupted Lyon, a lit 
 tle dogmatically " ye ve never heard me call him anything 
 but my lord, since His Majesty, God bless him ! was gra 
 ciously pleased to elevate him to the peerage nothing- but 
 * my lord, and the rear-admiral ; naval rank being entitled 
 to its privileges even on the throne. Many a king has been 
 a colonel, and I see no disparagement in one s being an 
 22 
 
254 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 admiral. Won t ye be thinking, Captain Cuffe, that since 
 my lord is made Duke of Bronte, he is entitled to be culled 
 * Your Grace all the Scottish dukes are so designated, and 
 I see no reason why the rear-admiral should not have hia 
 just dues, as well as the best of them." 
 
 " Let him aVone for that," said CufFe, laughing ; " Nel. 
 will look out for himself, as well as for the king. But, gen 
 tlemen, I suppose you have not come down here merely for 
 a morning walk have I any reports to hear ?" 
 
 " I beg your pardon, Captain Cuffe, but I was really for- 
 getting my errand," answered Dashwood. " Here are your 
 orders for you, and we are both directed to report to you. 
 The lieutenant who brought the package aboard me, said 
 there would be a spy to try, and a lugger to catch. Did they 
 tell you anything of this matter, Lyon ?" 
 
 " No, Sir Frederick ; not being inquisitive, I hear but little 
 of what is going on in the fleet. My orders are to report 
 myself and ship to Captain Cuffe, for service, which I have 
 the honour now to do." 
 
 " Well, gentlemen, here are further instructions for you. 
 This is an order to hold a court, composed of Captain Rich 
 ard Cuffe, of the Proserpine, president ; Captain Sir Frederick 
 Dashwood, Bart., of the Terpsichore, &c. &c. ; and Lyon, 
 Winchester, and Spriggs, your first-lieutenant, Sir Frede 
 rick, for the trials of Raoul Yvard, a French citizen, on the 
 charge of being a spy, and Ithuel Bolt, seaman, &c., on the 
 charge of being a deserter. Here is everything in rule, and 
 there are your respective orders, gentlemen." 
 
 " Bless me, I d no notion of this !" exclaimed Lyon, who 
 was greatly averse to this part of an officer s duty. " I d 
 thought it aitogither a trial of speed after a Frenchman, for 
 which purpose, the rear-admiral, or my lord, or his grace, 
 whichever it may be right to call him, had seen fit to bring 
 three of his fastest ships together." 
 
 " I wish it was nothing but the last, Captain Lyon ; but 
 we have the disagreeable duty of trying a spy and a deserter, 
 before us. You will return to your ships, gentlemen, and 
 follow us in to an anchorage. I intend to bring up, at a 
 single anchor, under the shore at Capri, where we can lie 
 during the calm, and get through with our courts. The 
 cases will be clear, and not detain us long, and we can send 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 255 
 
 look-outs up on the heights to examine the sea and the coast 
 outside. In the meantime, we must be busy lest we lose the 
 breeze. You will attend to the signal for the court." 
 
 At this order the two visiters got into their boats, and the 
 Proserpine again filled. The three vessels now made the 
 best of their way towards the point of destination, anchoring 
 off the town, or village, in the island of Capri, just as two 
 bells struck. Ten minutes later, the Proserpine fired a gun f 
 and ran up the flag which denotes the sitting of a court- 
 martial. 
 
 Although it has not been deemed necessary to relate them, 
 the reader will understand that all the details required by 
 the law, had been observed, as regards these trials ; the 
 promptitude of the proceedings being partly characteristic 
 of the decision of the admiral, but more in consequence of a 
 wish to use the charges against the delinquents, as a means 
 of seizing the true hero of our tale, the little Feu-Follet. 
 While a mistaken, not to say a mawkish philanthropy, 
 is unsettling so many of the ancient land-marks of society, 
 and, among other heresies, is preaching the doctrine that 
 " the object of punishment is the reformation of the crimi 
 nal," it is a truth which all experience confirms that nothing 
 renders justice so terrible, and consequently so efficient, as 
 its promptitude and certainty. When all its requirements 
 are observed, the speediest exercise of its functions is the 
 most conducive to the protection of society, the real motive 
 for the existence of all human regulations of this nature; 
 and it is a great merit of the much-abused English ordi 
 nances, that the laws are rarely made stalking-horses for the 
 benefit of the murderer or the forger ; but, that once fairly 
 tried and convicted, the expiation of their crimes awaits the 
 offenders with a certainty and energy that leave the impres 
 sion on the community that punishments were intended to 
 produce. That this people has done well in liberating itself 
 from many of their inherited usages and laws, is as certain 
 as that one age has interests different from another ; one set 
 of circumstances, governing principles at variance with those 
 which preceded them ; but, it would be well, also, to remem 
 ber, that, while moral changes are as necessary as physical 
 exercise, there are truths that are eternal, and rules of righl 
 
256 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 and prudence, which can never be departed from with im 
 punity. 
 
 When the members of the court mentioned, assembled in 
 the cabin of the Proserpine, it was with all the forms and 
 exterior observances that were necessary to command 
 respect. The officers were in full dress, the oaths were 
 administered with solemnity, the table was arranged with 
 taste, and an air of decent gravity reigned over all. Little 
 time, however, was lost unnecessarily, and the officer to 
 whom had been assigned the duty of prevot-marshal, was 
 directed to produce his prisoners. 
 
 Raoul Yvard and Ithuel Bolt were brought into the cabin 
 at the same moment, though they came from different parts 
 of the ship, and were allowed to hold no communication 
 with each other. When both were present, they were 
 arraigned, and the accusations were read to them. Raoul 
 having admitted his knowledge of English, no interpreter 
 was sworn, but the proceedings were had in the usual man 
 ner. As it was intended to try the Frenchman first, and 
 Ithuel might be wanted as a witness, the latter was taken 
 out of the cabin again, courts-martial never permitting one 
 witness to hear what another has testified, although an inge 
 nious substitute for ears has been adopted of late, by pub 
 lishing in the journals, from day to day, whatever passes, 
 when the length of the proceedings will admit of such a 
 device. 
 
 " We will now swear the Signor Andrea Barrofaldi," 
 commenced the Judge Advocate, as soon as the prelimina 
 ries were observed. " This is a Catholic bible, sir, and I 
 will put the oaths in Italian, if you will have the goodness 
 first to swear me in as an interpreter." 
 
 This was done, when the oath was duly administered to 
 the vice-go vernatore. Then came a few questions as to the 
 station, country, &c., of the witness, after which more ma 
 terial matter was inquired into. 
 
 " Signor Vice-Governatore, do you know the prisoner by 
 sight ?" demanded the Judge Advocate. 
 
 " Si ; I have had the honour to receive him in my resi 
 dence in the island of Elba." 
 
 " Under what name and circumstances was he known to 
 you, Signore ?" 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 257 
 
 " Eh he called himself Sir Smees, a capitano in the ser 
 vice of the English king." 
 
 "What vessel did he pretend to command . " 
 
 " Ze Ving-y-Vin a lugger, which I have since had rea 
 son to think is le Feu-Follet, a corsair under the French 
 flag. Monsieur did me the favour to make two visits to 
 Porto Ferrajo, in the character of Sir Smees." 
 
 " And you now know that this is Raoul Yvard, the Frencn 
 privateersman you have mentioned ?" 
 
 " Eh know ? I know they say this is the Signer Yvard, 
 and that ze Ving-y-Ving is le Feu-Follet." 
 
 " They say-, will not do, Signer Barrofaldi. Can you no 
 say this much of your own knowledge 7" 
 
 "Non, Signore." 
 
 The court was now cleared ; when it re-opened, Vito Viti 
 was sent for, and properly sworn, his attention being par 
 ticularly directed to the cross on the back of the book. 
 
 " Did you ever see the prisoner, before this occasion, 
 Signer Viti," demanded the Judge Advocate, after the pre 
 liminary questions had been put. 
 
 " Signore, oftener than it is agreeable to remember. I do 
 not think that two grave magistrates were ever more mysti 
 fied, than were the vice-governatore and myself! Eh h h 
 Signori, the wisest sometimes become like sucking children, 
 when there passes a mist before the understanding." 
 
 " Relate the circumstances under which this occurred, to 
 the court, Signer Podesta." 
 
 " Why, Signori, the facts were just these. Andrea Bar 
 rofaldi, as you know, is the vice-governatore of Porto Fer 
 rajo, and I am its unworthy podesta. Of course, it is our 
 duty to look into all matters affecting the public weal, and 
 more especially into the business and occupations of strangers 
 vho come into our island. Well, it is now three weeks or 
 more since a lugger, or felucca, was seen " 
 
 "Which was it, a felucca, or a lugger?" demanded the 
 Judge Advocate, holding his pen ready to write the answer. 
 
 " Both, Signore ; a felucca and a lugger." 
 
 " A.h there were two ; a felucca and a lugger." 
 
 " No, Signore but this felucca was a lugger. Tommaso 
 Tonti wished to mystify me about that, too ; but I have not 
 been podesta in a ser.-port, so many years, for nothing. No, 
 22* 
 
258 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 Signori, there are all sorts of feluccas ship-feluccas, brig- 
 feluccas, and lugger-feluccas." 
 
 When this answer was translated, the members of tho 
 court smiled, while Raoul Yvard fairly laughed. 
 
 "Well, Signer Podesta," resumed the Judge Advocate 
 " the prisoner came into Porto Ferrajo in a lugger?" 
 
 " So it was said, Signore. I did not see him actually on 
 board of her, but he professed to be the commander of a 
 certain vessel, in the service of the King of Inghilterra, 
 called ze Ving-y-Ving, and said that his own name was 
 Smees si il capitano, or Sir Smees." 
 
 " Professed? Do you not know that this lugger was the 
 notorious French privateer, le Feu-Follet ?" 
 
 I know they say so, now, Signori ; but the vice-governa- 
 tore and I supposed her to be ze Ving-y-Ving." 
 
 * And do you not know that the prisoner is actually Raoul 
 Yvard ; of your own knowledge, I mean ?" 
 
 " Corpo di Bacco ! How should I know any such thing, 
 Signer Guideca-Avvocato," exclaimed Vito Viti, who lite 
 rally translated what he understood to be the title of his 
 interrogator, thereby converting him into a sort of ship- 
 felucca " how should I know any such thing ! I do not 
 keep company with corsairs, except when they come upon 
 our island and call themselves { Sir Smees. " 
 
 The Judge Advocate and the members of the court 
 looked gravely at each other. No one in the least doubted 
 that the prisoner was Raoul Yvard, but it was necessary 
 legally to prove it, before he could be condemned. Cuffe 
 was now asked if the prisoner had not confessed his own 
 identity, but no one could say he had done so in terms, 
 although much of his conversation would seem to imply as 
 much. In a word, justice was like to be in what is by no 
 means an unusual dilemma for that upright functionary ; 
 viz. unable to show a fact that no one doubted. At length 
 Cuffe recollected Ghita and Ithuel, and he wrote their names 
 on a piece of paper, and passed them down the table to the 
 Judge Advocate. The latter nodded his head, as much as 
 to say he understood the president s meaning ; and then he 
 told the prisoner he might cross-examine the witness, if he 
 saw fit. 
 
 Raoul fully understood his situation. Although he oer- 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 259 
 
 tainly had not entered the Bay of Naples with any of the 
 ordinary views of a spy. he was aware how far he had com 
 mitted himself, and foresaw the readiness with which his 
 enemies would destroy him, could they find the legal means 
 of so doing. He also comprehended the dilemma in which 
 his accusers were placed for the want of testimony, and, at 
 once, resolved to turn the circumstance as much as possible 
 to his advantage. Until that moment, the idea of denying 
 his own. identity had never crossed his mind ,- but perceiving 
 what he fancied an opening for escape, it was but natural 
 to avail himself of its protection. Turning, then, to the 
 podesta, he put his questions in English, that they might go 
 fairly through the same process of interpretation as the rest 
 of the examination. 
 
 " You say, Signer Podesta," he commenced, " that you 
 saw me in the town of Porto Ferrajo, and in the island of 
 Elba?" 
 
 " Si in which town I have the honour to be one of the 
 authorities." 
 
 " You say I professed to command a vessel in the service 
 of the King of England; a felucca, called ze Ving-and- 
 Ving?" 
 
 " Si ze Ving-y-Ving the commander of that felucca." 
 
 " I understood you to say, Mr. Podesta," put in Lyon, 
 " that the craft was a lugger?" 
 
 " A felucca-lugger, Signer Capitano nothing more nor 
 less than that, on my honour*" 
 
 " And all these honourable officers well know," observed 
 Raoul, ironically, " that a felucca-lugger, and a lugger, such 
 as le Feu-Follet is understood to be, are very different things. 
 Now, Signore, you have never heard me say that I am a 
 Frenchman ?" 
 
 " Non you have not been so weak as to confess that to 
 one who hates the name of the Franqese. Cospetto ! If 
 all the Grand Duke s subjects detested his enemies as I do, 
 he would be the most powerful prince in Italy !" 
 
 " No doubt, Signore ; and, now, suffer me to inquire if 
 you heard any other name for that felucca, than ze Ving 
 and-Ving. Did I ever call her le Feu-Follet ?" 
 
 Non always ze Ving-y-Ving ; never anything else ; 
 Vut-" 
 
260 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 " Your pardon, Signore ; have the goodness to answer my 
 questions. I called the felucca ze Ving-and-Ving ; and I 
 called myself le capitaine Smect ; is it not true?" 
 
 "Si Ving-y-Ving and il capitano Smees Sir Smees ; 
 a signore of an illustrious English family of that name, if I 
 remember right." 
 
 Raoul smiled, for he was confident this notion proceeded 
 principally from the self-illusion of the two Kalians, them 
 selves ; the little he had said on the subject, having been 
 drawn out more by their suggestions than by any design 
 on his part. Still, he did not deem it prudent to contradict 
 the podesta, who, as yet, had testified to nothing that could 
 possibly criminate him. 
 
 " If a young man has the vanity to wish to be thought 
 noble," answered Raoul, calmly, " it may prove his folly, 
 but it does not prove him a spy. You did not hear me con 
 fess myself a Frenchman, you say : now did you not hear 
 me say I was born in Guernsey ?" 
 
 " Si the Signore did say that the family of Smees came 
 from that island as the vice-governatore calls it, though I 
 acknowledge I never heard of such an island. There are 
 Sicilia, Sardegna, Elba, Caprea, Ischia, Irlanda, Inghilterra, 
 Scozia, Malta, Capraya, Pianosa, Gorgona, and America, 
 with several more in the east ; but I never heard of such an 
 island as Guernsey. Si, Signore ; we are humble people, 
 and I hope modest people in the island of Elba, but we do 
 know something of the rest of the world, notwithstanding. 
 If you wish to hear these matters touched on ingeniously, 
 however, you will do well to call in the vice-governatore, 
 for -half an hour, and invite him to open his stores of know 
 ledge. San Antonio ! I doubt if Italy has his equal at 
 islands, in particular." 
 
 " Good," continued Raoul ; " and now tell these officers, 
 Signore Podesta, if you can say, on your oath, that I had 
 anything to do with that felucca, ze Ving-and-Ving, at all." 
 
 " I cannot, Signore, except from your own words. You 
 were dressed like one of these officers, here, in an English 
 uniform, and said you commanded ze Ving-y-Ving. While 
 speaking of islands, Signori, I forgot Palmavola and Ponza, 
 both of which we passed in this ship, on our voyage from 
 Elba." 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 261 
 
 Good it is always well to be particular under oath. 
 Now, Signor Podesta, the result of all your evidence is, 
 that you do not know that the felucca you mention was le 
 Feu-Follet, that I am a Frenchman even, much less that I 
 am Raoul Yvard, and that I told you I was from Guernsey, 
 and that my name was Jaques Smeet is it not sol" 
 
 " Si you did say your name was Giac Smces, and you 
 did riot say you were Raoul Yvard. But, Signore, I saw 
 you firing your cannon at the boats of this frigate, with 
 French colours flying, and that is some signs of an enemy, 
 as we understand these matters, in Porto Ferrajo." 
 
 Raoul felt that this was a direct blow; still, it wanted the 
 connecting link to make it testimony. 
 
 " But you did not see me doing this? You mean you 
 saw ze Ving-and-Ving in a combat with the frigate s boats." 
 
 " Si that was it but you told me you were commander 
 of ze Ving-y-Ving." 
 
 " Let us understand you," put in the Judge Advocate 
 " is it the intention of the prisoner to deny his being a 
 Frenchman and an enemy ?" 
 
 " It is my intention, sir, to deny everything that is not 
 proved." 
 
 " But your accent your English nay, your appearance, 
 show that you are a Frenchman." 
 
 " Your pardon, sir. There are many nations that speak 
 French, which are not French, to-day. All along the north 
 frontier of France, is French spoken by foreigners Savoy, 
 and Geneva, and Vaud also, the English have French 
 subjects in the Canadas, besides Guernsey and Jersey. You 
 will not hang a man because his accent is not from London?" 
 
 " We shall do you justice, prisoner," observed Cuffe, 
 " and you shall have the benefit of every doubt that makes 
 in your favour. Still, it may be well to inform you that tho 
 impression of your being a Frenchman and Raoul Yvard, is 
 very strong ; and if you can show the contrary, you would 
 do well to prove it, by direct testimony." 
 
 " How will this honourable court expect that to be done? 
 i was taken in a boat, last night, and am tried, this morn 
 ing, at a notice as short as that which was given to Carac- 
 cioli. Give me time to send for witnesses, and I will provj 
 \vho and what I am." 
 
262 LE PEU-FOLLET. 
 
 This was said coolly, and with the air of a man assured 
 of his own innocence, and it produced a slight effect on his 
 judges ; for an appeal to the unvarying principles of right, 
 seldom falls unheeded on the ear. Nevertheless, there 
 could be no doubt in the minds of the officers of the Proser 
 pine, in particular, either as to the character of the lugger, 
 or as to that of the prisoner ; and men, under such circum 
 stances, were not likely to allow an enemy who had done 
 them so much injury to escape. The appeal only rendered 
 them more cautious, and more determined to protect them 
 selves against any charge of unfair proceedings. 
 
 " Have you any further questions to put to the witness, 
 prisoner ?" inquired the president of the court. 
 
 "None, at present, sir we will go on, if you please, 
 gentlemen." 
 
 " Call Ithuel Bolt," said the Judge Advocate, reading the 
 new witness s name from a list before him. 
 
 Raoul started, for the idea of the American s being brought 
 forward in this capacity, had never occurred to him. In a 
 minute Ithuel appeared, was sworn, and took his place at 
 the foot of the table. 
 
 "Your name is Ithuel Bolt?" observed the Judge Advo 
 cate, holding his pen in readiness to record the answer. 
 
 " So they say aboard here," answered the witness, coolly 
 " though, for my part, I ve no answer to give to such a 
 question." 
 
 " Do you deny your name, sir ?" 
 
 " I deny nothing want to say nothing, or to have any 
 thing to do with this trial, or this ship." 
 
 Raoul breathed easier ; for, to own the truth, he had not 
 much confidence in Ithuel s constancy, or disinterestedness ; 
 and he apprehended that he had been purchased, with the pro 
 mise of a pardon for himself. 
 
 " You will remember that you are under oath, and may 
 be punished for contumacy, on refusing to answer." 
 
 " I ve some gineral idees of law," answered Ithuel, pass 
 ing his hand over his queue, to make sure it was right, " foi 
 we all do a little at that in Ameriky. I practised some my 
 self, when a young man, though it was only afore a justice- 
 peace. We used to hold that a witness needn t answer ag in 
 himself." 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET- 263 
 
 " Is it, then, on account of criminating yourself, that you 
 answer thus vaguely V 1 
 
 " I decline answering that question." answered Ithuel, with 
 an air of dignity. 
 
 " Witness, have you any personal knowledge of the pri 
 soner?" 
 
 " I decline answering that question, too." 
 
 " Do you know anything of such a person as Raoul 
 Yvardl" 
 
 " What if I do ? I m a native American, and have a 
 right to form acquaintances, in foreign lands, if I see it s to 
 my interest, or it s agreeable to my feelin s." 
 
 " Have you never served on board His Majesty s ships ?" 
 
 " What majesty ? There s no majesty in Ameriky, as I 
 know, but the majesty of heaven." 
 
 " Remember that your answers are all recorded, and may 
 tell against you, on some other occasion." 
 
 " Not lawfully ; a witness can t be made to give answers 
 that tell ag in himself." 
 
 " Certainly not made to do it ; still he may do it, of his 
 own accord." 
 
 " Then it s the duty of the court to put him on his guard. 
 I Ve heerd that, ag in and ag in, in Ameriky." 
 
 " Did you ever see a vessel called le Feu-Follet?" 
 
 " How, in natur , is a mariner to tell all the vessels he 
 may happen to see on the wide ocean !" 
 
 " Did you ever serve under the French flag ?" 
 
 " I decline entering at all into my private affairs. Being 
 free, I m free to sarve where I please." 
 
 " It is useless to ask this witness any further questions," 
 CufFe quietly observed. " The man is well known in this 
 ship, and his own trial will most probably take place as 
 soon as this is ended." 
 
 The Judge Advocate assented, and Ithuel was permitted 
 to withdraw, his contumacy being treated with the indiffer 
 ence that power is apt to exhibit towards weakness. Still 
 there was no legal proof on which to convict the prisoner. 
 No one doubted his guilt, and there were the strongest rea 
 sons, short of a downright certainty, for supposing that he 
 commanded the lugger which had so recently fought the 
 boats of the very ship in which the court was sitting ; but 
 
264 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 notwithstanding, supposition was not the evidence the laws 
 required ; and the recent execution of Caraccioli had made 
 so much conversation, that few would condemn without see 
 ing their justification before them. Thipgs were really get- 
 ting to be seriously awkward, and the court Was again 
 cleared for the purpose of consultation. In the private dis 
 course that followed, CufTe stated all that had occurred, 
 the manner in which Raoul had been identified, and the 
 probabilities nay, moral certainties of the case. At the 
 same time, he was forced to allow, that he possessed no 
 direct evidence that the lugger he had chased was a French 
 man at all, and least of all le Feu-Follet. It is true, she 
 had worn the French flag, but she had also worn the Eng 
 lish, and the Proserpine had done the same thing. To be 
 sure, the lugger had fought under the drapeau tricolor, 
 which might be taken as a strong circumstance against her; 
 but it was not absolutely conclusive, for the circumstances 
 might possibly justify deception to the last moment ; and he 
 admitted that the frigate, herself, had appeared to fire at tne 
 batteries, under the same ensign. The case was allowed 
 to be embarrassing ; and, while no one really doubted the 
 identity of Raoul, those who were behind the curtains greatly 
 feared they might be compelled to adjourn the trial for want 
 of evidence, instead of making an immediate sentence the 
 means of getting possession of the lugger, as had been 
 hoped. When all these points had been sufficiently dis 
 cussed, and Cuffe had let his brethren into his view of the 
 real state of the case, he pointed out a course that he still 
 trusted would prove effectual. After a few minutes of fur 
 ther deliberation on this information, the doors were opened, 
 and the court resumed its public sitting, as before. 
 
 " Let a young woman who is known by the name of 
 Ghita, be brought in, next," said the Judge Advocate, con 
 sulting his notes. 
 
 Raoul started, and a shade of deep concern passed over 
 his face ; but he- soon recovered, and seemed unmoved. 
 Ghita and her uncle had been taken from the cabin state 
 room, and placed below, in order that the private consulta 
 tions might be perfectly secret, and it was necessary to wait 
 a few minutes, until she could be summoned. These past, 
 the door opened and the girl entered the room. She cast a 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 265 
 
 glance of tender coiuern at Raoul ; but the novelty of her 
 situation, and the awful character of an oath to one of her 
 sensitive conscience and utter inexperience, soon drew her 
 attention entirely to the scene more immediately before her. 
 The Judge Advocate explained the nature of the oath she 
 was required to take, and then he administered it. Had 
 Ghita been taken less by surprise, or had she, in the least, 
 foreseen the consequences, no human power could have 
 induced her to submit to be sworn ; but, ignorant of all this, 
 she submitted passively, kissing the cross with reverence, 
 and even offering to kneel as she made the solemn protesta 
 tion. All this was painful to the prisoner, who distinctly 
 foresaw the consequences. Still, so profound was his reve 
 rence for Ghita s singleness of heart and mind, that he would 
 not by look or gesture, in any manner endeavour to under 
 mine that sacred love of truth, which he knew formed the 
 very foundations of her character. She was accordingly 
 sworn, without anything occurring to alarm her affections, 
 or to apprise her of what might be the sad result of the act. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIIL 
 
 M Hie ct ubique ? Then we 11 shift our ground : 
 Come hither, gentlemen, 
 And lay your hands upon my sword : 
 Swear by my sword." 
 
 Hamlet. 
 
 " YOUR name is Ghita," commenced the Judge Advocate, 
 examining his memoranda " Ghita what?" 
 
 " Ghita Caraccioli, Signore," answered the girl, in a voice 
 so gentle and sweet, as to make a friend of every listener. 
 
 The name, however, was not heard, without producing a 
 general start, and looks of surprise were exchanged among 
 all in the room ; most of the officers of the ship who were 
 not on duty being present as spectators. 
 23 
 
266 I-E FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 " Caraccioli," repeated the Judge Advocate, with emphai 
 sis. " That is a great name in Italy. Do you assume to 
 belong to the illustrious house which bears this appellation?" 
 " Signore, I assume to own nothing that is illustrious, 
 being merely an humble girl who lives with her uncle, in 
 the prince s towers, on Monte Argentaro." 
 
 " How happens it, then, that you bear the distinguished 
 name of Caraccioli, signorina 1" 
 
 " I dare say, Mr. Medford," observed Cuffe, in English, 
 of course, " that the young woman doesn t know herself, 
 whence she got the name. These matters are managed 
 very loosely in Italy." 
 
 " Signore," resumed Ghita, earnestly, after waiting respect- 
 fully for the captain to get through, " I bear the name of my 
 father, as is usual with children ; but, it is a name on which 
 a heavy disgrace has fallen, so lately as yesterday ; his father 
 having been a sight for the thousands of Naples to gaze on, 
 as his aged body hung at the yard of one of your ships." 
 
 " And do you claim to be the grand-daughter of that un 
 fortunate admiral ?" 
 
 " So I have been taught to consider myself; may his soul 
 rest in a peace that his foes would not grant to his body ! 
 That criminal, as you doubtless believe him, was my father s 
 father, though few knew it when he was honoured as a 
 prince and a high officer of the king s." 
 
 A deep silence followed ; the singularity of the circum 
 stance, and the air of truth which pervaded the manner of 
 Ihe girl, uniting to produce a profound sensation, 
 
 " The admiral had the reputation of being childless," ob 
 served CufFe, in an under tone. " Doubtless this girl s father 
 has been the consequence of some irregular connection." 
 
 " If there has been a promise, or any words of recogni 
 tion uttered before witnesses," muttered Lyon, " accordin 
 to the laws of Scotland, issue, and a few pairtenant expres 
 sions, will splice a couple as strongly as ye 11 be doing it in 
 England, before either of the archbishops." 
 
 " As this is Italy, it is not probable that the same law 
 rules here. Proceed, Mr. Judge Advocate." 
 
 " Well, Ghita Caraccioli if that be your name I wish 
 to know if you have any acquaintance with a certain Raoul 
 Yvard; a Frenchman, and the commander of a private 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 267 
 
 lugger-of-vvar, culled le Feu-Follet? Remember, you are 
 sworn to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the 
 truth." 
 
 Ghita s heart beat violently, and the colour came into her 
 face with the impetuosity of sensitive alarm. She had no 
 knowledge of courts, and the object of the inquiry was un 
 known to her. Then followed the triumph of innocence; 
 the purity of her mind, and the quiet of her conscience 
 reassuring her, by bringing the strong conviction that she 
 had no reason to blush for any sentiment she might happen 
 to entertain. 
 
 " Signore," she said, dropping her eyes to the floor, for 
 the gaze of all the court was fastened on her face " I am 
 acquainted with Raoul Yvard, the person you mention ; 
 this is he, who sits between those two cannon. He is a 
 Frenchman, and he does command the lugger called the 
 Feu-Follet." 
 
 " I knew we should get it all by this witness !" exclaimed 
 Cuffe, unable to suppress the relief he felt at obtaining the 
 required testimony. 
 
 " You say that you know this, of your own knowledge," 
 resumed the Judge Advocate 
 
 "Messieurs," said Raoul, rising, "will you grant me 
 leave to speak 1 This is a cruel scene ; and, rather than 
 endure it rather than give this dear girl the cause for future 
 pain, that I know her answers will bring, I ask that you 
 permit her to retire, when I promise to admit all that you 
 can possibly prove by her means. 
 
 A short consultation followed; then Ghita was told to 
 withdraw. But the girl had taken the alarm, from the 
 countenance of Raoul, although she did not understand what 
 had passed in English ; and she was reluctant to quit the 
 place in ignorance. 
 
 " Have I said aught to injure thee, Raoul ?" she anxiously 
 asked" I was sworn on the Word of God, and by the 
 sacred cross had I foreseen any harm to thee, the power 
 of England would not have made me take so solemn an oath, 
 and then I might have been silent." 
 
 " It matters not, dearest the fact must come out, in some 
 way or other, and, in due time, you Shall know all. And 
 now, Messieurs," the door closing on Ghita " there need 
 
268 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 be no further concealment between us. I am Raoul Yvard 
 the person you take me for, and the person that some of 
 you must well know me to be. I fought your boats, Mon 
 sieur Cuffe avoided your brulot, and led you a merry chase 
 round Elba. I deceived the Signor Barrofaldi, and his friend, 
 the podesta, and all for the love of this beautiful and modest 
 girl, who has just left the cabin ; no other motive having 
 carried me into Porto Ferrajo, or into this Bay of Naples, oil 
 the honour of a Frenchman." 
 
 " Umph !" muttered Lyon " it must be admitted, Sir 
 Frederick, that the prisoner appeals to a most eligible stand 
 ard !" 
 
 On another occasion, national antipathy and national 
 prejudice might have caused the rest of the court to smile at 
 this sally ; but there was an earnestness and sincerity in the 
 manner and countenance of Raoul, which, if they did not 
 command entire belief, at least, commanded respect. It was 
 impossible to deride such a man ; and long-cherished anti 
 pathies were rebuked by his spirited and manly declarations. 
 
 " There will be no further occasion for witnesses, Mr. 
 Judge Advocate, if the prisoner be disposed to acknowledge 
 the whole truth," observed Cufte. " It is proper, however, 
 Monsieur Yvard, to apprise you of the possible consequences. 
 You are on trial for your life; the charge being that of 
 coming on board an English ship in disguise, or rather, into 
 the centre of an English fleet, you being an alien enemy, 
 engaged in carrying on open warfare against His Majesty." 
 
 " I am a Frenchman, Monsieur, and I serve rny country," 
 answered Raoul, with dignity. 
 
 "Your right to serve your country, no one will dispute; 
 but you must know it is against the laws of civilized warfare 
 to act the part of a spy. You are now on your guard, and 
 will decide for yourself. If you have anything to say, we 
 will hear h." 
 
 " Messieurs, there is little more to be said," answered 
 Raoul. "That I am your enemy, as I am of all those who 
 seek the downfall of France, I do not deny. You know who 
 I am, and ivhat I am, and I have no excuses to make for 
 being either. As brave Englishmen, you will know how to 
 allow for the love a Frenchman bears his country. As for 
 coming on board this ship, you cannot bring that as a charge 
 
LE PEU-FOLLET. 269 
 
 against me, sinc^ it was at your own invitation I did it. The 
 rights of hospitality are as sacred as they are general." 
 
 The members of the court exchanged significant glances 
 with each other, and there was a pause of more than a 
 minute. Then the Judge Advocate resumed his duties, by 
 saying 
 
 " I wish you to understand, prisoner, the precise legal 
 effect of your admissions ; then I wish them to be made for 
 mally and deliberately ; else we must proceed to the exami 
 nation of other witnesses. You are said to be Raoul Yvard, 
 an alien enemy, in arms against the king." 
 
 "Monsieur, this I have already admitted; it cannot 
 honourably be denied." 
 
 " You are accused of coming on board His Majesty s ship 
 Proserpine disguised, and of calling yourself a boatman of 
 Capri, when you were Raoul Yvard, an alien enemy, bearing 
 arms against the king." 
 
 " This is all true ; but I was invited on board the ship, as 
 I have just stated." 
 
 " You are furthermore accused of rowing in among the 
 ships of His Majesty, now lying in the Bay of Naples, and 
 which ships are under the orders of Rear-Admiral Lord 
 Nelson, Duke of Bronte, in Sicily, you being in the same 
 disguise, though an alien enemy, with the intent to make 
 your observations as a spy, and, doubtless, to avail yourself 
 of information thus obtained, to the injury of His Majesty a 
 subjects, and to your own advantage, and that of the nation 
 you serve." 
 
 " Monsieur, this is not so parole d honnevr, I went into 
 the bay in search of Ghita Caraccioli, who has my whole 
 heart, and whom I would persuade to become my wife. 
 Nothing else carried me into the bay ; and I wore this dress, 
 because I might otherwise have been known and arrested." 
 
 " This is an important fact, if you can prove it ; for, 
 though it might not technically acquit you, it would have its 
 effect, on the commander-in-chief, when he comes to decide 
 on the sentence of this court." 
 
 Raoul hesitated. He did not doubt that Ghita, she whose 
 
 testimony had just proved so serious a matter against him 
 
 would testify that she believed such was alone his motive ; 
 
 and this, too, in a way, and with corroborative circum- 
 
 23 * 
 
270 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 stances, that would carry weight with them, more particu 
 larly as she could testify that he had done the same thing 
 before, in the Island of Elba, and was even in the practice 
 of paying her flying visits at Monte Argentaro. Neverthe 
 less, Raoul felt a strong reluctance to have Ghita again 
 brought before the court. With the jealous sensitiveness of 
 true love, he was averse to subjecting its object to the gaze 
 and comments of the rude of his own sex ; then he knew his 
 power over the feelings of the girl, and had too much sensi 
 bility not to enter into all the considerations that might 
 influence a man on a point so delicate ; and he could not 
 relish the idea of publicly laying bare feelings that he wished 
 to be as sacred to others, as they were to himself. 
 
 " Can you prove what you have just averred, Raoul 
 Yvard ?" demanded the Judge Advocate. 
 
 " Monsieur I fear it will not be in my power. There is 
 one but I much fear it will not be in my power unless, 
 indeed, I am permitted to examine my companion ; he who 
 has already been before you." 
 
 " You mean Ithuel Bolt, I presume. He has not yet been 
 regularly before us, but you can produce him, or any other 
 witness ; the court reserving to itself the right to decide, 
 afterwards, on the merits of the testimony." 
 
 " Then, Monsieur, I could wish to have Etoo-ell here." 
 
 The necessary directions were given, and Ithuel soon 
 stood in the presence of his judges. The oath was tendered, 
 and Ithuel took it like a man who had done such things 
 before. 
 
 " Your name is Ithuel Bolt ?" commenced the Judge Ad 
 vocate. 
 
 " So they call me on board this ship but if I am to be 
 a witness, let me swear freely ; I don t wish to have words 
 put into my mouth, or idees chained to me with iron." 
 
 As this was said, Ithuel raised his arms, and exhibited 
 his hand-cuffs, which the master-at-arms had refused to 
 remove, and the officers of the court had overlooked. A 
 reproachful glance from Cuffe, and a whisper from Yelver- 
 ton, disposed of the difficulty Ithuel was released. 
 
 " Now I can answer more conscientiously," continued 
 the witness, grinning sardonically; "whfn iron is eating 
 into the flesh, a man is apt to swear to what he thinks wilJ 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 271 
 
 be most agreeable to his masters. Go on squire, if you 
 have anything to say." 
 
 " You appear to be an Englishman." 
 
 "Do I? Then I appear to be what I am not. I m 
 a native of the Granite state, in North America. My fa 
 thers went to that region, in times long gone by, to uphold 
 their religious idees. The whole country, thereabouts, sets 
 onaccountable store by their privileges." 
 
 " Do you know the prisoner, Ithuel Bolt, the person who 
 is called- Raoul Yvard ?" 
 
 Ithuel was a little at a loss exactly how to answer this 
 question. Notwithstanding the high motive which had led 
 his fathers into the wilderness, and his own peculiar esti 
 mate of his religious advantages, an oath had got to be a 
 sort of convertible obligation with him, ever since the day 
 he had his first connection with a custom-house. A man 
 who had sworn to so many false invoices, was not likely to 
 stick at a trifle in order to serve a friend ; still, by denying 
 the acquaintance, he might bring discredit on himself, and 
 thus put it out of his power to be of use to Raoul on some 
 more material point. As between himself and the French 
 man, there existed a remarkable moral discrepancy ; for, 
 while he who prided himself on his religious ancestry and 
 pious education, had a singularly pliable conscience, Raoul, 
 almost an Atheist in opinion, would have scorned a simple 
 lie, when placed in a situation that touched his honour. In 
 the way of warlike artifices, few men were more subtle, or 
 loved to practise them oflener, that Raoul Yvard ; but the 
 mask aside, or when he fell back on his own native dignity 
 of mind, death itself could not have extorted an equivocation 
 from him. On the other hand, Ithuel had an affection for a 
 lie ; more especially if it served himself, or injured his 
 enemy finding- a mode of reconciling all this to his spiri 
 tuality, that is somewhat peculiar to fanaticism, "as it begins 
 to grow threadbare. On the present occasion, he was 
 ready to say whatever he thought would most conform to 
 his shipmate s wishes, and luckily he construed the expres 
 sion of the other s countenance aright. 
 
 " I do know the prisoner, as you call him, squire," Ithuel 
 answered, after the pause that was necessary to come to his 
 conclusion " I do know him wcil ; and a master-crittur he 
 
272 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 is, when he fairly gets into a current of your English trade. 
 Had there been a Rule Yvard, on board each of the French 
 men, at the Nile, over here, in Egypt, Nelson would have 
 found that his letter stood in need of some post-cripts, I 
 guess." 
 
 " Confine your answers, witness, to the purport of the 
 question," put in Cuffe, with dignity. 
 
 Ithuel stood too much in habitual awe of the captain of 
 his old ship, to venture on an answer ; but if looks could 
 have done harm, that important functionary would not have 
 escaped altogether uninjured. As he said nothing, the exa 
 mination proceeded. 
 
 " You know him to be Raoul Yvard, the commander of 
 the French privateer lugger, le Feu-Follet?" continued the 
 Judge Advocate, deeming it prudent to fortify his record of 
 the prisoner s confession of identity, with a little collateral 
 evidence. 
 
 " Why I 50??ie think " answered Ithuel, with a peculiar 
 provincialism, that had a good deal of granite in it " that 
 is, I kind o conclude " catching an assent from RaouPs 
 eye "oh! yes of that, there isn t. the smallest mite of 
 doubt in the world. He s the captain of the lugger, and a 
 right down good one he is !" 
 
 " You were with him, in disguise, when he came into the 
 Bay of Naples yesterday ?" 
 
 " I in disguise, squire ! What have I got to disguise ? I 
 am an American of different callings, all of which I prac- 
 tyse, as convenience demands ; being a neutral, I ve no 
 need of disguises to go anywhere. 1 am never disguised, 
 except when my jib is a little bowsed up ; and that, you 
 know, is a come-over that befals most seafaring men, at 
 times." 
 
 " You need answer nothing concerning yourself, that will 
 tend to criminate you. . Do you know with what induce 
 ment, or on what business, Raoul Yvard came into the Bay 
 of Naples yesterday ?" 
 
 " To own to you the candid truth, squire, I do not, 7 
 answered Ithuel, simply ; for the nature of the tie which 
 bound the young Frenchman so closely to Ghita, was a pro- 
 found mystery, in all that related to its more sacred feelings, 
 to a being generally so obtuse on matters of pure sentiment. 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 273 
 
 " Captain Rule is a good deal given to prying about on 
 the coast ; and what particular eend he had in view, in this 
 expedition, I cannot tell you. His aYn ds inshore, I must 
 own, be sometimes onaccountable ! Witness the island of 
 Elby, gentlemen." 
 
 Ithuel indulged in a small laugh, as he made this allusion; 
 for, in his own way, he had a humour in which he occasion 
 ally indulged, after a manner that belonged to the class of 
 which he was a conspicuous member. 
 
 " Never mind what occurred at Elba. Prisoner, do you 
 wish to question the witness I" 
 
 " Etuelle," asked Raoul, " do you not kn.ow that I love 
 Ghita Caraccioli ?" 
 
 " Why, Captain Rule, I know you think so, and say so 
 but I set down all these matters as somewhat various and 
 onaccountable." 
 
 " Have I not often landed on the enemy s coast, solely to 
 see her, and to be near her?" 
 
 By this time, Ithuel, who was a little puzzled at first to 
 understand what it all meant, had got his cue, and no wit 
 ness could have acquitted himself better than he did from 
 that moment. 
 
 " That you have," he answered ; " a hundred times, at 
 least ; and right in the teeth of my advice." 
 
 " Was not my sole object in coming into the Bay yester 
 day, to find Ghita, and Ghita only 7" 
 
 "Just^so. Of that, gentlemen, there can be no more 
 question, than there is about Vesuvius standing up at the 
 head of the Bay, smoking like a brick-kiln. That was 
 Captain Rule s sole a r n d." 
 
 " I just understood ye to say, witness," put in Lyon, " and 
 that only a bit since, that ye did not know the prisoner s 
 motive in coming into the Bay of Naples. Ye called his 
 behaviour unaccountable." 
 
 " Very true, sir, and so it is to me. I know d all along, 
 that love was at the bottom of it ; but / don t call love a 
 motive, while I do call it onaccountable. That s the expla 
 nation on t. Yes, I know d it was love for Miss Gyty, but 
 then that s not a motive in law." 
 
 " Answer to the facts. The court will judge of the mo- 
 live for itself. How do you know that love for the young 
 
274 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 Woman you mention, was Raoul Yvard s only object in 
 coming into the Bay ?" 
 
 " One finds out such things by keeping company with a 
 *nan. Captain Rule went first to look for the young woman 
 up on the mountain yonder, where her aunt lives, and I 
 went with him to talk English, if it got to be necessary; 
 and not finding Gyty at home, we got a boat and followed 
 her over to Naples. Thus, you see, sir, that I have reason 
 to know what craft he was in chase of the whole time." 
 
 As all this was strictly true, Ithuel related it naturally, 
 and in a way to gain some credit. 
 
 " You say you accompanied Raoul Yvard, witness, in a 
 visit to the aurft of the young woman, called Ghita Carac- 
 cioli," observed CufTe, in a caivless way, that was intended 
 to entrap Ithuel into an unwary answer " where did you 
 go from, when you set out on your journey ?" 
 
 " That would depend on the place one kept his reckoning 
 from, and the time of starting. Now, / might say I started 
 from Ameriky, which part of the world I left some years 
 since ; or I might say from Nantes, the port in which we 
 fitted for sea. As for Captain Rule, he would probably say 
 Nantes." 
 
 " In what manner did you come from Nantes?" continued 
 CiuTe, without betraying resentment at an answer that might 
 be deemed impertinent ; or surprise, as if he found it diffi 
 cult to comprehend. " You did not make the journey on 
 horseback, I should think ?" 
 
 " Oh, I begin to understand you, Captain Cuffe. Why, 
 if the truth must be said, we came in the lugger, the ew- 
 Folly." 
 
 " I supposed as much. And when you went to visit this 
 aunt, where did you leave the lugger?" 
 
 " We did n t leave her at all, sir ; being under her can 
 vass, our feet were no sooner in the boat, and the line cast 
 off, than she left us as if we had been stuck up, like a tree, 
 on dry ground." 
 
 " Where did this happen ?" 
 
 "Afloat, of course, Captain Cuffe; such a thing would 
 hardly come to pass, ashore." 
 
 " All that, I understand ; but you say the prisoner left 
 his vessel, in order to visit an aunt of the young woman s; 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 275 
 
 thence he went into the Bay, for the sole purpose of finding 
 the young woman herself. Now, this is an important fact, 
 as it concerns the prisoner s motives, and may affect his life. 
 The court must act with all the facts before it ; as a com 
 mencement, tell us where Raoul Yvard left his lugger, to go 
 on yonder head-land." 
 
 " I do not think, Captain Cuffe,. you ve got the story 
 exactly right. Captain Rule didn t go on the mountain, 
 after all, so much to see the aunt, as to see the niece at the 
 aunt s dwelling ; if one would end right in a story, he must 
 begin right" 
 
 " I left le Feu-Follet, Monsieur le Capitaine," Raoul 
 calmly observed, "not two cables length from the very spot 
 where your own ship is now lying ; but it was at an hour of 
 the night when the good people of Capri were asleep, and 
 they knew nothing of our visit. You see the lugger is no 
 longer here." 
 
 " And do you confirm this story, under the solemnity of 
 your oath ?" demanded Cuffe of Ithuel, little imagining how 
 easy it was to the witness to confirm anything he saw fit, in 
 the way he mentioned. 
 
 " Sartain ; every word is true, gentlemen," answered 
 Ithuel. " It was not more than a cable s length from this 
 very spot, according to my judgment." 
 
 " And where is the lugger, now ?" asked Cuffe, betraying 
 the drift of all his questions, in his eagerness to learn more. 
 
 Ithuel was not to be led on so hurriedly, or so blindly. 
 Affecting a girlish sort of coyness, he answered, simpering, 
 
 " Why, Captain Cuffe, I cannot think of answering a 
 question like that, under the solemnity of an oath, as you 
 call it. No one can know where the little Folly is, but them 
 that s in her." 
 
 Cuffe was a little disconcerted at the answer, while Lyon 
 smiled ironically ; the latter then took upon himself the 
 office of cross-examining, with an opinion of his own pene 
 tration and shrewdness, that, at least, ought to have made 
 him quite equal to encountering one of IthuePs readiness in 
 subterfuges. 
 
 " We do not expect you to tell us, of your own know 
 ledge, witness," he said, " precisely the position, by latitude 
 #nd longitude, or by the points of the compass, at this iden- 
 
276 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 lical instant, of the craft called by some the le Few- Folly, by 
 others, the Few-Follay, and, as it would now seem, by your 
 self, the Little Folly ; for that, as ye ve well obsairved, can 
 be known only to those who are actually on board her ; but 
 ye 11 be remembering, perhaps, the place it was agreed on 
 between you, where ye were to find the lugger at your 
 return from this hazardous expedition that ye ve been mak 
 ing amang ye, into the Bay of Naples ?" 
 
 " I object to that question, as contrary to law," put in 
 Ithuel, with a spirit and promptitude that caused the Judgo 
 Advocate to start, and the members of the court to look at 
 each other in surprise. 
 
 " Nay, if ye object to the question on the ground that a 
 true ainswer will be criminating yersel , ye 11 be justified in 
 so doing, by reason and propriety ; but then ye 11 consider 
 Veil the consequences it may have on your own case, when 
 that comes to be investigated." 
 
 " I object on gin ral principles," said Ithuel. " Whatever 
 Captain Rule may have said on the subject, admitting that. 
 he said anything, just to bear out the argument, (by the 
 way, Ithuel called this word argooment, a pronunciation 
 against which we enter our solemn protest;) admitting, I 
 say, that he said anything on the subject, it cannot be testi 
 mony, as hearsay evidence is ag in law, all the world 
 over." 
 
 The members of the court looked at the Judge Advocate, 
 who returned the glance with an air of suitable gravity ; 
 then, on a motion of Sir Frederick s, the court was cleared, 
 to discuss the point in private. 
 
 "How s this, Mr. Judge Advocate," demanded Cuffe, as 
 soon as the coast was clear ; " it is of the last importance 
 to find where that lugger, is do you hold that the question 
 is contrary to law ?" 
 
 " Its importance makes it pertinent, I think, sir ; as for 
 the legality, I do not see how it can be affected by the cir- 
 cumstance that the fact came up in discourse." 
 
 " D ye think so ?" observed Sir Frederick, looking much 
 more profound than was his wont. " Legality is the boast 
 of English law, and I should dislike excessively to fail in 
 that great essential. What is said, must be heard, to bo 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 2?7 
 
 repeated ; and this seems very like hearsay testimony. I 
 believe it s admitted all round, we must reject that." 
 
 "What is your opinion, Captain Lyon?" demanded the 
 president. 
 
 " The case is somewhat knotty, but it may be untied," 
 returned the Scot, with a sneer on his hard features. " No 
 need of Alexander and his sword to cut the rope, I m think 
 ing, when we bring common sense to bear on the point. 
 What is the matter to be ascertained? Why, the place 
 which was agreed on as the point of rendezvous between 
 this Rawl Eevart and his people. Now, this arrangement 
 must have been made orally, or in writing; if orally, testi 
 mony to the words uttered will not be hearsay, farther than 
 testimony to what# man has seen will be eyesight." 
 
 " Quite true, Mr. President and gentlemen !" exclaimed 
 the Judge Advocate, who was not a little relieved at finding 
 a clue to lead him out of the difficulty. " If the agreement 
 had been made in writing, then that writing would have to 
 be produced, if possible, as the best evidence the case 
 affords ; but, being made in words, those words can be 
 sworn to." 
 
 Cuffe was much relieved by this opinion, and, as Sir 
 Frederick did not seem disposed to push his dissent very far, 
 the matter would have been determined on the spot, but for 
 a love of disputation that formed part and parcel, to speak 
 legally on a legal subject, of Lyon s moral temperament. 
 
 " I m agreeing with the Judge Advocate, as to his dis 
 tinction about the admissibility of the testimony on the 
 ground of its not being technically what is called hearsay 
 evidence," he observed ; " but a difficulty suggests itself to 
 my mind touching the pairtcnency. A witness is sworn to 
 speak to the point before the court ; but he is not sworn to 
 discuss all things in heaven and airth. Now, s it pairtenent 
 to the fact of Rawl Eevart s being a spy, that he made sair- 
 tain agreements to meet this or that fellow-creature, in this 
 or that place. Now, as I comprehend the law, it divides 
 all questions into two great classes the pairtinent, and the 
 impairtinent, of which the first are legal, and the second 
 illegal." 
 
 "I think it would be a great piece of audacity," said Sir 
 24 
 
278 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 Frederick, disdainfully, " for such a fellow as this Bolt, to 
 pretend to call any question we can put him, impertinent !" 
 
 " That s no just the p int. Sir Frederick ; this being alto 
 gether a matter of law, while ye 11 be thinking of station 
 and etiquette. Then, there s two classes of the pairtinent, 
 and two of the impairtenent ; one being legal and logical, as 
 it might be, and the other conventional and civil, as one 
 may say. There s a nice distinction, latent, between the 
 two." 
 
 " I believe the court is of opinion that the question may 
 be put," observed Cuffe, who was impatient of the Scotch 
 man s subtleties, bowing to Sir Frederick, to ask an acqui 
 escence which he immediately received. " We will re-open 
 the doors, and proceed in the examination." 
 
 " The court is of opinion, witness," resumed the Judge 
 Advocate, when every one was in his place again, " that 
 you must answer the question. In order that you may 
 understand it, I will now repeat it. Where was it agreed 
 between Raoul Yvard and his people, that they should meet 
 again ?" 
 
 " I do not think the people of the lugger had anything to 
 say in the matter," answered Ithuel, in the most unmoved 
 manner. " If they had, I. knew nothing on t." 
 
 The court felt embarrassed ; but as it would never do to 
 be thwarted in ^this manner, a look of determination was 
 exchanged between the members, and the examination pro 
 ceeded. 
 
 " If not the people, the officers, then. Where was it 
 agreed between the prisoner and his officers, that the ibrmer 
 should find the lugger, when he returned from his expedition 
 into the Bay ?" 
 
 " Well, now, gentlemen," answered Ithuel, turning his 
 quid from one cheek into the other, * I some conclude, 
 you ve no great acquaintance with Captain Rule, a ter all ! 
 He is not apt to enter into any agreements, at all. What 
 he wants done, he orders ; and what he orders, must be 
 done." 
 
 " What did he order, then, as respects the place where 
 the lugger was to wait for his return?" 
 
 " I m sorry to be troublesome, please the court," returned 
 the witness, with admirable self-possession; " but law ia 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 279 
 
 aw, all over the world, and I rather guess this question is 
 ag in it. In the Granite state, it is always held that when 
 a thing can be proved by the person who said any particular 
 words, that the question must be put to him, and not to a 
 bystander." 
 
 " Not if that person is a prisoner, and on his trial," 
 answered the. Judge Advocate, staring to hear such a dis 
 tinction from such a source ; " though the remark is a 
 good one, in the cases of witnesses, purely. You must 
 answer, therefore." 
 
 " It is unnecessary," again interposed Raoul. " I left 
 my vessel here, where I have told you, and had I made a 
 certain signal, the last night, from the heights of St. Agata, 
 le Feu-Follet would have stood in, near to the rocks of the 
 Sirens, and taken me off again. As the hour is passed, and 
 the signal is not likely to be made, it is probable my lieu 
 tenant has gone to another rendezvous, of which the witness 
 knows nothing, and which, certainly, I shall never betray." 
 
 There was so much manliness and quiet dignity in Raoul s 
 deportment, that, whatever he said made an impression. 
 His answer disposed of the matter, for the moment at least. 
 The Judge Advocate, accordingly, turned to other inquiries. 
 Little remained, however, to be done. The prisoner had 
 admitted his identity ; his capture, with all the attendant 
 circumstances, were in proof, and his defence came next. 
 
 When Raoul rose to speak, he felt a choking emotion ; 
 but it soon left him, and he commenced in a steady, calm 
 tone, his accent giving point and interest to many of his 
 expressions. 
 
 " Messieurs," said he, " I will not deny my name, my 
 character, or my manner of life. I am a Frenchman, and 
 the enemy of your country. I am, also, the enemy of the 
 King of Naples, in whose territories you found me. I have 
 destroyed his and your ships. Put me on board my lugger, 
 and I should do both again. Whoever is the enemy of 
 la France, is the enemy of Raoul Yvard. Honourable sea 
 men, like yourselves, Messieurs, can understand this. I am 
 young. My heart is not made of rock ; evil as it may be, 
 it can love beauty, and modesty, and virtue, in the other 
 sex. Such has been my fate I love Ghita Caraccioli ; 
 have endeavoured to make her my wife for more than a 
 
280 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 year. She has not authorized me to say that my suit was 
 favoured this I must acknowledge ; but she is not the* less 
 admirable for that. We differ in our opinions of religion, 
 and I fear she left Monte Argantaro, because, refusing my 
 hand, she thought it better, perhaps, that we should not 
 meet again. It is so with maidens, as you must know, 
 Messieurs . But it is not usual for us, who are less refined, 
 to submit to such self-denial. I learned whither Ghita had 
 come, and followed ; my heart was a magnet, that her 
 beauty drew after it, as our needles are drawn towards the 
 pole. It was necessary to go into the Bay of Naples, 
 among the vessels of enemies, to find her I loved ; and this 
 is a very different thing, from engaging in the pitiful at 
 tempts o f* a spy. Which of you would not have done the 
 same, Messieurs ? You are braves Anglais, and I know you 
 would not hesitate. Two of you are still youthful, like 
 myself, and must still feel the power of beauty j even the 
 Monsieur that is no longer a young man, has had his mo 
 ments ot passion, like all that are born of woman. Mes 
 sieurs, I have no more to say : you know the rest. If you 
 condemn me, let it be as an unfortunate Frenchman, whose 
 heart had its weaknesses not as an ignominious and trea 
 cherous t>py." 
 
 The earnestness and nature with which Raoul spoke, 
 were not without effect. Could Sir Frederick have had his 
 way, the prisoner would have been acquitted on the spot. 
 But, Lyon was sceptical, as to the story of love, a sentiment 
 about which he knew very little ; and there was a spirit 01 
 opposition in him, too, that generally induced him to take 
 the converse of most propositions that were started. The 
 prisoner was dismissed, and the court closed its doors, to 
 make" up its decision, by itself, in the usual form. 
 
 We should do injustice to Cuffe, if we did not say that he 
 had some feeling in favour of the gallant foe, who had so 
 often foiled him. Could he have had his will at that mo 
 ment, he would have given Raoul his lugger, allowed the 
 latter a sufficient start, and then gladly have commenced a 
 chase round the Mediterranean, to settle nil questions be 
 tween them. But it was too much to give up the lugger, as 
 well as trie prisoner. Then his oath, as a judge, had its 
 obligations also, and he felt himself bound to yield to the ar- 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 281 
 
 guments of the Judge Advocate, who was a man of techni 
 calities, and thought no more of sentiment than Lyon, 
 himself. 
 
 The result of the deliberation, which lasted an hour, was 
 a finding against the prisoner. The court was opened, the 
 record made up and read, the offender introduced, and the 
 judgment delivered. The finding was " that Raoul Yvard 
 had been caught in disguise, in the midst of the allied fleets, 
 and that he was guilty as a spy." The sentence was to 
 suffer death the succeeding day, by hanging at the yard- 
 arm of such ship, as the commander-in-chief might select, 
 on approving of the sentence. 
 
 As Raoul expected little else, he heard his doom with 
 steadiness, bowing with dignity and courtesy to the court, 
 as he was led away, to be placed in irons, as befitted one 
 condemned. 
 
 CHAPTEE XIX. 
 
 "The world s all title-page; there s no contents; 
 The world s all face; the man who shows his heart 
 Is hooted for his nudities, and scorned." 
 
 Night Thoughts. 
 
 BOLT had not been tried. His case had several serious 
 difficulties, and the orders allowed of a discretion. The 
 punishment could scarcely be less than death, and, in addition 
 to the loss of a stout, sinewy man, it involved questions of 
 natural right, that were riot always pleasant to be considered. 
 Although the impressment of American seamen into the 
 British ships of war was probably one of the most serious 
 moral, as well as political wrongs, that one independent 
 nation ever received at the hands of another, viewed as a 
 practice of a generation s continuance, it was not wholly 
 without some relieving points. There was a portion of the 
 British marine that disdained to practise it at all ; leaving it 
 to the coarser spirits of the profession to discharge a duty 
 24* 
 
282 I<E FETJ-FOLLET. 
 
 that they, themselves,, found repugnant to their feelings and 
 their habiis. Thus, we remember to have heard an Ameri 
 can seaman say, one who had been present on many occa 
 sions when his countrymen were torn from under their 
 flag, that in no instance he ever witnessed, was the officer 
 who committed the wrong of an air and manner that he 
 should describe as belonging to the class of gentlemen, on 
 shore. Whenever one of the latter boarded his vessel, the 
 crew was permitted to pass unquestioned. 
 
 Let this be as it might, there is no question that a strong 
 and generous feeling existed in the breasts of hundreds in 
 the British navy, concerning the nature of the wrong that 
 was done a foreign people, by the practice of impressing 
 men from under their flag. Although Cuffe was too much 
 of a martinet to carry his notions on the subject to a very 
 refined point, he was too much of a man not to be reluctant 
 to punish another for doing what he felt he would have done 
 himself, under similar circumstances, and what he could not 
 but know he would have had a perfect right to do. It was 
 impossible to mistake one like Ithuel, who had so many of 
 the Granite peculiarities about him, for anything but what 
 he was ; and so well was his national character established 
 in the ship, that the sobriquet of The Yankee had been ap 
 plied to him, by his shipmates, from the very first. The 
 fact, therefore, stood him so far in hand, that Cuffe, after a 
 consultation with Winchester, determined not to put the 
 alleged deserter on trial ; but, after letting him remain a 
 short time in irons, to turn him to duty, again, under a pre 
 tence that was often" used on such occasions, viz., to give 
 the man an opportunity of proving his American birth, if he 
 were really what he so strenuously professed to be. Poor 
 Ithuel was not the only one who was condemned to this 
 equivocal servitude, hundreds passing weary years of proba 
 tion, with the same dim ray of hope, for ever deferred, 
 gleaming in the distance. It was determined, however, not 
 to put Ithuel on his trial, until the captain had conversed 
 with the admiral on the subject, at least ; and Nelson, re 
 moved from the influence of the siren by whom he was 
 enthralled, was a man inclined to leniency, and of even 
 chivalrous notions of justice. To such contradictions is 
 
LE FEU-FOLLEI 1 . 283 
 
 even a great mind subject, when it loses sight of the polar 
 star of its duties ! 
 
 When the sentence on Raoul was pronounced, therefore, 
 and the prisoner was removed, the court adjourned; a boat 
 being immediately despatched to the Foudroy ant with a copy 
 of the proceedings, for the rear-admiral s approbation. Then 
 Allowed a discussion on much the most interesting topic for 
 hem all ; the probable position of, and the means of captur- 
 ng the lugger. That le Feu-Follet was near, all were con 
 vinced ; but where she was to be found, it was hard to tell. 
 Officers had been sent on the heights of Capri, one of which 
 towers more than a thousand feet above the sea ; but they 
 returned from a bootless errand. Nothing resembling the 
 lugger was visible in the offing, among the islands, or in the 
 bays. A cutter had been sent to look round Campanella, 
 and another crossed the mouth of the bay, to take a look 
 to the northward of Ischia, in order to make certain that the 
 treacherous craft had not gone behind the mountains of that 
 island, for a refuge. In short, no expedient, likely to discover 
 the fugitive, was neglected. All failed, however; boat after 
 boat came back, without success, and officer after officer 
 returned wearied and disappointed. 
 
 Much of the day was passed in this manner, for it was a 
 calm, and moving either of the ships was out of the question. 
 In the full expectation of discovering the lugger somewhere 
 in striking distance, Cuffe had even gone so far as to detail 
 a party from each vessel, with a view to attack her in boats, 
 again ; feeling no doubt of success, now that he had the dis 
 posable force of three vessels to send against his enemy. 
 Winchester was to have commanded, as a right purchased by 
 his blood ; nor was the hope of succeeding, in this way 
 abandoned, until the last boat, that which had been sent round 
 Ischia, returned, and reported its total want of success. 
 
 " I have heard it said," observed Cuffe, as he and hi& 
 brother captains stood conversing together on the quarter 
 deck of the Proserpine, just after this last report had been 
 made " I have heard it said, that this Raoul Yvard has 
 actually gone boldly into several of our ports, under English 
 or neutral colours, and lain there a day or two at a time, 
 unsuspected ; until it has suited him to go out again. Can 
 it be possible he is up, off the town ? There is such a fleet 
 
284 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 of craft, in and about the mole, that a little lugger, with her 
 paint and marks altered, might be among them. What 
 think you, Lyon ?" 
 
 " It is sairtainly a law of nature, Captain Cuffe, that 
 smaller objects should be overlooked, in the presence of 
 greater ; and such a thing might happen, therefore ; though 
 I should place it among the improbables, if not absolutely 
 among the impossibles. T would be far safer, nevertheless, 
 to run in, in the manner you designate, among a hundred or 
 two of ships, than to venture alone into a haven or a road 
 stead. If you wish for retirement, Sir Frederick, plunge at 
 once into the Strand, or take lodgings on Ludgate Hill ; but 
 if you wish to be noticed, and chased, go into a highland 
 village, and just conceal your name for a bit ! Ah he 
 knows the difference, well, who has tried both modes of 
 life!" 
 
 * This is true, Cuffe," observed the Baronet, " and yet I 
 hardly think a Frenchman, big or little, would be apt to 
 come and anchor under Nelson s nose." 
 
 " T would be something like the lion s lying down with 
 the lamb, certainly, and ought not to be counted on as very 
 likely. Mr. Winchester, is not that our boat coming round 
 the sloop s quarter?" 
 
 " Yes, sir she has got back from Naples quarter 
 master " 
 
 "Ay, quarter-master" interrupted Cuffe, sternly "a 
 pretty look-out is this ! Here is our own boat close in upon 
 us, and not a word from your lips on the interesting subject, 
 
 sir 
 
 i" 
 
 This word, szr, is much used on board a man-of-war, and 
 in all its convertible significations. From the inferior to the 
 superior, it comes as natural, as if it were a gift from above ; 
 from equal to equal, it has a ceremonious and be-on-your- 
 guard air, that sometimes means respect, sometimes disre 
 spect ; while, from a captain to a quarter-master, it always 
 means -pproof, if it do not mean menace. In discussions of 
 this sort, it is wisest for the weaker party to be silent; and 
 nowhere is this truth sooner Learned, than on ship-board. 
 The quarter-master, consequently, made no answer, and the 
 gig came alongside, bringing back the officer who had car 
 ried the proceedings of the court up to Naples. 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 285 
 
 " Here we have it," said Cuffe, opening the important do 
 cument, as soon as he and his brother captains were again in 
 the cabin. Approved ordered that the sentence be car 
 ried into execution on board his Majesty s ship, the Proser 
 pine, Captain Cuffe, to-morrow, between the hours of sun 
 rise and sun-set. " 
 
 Then followed the date, and the well-known signature of 
 " Nelson and Bronte." All this was what Cuffe both 
 wished and expected, though he would have preferred a little 
 more grace in carrying out the orders. The reader is not 
 to suppose from this, that our captain was either vengeful 
 or bloody-minded ; or that he really desired to inflict on 
 Raoul any penalty for the manner in which he had baffled 
 his own designs and caused his crew to suffer. So far from 
 this, his intention was to use the sentence to extort from the 
 prisoner a confession of the orders he had given to those 
 left in the lugger, and then to use this confession as a means 
 of obtaining his pardon, with a transfer to a prison-ship. 
 Cuffe had no great veneration for privateersmen, nor was 
 his estimate of their morality at all unreasonable, when he 
 inferred that one, who served with gain for his principal 
 object, would not long hesitate about purchasing his own life, 
 by the betrayal of a secret like that he now asked. Had 
 Raoul belonged even to a republican navy, the English man- 
 of-war s-man might have hesitated about carrying out his 
 plan ; but, with the master o\ a corsair, it appeared to be 
 the most natural thing imaginable to attempt its execution. 
 Both Sir Frederick and Lyon viewed the matter in the 
 same light ; and, now that everything was legally done that 
 was necessary to the design, the capture of the lugger was 
 deemed more than half accomplished. 
 
 "It is somewhat afflicting, too, Cuffe," observed Sir Fre 
 derick, in his drawling, indolent way ; " it is somewhat 
 afflicting, too, Cuffe, to be compelled to betray one s friends, 
 or to be hanged ! In parliament, now, we say we 11 be 
 hnnued if we do, and here you say you 11 be hanged if 
 you don t." 
 
 " Poh, poh, Dashwood ; no one expects this Raoul Yvard 
 will come to that fate, for no one thinks he will hold out. 
 We shall get the lugger, and that will be the end of it. I d 
 give a thousand pounds to see that d d Few-Folly at 
 
286 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 anchor, within pistol-shot of my stern, at this blessed mo 
 ment. My feelings are in the matter." 
 
 "Five hundred would be a high price," observed Lyon, 
 drily. " 1 much doubt if the shares of us three come to as 
 much as a hundred apiece, even should the craft fall into 
 our hands." 
 
 " By the way, gents," put in Sir Frederick, gaping 
 " suppose we toss up, or throw the dice, to see which shall 
 have all, on the supposition we get her within the next 
 twenty-four hours, timing the affair by this ship s chrono 
 meters. You ve dice on board, I dare say, Cuffe, and we 
 can make a regular time of it, here, for half an hour, and 
 no one the wiser." 
 
 " Your pardon, Captain Dashwood ; I can suffer no such 
 amusement. It is unmilitary, and contrary to regulations ; 
 and, then, hundreds are not as plenty with Lyon and my-, 
 self, as they are with you. I like to pocket my prize- 
 money first, and sport on it, afterwards." 
 
 " You re right, Captain Cuffe," said Lyon ; " though" 
 there can be no great innovation in sporting on Sir Fre 
 derick s portion, if he see fit to indulge us. Money is an 
 agreeable acquisition beyond a doubt, and life is sweet to 
 saint and sinner alike ; but I much question your facility in 
 persuading this Monshure Rawl to tell you his secret con- 
 sairning the lugger, in the manner ye anticipate." 
 
 This opinion met with no favour; and after discussing the 
 point among themselves a little longer, the three captains 
 were on the point of separating, when Griffin burst into the 
 cabin, without even knocking, and altogether regardless of 
 the usual observances. 
 
 " One would think it blew a typhoon, Mr. Griffin," said 
 Cuffe, coldly, " by the rate at which you run before it." 
 
 " It s an ill wind that blows no luck, sir," -answered the 
 lieutenant, actually panting for breath, so great had been 
 his haste to communicate what he had to say. " Our look 
 out, on the heights above Campanella, has just signalled us 
 that he sees the lugger to the southward and eastward 
 somewhere near the point of Piane, I suppose, sir; and what 
 is better, the wind is coming off-shore earlier than common 
 this evening." 
 
 " That is news !" exclaimed Cuffe, rubbing his hands with 
 
LEFEU-FOLLET. 287 
 
 delight. " Go on deck, Griffin, and tell Winchester to un- 
 moor ; then make a signal to the other ships to do the same. 
 Now, gentlemen, we have the game in our own hands, and 
 let us see and play it skilfully. In a couple of hours it will 
 be dark, and our movements can all be made without being 
 seen. As the Proserpine is, perhaps, the fastest ship," at 
 this remark, Sir Frederick smiled ironically, while Lyon 
 raised his eyebrows like one who saw a marvel "As the 
 Proserpine is, perhaps, the fastest ship, she ought to go the 
 farthest to leeward ; and I will get under way, and stand 
 off to sea, keeping well to the northward and eastward, as 
 if I were running for the straits of Bonifacio, for instance, 
 until it gets to be dark, when I will haul up south, for a 
 couple of hours or so ; then come up as high as south-east, 
 until we are to the southward of the gulf of Salerno. This 
 will be before daylight, if the wind stand. At daylight, 
 then, you may look out for me, off Piane, say two leagues, 
 and to seaward, I hope, of the lugger. You shall follow, 
 Sir Frederick, just as the sun sets, and keep in my wake, as 
 near as possible ; heaving-to, however, at midnight. This 
 will bring you fairly abreast of the gulf, and about midway 
 between the two capes, a little west of south from Campa- 
 nella. Lyon, you can lie here until the night has fairly set 
 in, when you can pass between Capri and the cape, and run 
 down south two hours, and heave-to. This will place you 
 in a position to watch the passage to and from the gulf, 
 under the northern shore." 
 
 " And this arrangement completed to your satisfaction, 
 Captain Cuffe," asked Lyon, deliberately helping himself to 
 an enormous pinch of snuff, " what will be your pleasure in 
 the posterior evolutions?" 
 
 " Each ship must keep her station until the day has fairly 
 dawned. Should it turn out, as I trust it may, that we v$ 
 got the le Few-FoUy in-shore of us, all we 11 have to do, 
 will be to close in upon her, and drive her up, higher and 
 higher, into the Bay. She will naturally run into shallow 
 water ; when we must anchor off, man the boats, send them 
 north and south of her, and let them board her, under cover 
 of our fire. If we find the lugger embayed, we ll have her, 
 as sure as fate." 
 
 " Very prettily conceived, Captain Cuffe ; and in a way 
 
288 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 to be handsomely executed. But if we should happen to 
 find the heathen outside of us ?" 
 
 " Then make sail in chase to seaward, each ship acting 
 for the best. Come, gentlemen, I do not wish to be inhos 
 pitable, but the Proserpine must be off. She has a long 
 road before her ; and the winds of this season of the year 
 can barely be counted on for an hour at a time." 
 
 Cuffe being in such a hurry, his guests departed without 
 further ceremony. As for Sir Frederick, the first thing he 
 did, was to order dinner an hour earlier than he had in 
 tended, and then to invite his surgeon and marine-officer, 
 two capital pairs of knives and forks, to come and share it 
 with him ; after which, he sat down to play somewhat vil- 
 ianously on a flute. Two hours later, he gave the neces 
 sary orders to his first-lieutenant ; after which, he troubled 
 himself very little about the frigate he commanded. Lyon, 
 on the other hand, sat down to a very frugal meal alone, as 
 soon as he found himself again in his sloop ; first ordering 
 certain old sails to be got on deck, and to be mended for the 
 eighth or ninth time. 
 
 With the Proserpine it was different. Her capstan-bars 
 flew round, and one anchor was actually catted, by the time 
 her captain appeared on deck. The other soon followed, 
 the three topsails fell, were sheeted-home and hoisted,. and 
 then sail was set after sail, until the ship went steadily past 
 the low promontory of Ana Capri, a cloud of canvass. Her 
 head was to the westward, inclining a little north ; and had 
 there been any one to the southward, to watch her move 
 ments, as there was not, so far as the eye could see, it would 
 have been supposed that she was standing over towards the 
 coast of Sardinia, most probably with an intention of passing, 
 by the Straits of Bonifacio, between that island and Corsica. 
 The wind being nearly east, and it blowing a good breeze, 
 the progress of the ship was such as promised to fulfil all 
 the expectations of her commander. 
 
 As the sun set, and darkness diffused itself over the Medi 
 terranean, the lighter steering-sails were taken in, and the 
 Proserpine brought the wind abeam, standing south. One 
 of the last things visible from the decks, besides the moun 
 tains of the islands and of the main, the curling smoke of 
 Vesuvius, the blue void above and the bluer sea below, was 
 
LE PEU-FOLLET. 289 
 
 the speck of the Terpsichore, as that ship followed, as near 
 as might be, in her wake ; Sir Frederick and his friends 
 still at table, but with a vigilant and industrious first-lieu 
 tenant on deck, who was sufficient in himself for all that 
 was required of the vessel, in any emergency. The latter 
 nad his orders, and he executed them with a precision and 
 attention that promised to leave nothing to be wished for. 
 On the other hand, the people of the Ringdove were kept at 
 work mending old sails until the hour to " knock-off work" 
 arrived ; then the ship unmoored. At the proper time, the 
 remaining anchor was lifted, and the sloop went through the 
 pass, between Capri and Campanella, as directed, when 
 Lyon sent for the first-lieutenant to join him in his cabin. 
 
 Look you here, McBean," said Lyon, pointing to the 
 chart which lay on the table ; " Captain Cuffe has just run 
 down off Piane, and will find himself well to leeward, when 
 the west wind comes to-morrow ; Sir Frederick has followed, 
 famously clear of the land, and won t be in a much better 
 box. Now, this lugger must be pretty picking, if all they 
 say of her be true. Ten to one, but she has gold in her. 
 These corsairs are desperate rogues after the siller, and, 
 taking hull, sails, armament, head-money, and the scrapings 
 of the lockers together, I shouldn t marvel, if she come to 
 something as good as 8 or 10,000. This would be fair 
 dividing for a sloop, but would amount to a painfully small 
 trifle, as between the officers of three ships, after deducting 
 the admiral s share. What are you thinking of, Airchy ?" 
 
 " Of just that, Captain Lyon. It would be dividing every 
 lieutenant s share by three, as well as every captain s." 
 
 " That s it, Airchy, and so ye 11 have a shairp look out, 
 on deck. There ll be no occasion to run down quite as far 
 as Captain Cuffe suggested, ye 11 obsairve ; for, if in the 
 bay, the lugger will work her way up towards this head 
 land, and we 11 be all the more likely to fall in with her, by 
 keeping near it ourselves. Ye 11 take the idea ?" 
 
 * It s plain enou , Captain Lyon ; and I 11 be obsairving 
 it. How is the law understood as respects dairkness? I 
 understand that none share but such as are in sight; but is 
 dairkness deemed a legal impediment?" 
 
 " To be sure it is ; the idea being that all who can see 
 may act. Now, if we catch the lugger before Captain Cuflfe 
 
290 LE FEU -FOLLET. 
 
 and Sir Frederick even know where she is, on what principle 
 can they aid and sustain us in the capture?" 
 
 "And you wish a shairp look-out, the night, Captain 
 Lyon?" 
 
 " That s just it, Airchy. Ye 11 all be doing your best, 
 in the way of eyes, and we may get the lugger alone. 
 S T would be such a pity, Mr. McBean, to divide by three, 
 when the sums might be kept entire !" 
 
 Such was the state of feeling with which each of these 
 three officers entered on his present duty. Cuffe was 
 earnest in the wish to catch his enemy, and this principally 
 for the credit of the thing, though a little out of a desire to 
 revenge his own losses ; Sir Frederick Dashwood, indifferent 
 to all but his own pleasures ; and Lyon, closely attentive to 
 the main chance. An hour or two later, or just before Cuffe 
 turned in, he sent a message to request the presence of his 
 first-lieutenant, if the latter were still up. Winchester was 
 writing up his private journal ; closing the book, he obeyed 
 the order, in that quiet, submissive manner, which a first- 
 lieutenant is more apt to use towards his captain, than 
 towards any one else. 
 
 " Good-evening, Winchester," said Cuffe, in a familiar, 
 friendly way, which satisfied the subordinate that he was not 
 sent for to be " rattled-down" ; " draw a chair, and try a 
 glass of this Capri wine, with some water. It s not carry 
 ing sail hard to drink a gallon of it ; yet I rather think it 
 fills up the chinks better than nothing." 
 
 " Thank ee, Captain Cuffe ; we like it in the gun-room, 
 and got off a fresh cask or two, this morning, while the 
 coun was sitting. So they tell me, sir, his lordship has put 
 his name to it, and that this Frenchman is to swing from 
 our fore- yard-arm, sometime to-morrow ?" 
 
 " It stands so on paper, Winchester; but if he confess 
 where his lugger lies, all will go smoothly enough with him. 
 However, as things look, now, we 11 have her, and thanks 
 only to ourselves." 
 
 " Well, sir, that will be best, on the whole. I do not like 
 to see a man selling his own people." 
 
 " There you are right enough, Winchester, and I trust 
 we shall get along without it ; though the luggsr must be 
 
LE FEU-POLLBT. 291 
 
 ouis. I sent for you, by the way, about this Boltsome- 
 thing must bo done with that fellow." 
 
 " It s a clear case of desertion, Captain CufTe ; and, as it 
 would now seem, of treason, in the bargain. I would rather 
 hang ten such chaps, than one man like the Frenchman." 
 
 " VVell, it s clear, Mr. Winchester, you do not beat 
 malice ! Have you forgotten Porto Ferrajo, and the boats, 
 already ? or do you love them that despitefully use you ?" 
 
 " T\yas ail fair service, sir, and one never thinks any 
 thing of that. I owe this Monsieur Yvard no grudge for 
 what he did ; but, now it s all fairly over, I rather like him 
 the better for it. But it s a very different matter as to this 
 Bolt ; a skulking scoundrel, who would let other men fight 
 his country s battles, while he goes a-privateering against 
 British commerce." 
 
 " Ay, there s the rub, Winchester ! Are they Us coun 
 try s battles?" 
 
 " Why we took him for an Englishman, sir, and we must 
 act up to our own professions, in order to be consistent." 
 
 " And so hang an innocent man for a treason that he 
 could not commit?" 
 
 " Why, Captain CufFe, do you believe the fellow s whining 
 story about his being a Yankee? If that be true, we have 
 done him so much injustice already, as to make his case a 
 very hard one. For my part, I look upon all these fellows 
 as only so many disaffected Englishmen, and treat them 
 accordingly." 
 
 "That is a sure way to quiet one s feelings, Winchester, 
 but it s most too serious when it comes to hanging. If Bolt 
 reserve any punishment, he deserves death ; and that is a 
 matter about which one ought to be tolerably certain, before 
 he pushes things too far. I Ve sometimes had my doubts 
 about three or four of our people s being Englishmen, after 
 all. 
 
 " There can be no certainty in these matters, unless one 
 could carry a parish register for the whole kingdom, in his 
 ship, Captain Cuffe. If they are not Englishmen, why do 
 they not produce satisfactory proofs to show it? That is 
 but reasonable, you must allow, sir?" 
 
 " I don t know, Winchester ; there are two sides to that 
 question, too. Suppose the King of Naples should seize 
 
292 LE FEU-FOLLET 
 
 you, here, ashore, and call on you to prove that you are not 
 one of his subjects 1 How would you go to work to make 
 it out no parish register being at hand . " 
 
 " Well, then, Captain Cufie, if we are so very wrong, we 
 had better give all these men up, at once though one of 
 them is the very best hand in the ship ; 1 think it right to 
 tell you that, sir." 
 
 "There is a wide difference, sir, between giving a man 
 up, and hanging him. We are short-handed as it is, and 
 cannot spare a single man. I ve been looking over your 
 station bills, and they never appeared so feeble before. We 
 want eighteen or nineteen good seamen to make them re 
 spectable again ; and, though this Bolt is no great matter, 
 as a seaman, he can turn his hand to so many things, that 
 he was as useful as the boatswain. In a word, we cannot 
 spare him ; either to let him go, or to hang him ; even were 
 the latter just." 
 
 "I m sure, sir, I desire to do nothing unjust, and so act 
 your pleasure in the affair." 
 
 " My pleasure is just this then, Winchester. We must 
 turn Bolt to duty. If the fellow is really an American, it 
 would be a wretched business even to flog him for desertion ; 
 and as to treason, you know, there can be none without 
 allegiance. Nelson gives me a discretion, and so we ll act 
 on the safe side, and just turn him over to duty again. 
 When there comes an opportunity, I 11 inquire into the facts 
 of his case, and if he can make out that he is not an En 
 glishman, why he must be discharged. The ship will be 
 going home in a year or two, when everything can be 
 settled fairly and deliberately. I dare say, Bolt will not 
 object to the terms." 
 
 " Perhaps not, sir. Then there s the crew, Captain 
 Cuffe. They may think it strange, treason and desertion go 
 unpunished ! These fellows talk and reason more than is 
 always known, aft." 
 
 I ve thought of all that, Winchester. I dare say you 
 have heard of such a thing as a King s evidence? Well, 
 here has Raoul Yvard been tried and found guilty as a spy ; 
 Bolt having been a witness. A few remarks judiciously 
 made, may throw everything off on that tack; and appear 
 ances will be preserved, so far as discipline is concerned." 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 298 
 
 " Yes, sir, tl>at might be done, it s true ; but an uneasy 
 berth will the poor devil have of it, if the people fancy he 
 has been a Kind s evidence ! Men of that class hate a 
 traitor worse than they do crime, Captain Cuffe, and they 11 
 ride Bolt down like the main tack." 
 
 * Perhaps not ; and if they do, twill not be as bad as 
 hanging. The fellow must think himself luckily out of a 
 bad scrape, and thank God for all his mercies. You can 
 see that he suffers nothing unreasonable, or greatly out of 
 the way. So send an order to the master-at-arms to knock 
 the irons off the chap, and send him to duty, before you 
 turn in, Winchester." 
 
 This settled the matter as to Ithuel, for the moment, at 
 least. Cuffe was one of those men who was indisposed to 
 push things too far, while he found it difficult to do his 
 whole duty. There was not an officer in the Proserpine 
 who had any serious doubts about the true country of Bolt, 
 though there was not one officer, among them all, who 
 would openly avow it. There was too much " granite" 
 about Ithuel to permit Englishmen long to be deceived, 
 and that very language on which the impressed man so 
 much prided himself, would have betrayed his origin, had 
 other evidence been wanting. Still there was a tenacity 
 about an English ship of war, in that day, that did not 
 easily permit an athletic hand to escape its grasp, when it had 
 once closed upon him. In a great and enterprising service, 
 like that of Great Britain, an esprit de corps existed in the 
 respective ships, which made them the rivals of each other, 
 and men being the great essentials of efficiency, a single 
 seaman was relinquished with a reluctance that must have 
 been witnessed, fully to be understood. Cuffe, consequently 
 could not make up his mind to do full justice to Ithuel, while 
 he could not make up his mind to push injustice so far as 
 trial and punishment. Nelson had left him a discretion, as 
 has been said, and this he chose to use in the manner just 
 mentioned. 
 
 Had the case of the New Hampshire man been fairly 
 brought before the British Admiral, his discharge would 
 have been ordered without hesitation. Nelson was too far 
 removed from the competition of the separate ships, and 
 ordinarily under the control of too high motives, to be 
 25* 
 
294 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 accessary to the injustice of forcibly detaining a foreigner 
 in his country s service ; for it was only while under the 
 ir/alicn influence to which there has already been allusion, 
 that lie cessed to be high-minded and just. Prejudiced he 
 was, and in some cases, exceedingly so ; America standing 
 but little better in his eyes than France herself. For the 
 first of these antipathies he had some apology ; since in 
 addition to the aversion that was naturally produced by the 
 history of the cis-atlantic Republic, accident had thrown him 
 in the way, in the West Indies, of ascertaining the frauds, 
 deceptions, and cupidities of a class of men that never ex 
 hibit national character in its brightest and most alluring 
 colours. Still, he was too upright of mind, willingly to 
 countenance injustice, and too chivalrous to oppress. But 
 Ithuel had fallen into the hands of one who fell far short of 
 the high qualities of the Admiral, while, at the same time, 
 he kept clear of his more prominent weaknesses, and who 
 was brought within the sphere of the competition between 
 the respective ships and their crews. 
 
 Winchester, of course, obeyed his orders. He roused the 
 master-at-arms from his hammock, and directed him to 
 bring Ithuel Bolt to the quarter-deck. 
 
 " In consequence of what took place this morning," said 
 the first-lieutenant, in a voice loud enough to be heard by all 
 near him, " Captain CufTe has seen fit to order you to be 
 released, Bolt, and turned to duty again. You will know 
 how to appreciate this leniency, and will serve with greater 
 zeal than ever, I make no doubt. Never forget that you 
 have been with a yard-rope, as it might be, round your neck. 
 In the morning you wiU be stationed and berthed anew." 
 
 Ithuel was too shrewd to answer. He fully understood the 
 reason why he escaped punishment, and it increased his 
 hopes of eventually escaping from the service itself. Still 
 he gagged a little at the idea of passing for one who peached 
 or for a " /State Vevidence" as he called it ; that character 
 involving more of sin, in vulgar eyes, than the commission 
 of a thousand legal crimes. This gave Winchester no con 
 cern. After dismissing his man, he gossiped a minute or 
 two with Yelvorton, who had the watch, gaped once or twice 
 somewhat provokingly, and going below, was in a deep sleep 
 in ten minutes. 
 
LE PEU-FOLLET. 295 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 ** White as a white sail on a dusky sea, 
 When half the horizon s clouded and half free, 
 Fluttering between the dun wave and the sky, 
 Is hope s last gleam in man s extremity." 
 
 The Island. 
 
 THE dawning of day, on the morning which succeeded, 
 was a moment of great interest, on board the different Eng 
 lish ships which then lay off the Gulf of Salerno. Cuffe 
 and Lyon were called, according to especial orders left by 
 themselves, while even Sir Frederick Dash wood allowed 
 himself to be awakened, to hear the report of the officer of the 
 deck. The first was up quite half-an-hour before the light 
 appeared. He even went into the main-top, again, in order 
 to get as early and as wide a survey of the horizon as he 
 wished. Griffin went aloft with him, and, together they 
 stood leaning against the top-mast rigging, watching the 
 slow approach of those rays which gradually diffused them 
 selves over the whole of a panorama that was as bewitching 
 as the hour and the lovely accessories of an Italian landscape 
 could render it. 
 
 " I see nothing, in-shore" exclaimed Cuffe, in a tone of 
 disappointment, when the .light permitted a tolerable view of 
 the coast. " If she should be outside of us, our work will 
 be only half done!" 
 
 " There is a white speck close in with the land, sir," 
 returned Griffin ; " here, in the direction of those ruins, of 
 which our gentlemen that have been round in the boats to 
 look at, tell such marvels ; I .believe, however, it is only a 
 felucca or a sparanara. There is a peak to the sail that 
 does not look lugger-fashion." 
 
 " What is this, off here at the north-west, Griffin 1 Is it 
 too large for the le Few- Folly?" 
 
 " That must be the Terpsichore, sir. It s just where she 
 ought to be, as I understand the orders ; and, I suppose, Sir 
 Frederick has carried her there. But yonder s a sail, in the 
 
296 LB FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 northern board, which may turn out to be the lugger; srhe s 
 fairly within Campanella, and is not far from the north shore 
 of the bay." 
 
 " By George !" that must be she ; Monsieur Yvard has 
 kept her skulking round and about Amain, all this time I 
 Let us go down, and set everything that will draw, at once, 
 sir." 
 
 In two minutes Griffin was on deck, hauling the yards, 
 and clearing away to make sail. As usual, the wind was 
 light at the southward, again, and the course would be nearly 
 before it. Studding-sail booms were to be run out, the sails 
 set, and the ship s head laid to the northward, keeping a 
 little to seaward of the chase. At this moment the Proser 
 pine had the Point of Piane, and the little village of Abate, 
 nearly abeam. The ship might have been going four knots 
 through the water, and the distance across the mouth of the 
 bay was something like thirty miles. Of course, eight hours 
 would be necessary to carry the frigate over the intervening 
 space, should the wind stand, as it probably would not, at 
 that season of the year. A week later, and strong southerly 
 winds might be expected, but that week was as interminable 
 as an age, for any present purpose. 
 
 Half-an-hour s trial satisfied all on the deck of the Proser 
 pine, that the chase was keeping off, like themselves, and 
 that she was standing towards the mountains of Amalfi. 
 Her progress, too, was about equal to that of the frigate, for, 
 dead before the wind, the latter ship was merely a good 
 sailer; her great superiority commencing only when she 
 brought the breeze forward of the beam. It had been sup 
 posed that the stranger, when first seen, was about fifteen 
 miles distant, his canvass appearing both small and shape 
 less ; but some doubts now began to be entertained, equally 
 as to his rig, his size, and his distance. If a large or a lofty 
 vessel, of course he must be materially farther off, and if a 
 large or lofty vessel it could not be le Feu-Follet. 
 
 The other frigate took her cue from the Proserpine, and 
 stood across for the northern side of the gulf; a certain proof 
 that nothing was visible, from her mast-heads, to lead her 
 in any other direction. Two hours, however, satisfied alJ 
 on board the latter ship, that they were on a wrong scent, 
 and that the vessel to-leeward was their own consort, the 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 297 
 
 sloop ; ^Lyon having, in his eagerness to get the prize before 
 she could be seen from the other ships, carried the Ringdove 
 quite within the bay, and thus misled CufFe and Sir Frede 
 rick. 
 
 " There can no longer be any doubt !" exclaimed the 
 captain of the Proserpine, dropping his glass, with vexation 
 too strongly painted in his manner to be mistaken ; " that is 
 a ship ; and, as you say, Winchester, it must be the Ringdove; 
 though what the devil Lyon is doing away in there with 
 her, unless he sees something close under the land, is more 
 than I can tell. As there is clearly nothing in this quarter, 
 we will stand on, and take a look for ourselves." 
 
 This nearly destroyed the hope of success. The officers 
 began to suspect that their look-out on Campanella had been 
 deceived, and that what he had supposed to be a lugger, was, 
 in truth, a felucca, or perhaps a xebec ; a craft which might 
 well be mistaken for a lugger, at the distance of a few 
 leagues. The error, however, was with those in the ship. 
 The officer sent upon the heights was a shrewd, practised 
 masters-mate, who knew everything about his profession, 
 that properly came within his line, and knew little else. 
 But for a habit of drinking, he would long since have been 
 a lieutenant, being, in truth, an older sailor than Winches 
 ter ; but, satisfied of his own infirmity, and coming from a 
 class in life in which preferment was viewed as a God-send, 
 rather than as a right, he had long settled down into the 
 belief that he was to live and die in his present station, thereby 
 losing most of the desire to rise. The name of this man was 
 Clinch. In consequence of his Ior>g experience, within the 
 circle of his duties, his opinion was greatly respected by his 
 superiors, when he was sober ; and, as he had the precaution 
 not to be otherwise, when engaged on service, his weakness 
 seldom brought him into any serious difficulties. CufFe, as 
 a last hope, had sent him up on the heights of Campanella, 
 with a perfect conviction that, if anything were really in 
 sight, he would not fail to see it. All this confidence, how- 
 ever, had now ended in disappointment ; and, half-an-hour 
 later, when it was announced to CufFe, that " the cutter, with 
 Mr. Clinch, was coming down the bay towards them," the 
 former even heard the name of his drunken favourite with 
 disgust. As was usual with him, when out of humour, he 
 
298 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 went below, as the boat drew near, leaving orders for her 
 officer to be sent down to him, the instant the latter got on 
 board. Five minutes later, Clinch thrust his hard-looking, 
 weather-beaten, but handsome red countenance in at the 
 cabin-door. 
 
 " Well, sir," commenced the captain, on a tolerably high 
 
 key " a d d pretty wud goose chase you ve sent us all 
 
 on, down hereunto this bay! The southerly wind is failing 
 already, and, in half-an-hour, the ships will be frying the pitch 
 off their decks, without a breath of air: when the wind does 
 come, it will come out at west, an4 bring us all four or five 
 leagues dead to leeward !" 
 
 Clinch s experience had taught hrn* the useful man-of-war 
 lesson, to bow to the tempest, and no* to attempt to brave it. 
 Whenever he was " rattled-down," a? he called it, he had 
 the habit of throwing an expression of surprise, comically 
 blended with contrition, into his countenance that seemed to 
 say, " what have I done, now ?" or, " if I have done any 
 thing amiss, you see how sorry I am for it/ He met hia 
 irritated commander, on the present occasion, with this ex 
 pression, and it produced the usual effect of nwliitying him, 
 a little. 
 
 "Well, sir explain this matter, if you please/ con 
 tinued Cuffe, after a moment s hesitation. 
 
 " Will you please to tell me, sir, what you wish ex 
 plained ?" inquired Clinch, throwing more surprise than 
 common, even, into his countenance. 
 
 " That is an extraordinary question, Mr. Clinch ! I wish 
 the signal you made from yonder head-land explained, sir. 
 Did you not signal the ship, to say that you saw the le 
 Few-Folly down here, at the southward ?" 
 
 " Well, sir, I m glad there was no mistake in the matter, 
 answered Clinch, in a confident and a relieved manner. "I 
 was afraid, at first, Captain Cuffe, my signal had not been 
 understood." 
 
 " Understood ! How could it be mistaken? You showed 
 a black ball, for the lugger s in sight. You ll not deny 
 that, I trust!" 
 
 "No, sir one black ball, for the lugger s in sight. 
 That s just what I did show, Captain Cuffe." 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 299 
 
 And three black balls together, for she bears due south " 
 from Capri. What do you say to that ?" 
 
 " All right, sir. Three black balls together, for * she 
 bears due south from Capri. I didn t tell the distance, 
 Captain Cuffe, because Mr. Winchester gave me no signals 
 for that." 
 
 " And these signals you kept showing every half-hour, 
 as long as it was light ; even until the Proserpine was off." 
 
 " All according to orders, Captain Cuffe, as Mr. Winches 
 ter will tell you. I was to repeat every half-hour, as long 
 as the lugger was in sight, and the day lasted." 
 
 " Ay, sir ; but you were not ordered to send us after a 
 jack-o -lantern, or to mistake some xebec or other, from 
 one of the Greek islands, for a light, handy French lugger." 
 
 " Nor did I, Captain Cuffe, begging your pardon, sir. I 
 signalled the Few-Folly, and nothing else, I give you my 
 word for it." 
 
 Cuffe looked hard at the master s-mate for half a minute, 
 and his ire insensibly lessened as he gazed. 
 
 " You are too old a seaman, Clinch, not to know what 
 you were about ! If you saw the privateer, be good enough 
 to tell us what has become of her ?" 
 
 " That is more than I can say, Captain Cuffe, though see 
 her I did ; and that so plainly, as to be able to make out 
 her jigger, even. You know, sir, we shot away her jigger- 
 mast in the chase off Elba, and she got a new one that 
 Steves for rard uncommonly. I noticed that when we fell 
 in with her in the canal of Piombino ; and seeing it again, 
 could not but know it. But there s no mistaking the saucy 
 Folly, for them that has once seen her ; and I am certain we 
 made her out, about four leagues to the southward of the 
 cape, at the time I first signalled." 
 
 " Four leagues ! I had thought she must be at least 
 eight or ten, and kept off that distance, to get her in the net. 
 Why did you not let us know her distance ?" 
 
 " Had no signals for that, Captain Cuffe." 
 
 " Well, then, why not send a boat to tell us the fact?" 
 
 " Had no orders, sir. Was told by Mr. Winchester just 
 to signal the lugger and her bearings ; and this, you must 
 own, Captain Cuffe, we did plain enough. Besides, sir" 
 
300 LE FEU-FOLJLET. 
 
 " Well ; besides what ?" demanded the captain, observing 
 that the master s-mate hesitated. 
 
 " Why, sir, how was I to know that any one in the ship 
 would think a lugger could be seen eight or ten leagues ? 
 That s a long bit of water, sir; and it would take a heavy 
 ship s spars to rise high enough for such a sight." 
 
 " The land you were on, Clinch, was much loftier than 
 any vessels spars." 
 
 " Quite true, sir ; but not lofty enough for that, Captain 
 CufFe. That I saw the Folly, I m as certain as I am of 
 being in this cabin." 
 
 " What has become of her, then 1 : You perceive she 13 
 not in the bay now." 
 
 " I suppose, Captain CufFe, that she stood in until near 
 enough for her purpose, and that she must have hauled off 
 the land, after night set in. There was plenty of room fop 
 her to pass out to sea again between the two frigates, and 
 not be seen in the dark." 
 
 This conjecture was so plausible, as to satisfy CufFe; ana 
 yet it was not the fact. Clinch had made le Feu-Follet, 
 from his elevated post, to the southward, as his signal had 
 said ; and he was right in all his statements about her, until 
 darkness concealed her movements. Instead of passing out 
 of the Bay, as he imagined, however, she had hauled up 
 within a quarter of a league of Campanella, doubled that 
 point, brushed along the coast to the northward of it, fairly 
 within the Bay of Naples, and pushed out to sea, between 
 Capri and Ischia ; going directly athwart the anchorage the 
 men-of-war had so recently quitted, in order to do so. 
 
 When Raoul quitted his vessel, he ordered her to stand 
 directly ofF the land, just keeping Ischia and Capri in view, 
 lying-to under her jigger. As this was low sail, and a lug 
 ger shows so little aloft, it was a common expedient with 
 cruisers of that rig, when they wished to escape observation. 
 Monsieur Pintard, Raoul s first-lieutenant, had expected a 
 signal from his commander at the very spot where Clinch 
 had taken his station ; but seeing none, he had swept along 
 the coast, after dark, in the hope of discovering his position 
 by the burning of a blue-light. Failing of this, however, he 
 went ofF the land again, in time to get an offing before the 
 return of day, and to save the wind. It was the boldness 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 301 
 
 of the manoeuvre, that saved the lugger ; Lyon going out 
 through the pass between Capri and Campanolla, about 
 twenty minutes before Pintard brushed close round the 
 rocks, under his jigger and jib only, anxiously looking out 
 for a signal from his captain. The Frenchmen saw the 
 sloop-of-war quite plainly, and, by the aid of their night- 
 glasses, ascertained her character; mistaking her, however, 
 for another ship, bound to Sicily or Malta ; while their own 
 vessel escaped observation, owing to the little sail she car 
 ried, the want of hamper, and her situation so near the land, 
 which gave her a back-ground of rocks. Clinch had not 
 seen the movements of the lugger after dark, in consequence 
 of his retiring to the village of St. Agata to seek lodgings, 
 as soon as he perceived that his own ship had gone to sea, 
 and left him and his boat s crew behind. The following 
 morning, when he made the ship to the southward, he pushed 
 off, and pulled towards his proper vessel, as related. 
 
 " Where did you pass the night, Clinch ?" demanded the 
 captain, after they had discussed the probabilities of the lug- 
 ger s escape. " Not on the heights, under the canopy of 
 heaven ?" 
 
 " On the heights, and under the great canopy that has 
 covered us both so often, Captain Cuffe ; but with a good 
 Neapolitan mud-roof between it and my head. As soon as 
 it was dark, and I saw that the ship was off, I found a vil 
 lage named St. Agata, that stands on the heights, just abeam 
 of those rocks they call the Sirens, and there we were well 
 berthed until morning." 
 
 " You are lucky in bringing back all the boat s crew, 
 Clinch. You know it s low-water with us as to men, just 
 now ; and our fellows are not all to be trusted ashore, in a 
 country that is full of stone walls, good wine, and pretty 
 girls." 
 
 " I always take a set of regular steady-ones with me, 
 Captain Cuffe ; I have n t lost a man from a boat, these five 
 years." 
 
 * You must have some secret, then, worth knowing ; for 
 even the admirals sometimes lose their barge-men. I dare 
 say, now, yours are all married chaps, that hold on to their 
 wives, is so many sheet-anchors ; they say that is often a 
 good expedient." 
 26 
 
302 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 " Not at all, sir. I did try that, till I found that half the 
 fellows would run to get rid of their wives. The Portsmouth 
 and Plymouth marriages don t always bring large estates 
 with them, sir, and the bridegrooms like to cut adrift at the 
 end of the honey-moon. Don t you remember when we 
 were in the Blenheim together, sir, we lost eleven of the 
 launch s crew at one time ; and nine of them turned out to 
 be vagabonds, sir, that deserted their weeping wives and 
 suffering families at home !" 
 
 " Now you mention it, I do remember something of the 
 sort ; draw a chair, Clinch, and take a glass of grog. Tim, 
 put a bottle of Jamaica before Mr. Clinch. I have heard it 
 said that you are married yourself, my gallant master s- 
 mate?" 
 
 " Lord, Captain Cuffe, that s one of the young gentle 
 men s stories ! If a body believed all they say, the Chris 
 tian religion would soon get athwart-hawse, and mankind be 
 all adrift in their morals," answered Clinch, smacking his 
 lipsi after a very grateful draught. " We ve a regular set 
 of high-flyers, aboard this ship, at this blessed minute, Cap 
 tain Cuffe, sir, and Mr. Winchester has his hands full of 
 them ! I often wonder at his patience, sir." 
 
 " We were young once ourselves, Clinch, and ought to 
 be indulgent to the follies of youth. But, what sort of a 
 berth did you find last night, upon the rocks yonder ?" 
 
 " Why, sir, as good as one can expect out of Old Eng 
 land. I fell in with an elderly woman calling herself Giun- 
 totardi which is regular-built Italian, isn t it, sir?" 
 
 "That it is but, you speak the language, I believe, 
 Clinch ?" 
 
 " Why, sir, I ve been drifting about the world so long, 
 that I speak a little of everything, finding it convenient 
 when I stand in need of victuals and drink. The old lady 
 on the hill and I overhauled a famous yarn between us, sir. 
 It seems she has a niece and a brother at Naples, who ought 
 to have been back night before last ; and she was in lots of 
 tribulation about them, wanting to know if our ship had seen 
 anything of the rovers ?" 
 
 " By George, Clinch, you were on soundings, there, had 
 you but known it ! Our prisoner has been in that part of 
 the w^rld, and we might get some clue to his manoeuvres 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 303 
 
 by questioning the old woman closely. I hope you parted 
 good friends 1" 
 
 "The best in the world, Captain Cuffe. No one that 
 feeds and lodges me well, need dread me as an enemy." 
 
 " I 11 warrant it ! That s the reason you are so loyal, 
 Clinch." 
 
 The hard, red face of the master s-mate worked a little, 
 and, though he could not well look all sorts of colours, he 
 looked all ways, but in his captain s eye. It was now ten 
 years since he ought to have been a lieutenant, having once 
 actually outranked Cuffe, in the way of date of service at 
 least ; and his conscience told him two things, quite distinctly ; 
 first, the fact of his long and weary probation; and second, 
 that it was, in a great degree, his own fault. 
 
 " I love His Majesty, sir," Clinch observed, after giving 
 a gulp," and I never lay anything that goes hard with my 
 self to his account. Still, memory will be memory ; and 
 spite of all I can do, sir, I sometimes remember what I 
 might have been, as well as what I am. If His Majesty 
 does feed me, it is with the spoon of a master s-mate ; and 
 if he does lodge me, it is in the cockpit." 
 
 " I have been your shipmate, often, and for years at a 
 time," answered Cuffe, good-naturedly, though a little in 
 the manner of a superior ; " and no one knows your history 
 better. It is not your friends who have failed you, at need, 
 so much as a certain enemy, with whom you will insist on 
 associating, though he harms them most, who love him 
 best." 
 
 " Ay, ay, sir that can t be denied. Captain Cuffe; yet 
 it s a hard life that passes altogether without hope." 
 
 This was uttered with an expression of melancholy that 
 said more for Clinch s character than Cuffe had witnessed 
 in the man for years, and it revived many early impressions 
 in his favour. Clinch and he had once been messmates, 
 even ; and, though years of a decided disparity in rank had 
 since interposed their barrier of etiquette and feeling, Cuffe 
 never could entirely forget the circumstance. 
 
 " It ic hard, indeed, to live as you say, without hope," 
 returned the captain ; " but hope ought to be the last thing 
 to die. You should make one more rally, Clinch, before 
 you throw up, in despair." 
 
304. LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 "It s not so much for myself, Captain CufFe, that I mind 
 it, as for some that live ashore. My father was as reputa 
 ble a tradesman as there was in Plymouth, and when he got 
 me on the quarter-deck, he thought he was about to make a 
 gentleman of me, instead of leaving me to pass a life, in a 
 situation that may be said to be even beneath what his own 
 was." 
 
 " Now you undervalue your station, Clinch. The berth 
 of a master s-mate, in one of His Majesty s finest frigates, is 
 something to be proud of; I was once a master s-mate 
 nay, Nelson has doubtless filled the same station. For that 
 matter, one of His Majesty s own sons may have gone through 
 the rank." 
 
 " Ay, gone through it, as you say, sir," returned Clinch, 
 with a husky voice. " It does well enough for them that go 
 through it, but it s death to them that stick. It s a feather 
 in a midshipman s cap to be rated a mate ; but it s no 
 honour to be a mate, at my time of life, Captain Cuffe." 
 
 "What is your age, Clinch? You are not much my 
 senior." 
 
 " Your senior, sir ! The difference in our years is not as 
 great as in our rank, certainly, though I never shall see 
 thirty-two, again. But it s not so much that, after all, as 
 the thoughts of my poor mother, who set her he"art on seeing 
 me with His Majesty s commission in my pocket ; and of 
 another, who set her heart on one that I m afraid was never 
 worthy her affection." 
 
 " This is new to me, Clinch," returned the captain, with 
 interest. " One so seldom thinks of a master s-mate mar 
 rying, that the idea of your being in that way ha * never 
 crossed my mind, except in the manner of a />ke." 
 
 " Master s-tnates have married, Captain Cuffe, anJ they 
 have ended in being very miserable. But Jane, as well as 
 myself, has made up her mind to live single, unless we can 
 see brighter prospects before us than what my present hopes 
 afford." 
 
 " Is it quite right, Jack, to keep a poor young woman, 
 towing along in this uncertainty, during the period of life 
 when her chances for making a good connection are tho 
 best?" 
 
 Clinch stared at his commander, until his eyes filled with 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 305 
 
 tears. The glass had not touched his lips since the con 
 versation took its present direction ; and the usual, hard, set 
 tled character of his lace was becoming expressive, once 
 more, with human emotions. 
 
 " It s not my fault, Captain Cuffe," he answered, in a 
 low voice ; " it s now quite six years, since I insisted on 
 her giving me up ; but she wouldn t hear of the thing. A 
 very respectable attorney wished to have her, and I even 
 prayed her to accept his offer; and the only unkind glance 
 I ever got from her eye, was when she heard me make a 
 request that she told me sounded impiously, almost, to her 
 ears. She would be a sailor s wife, or die a maid." 
 
 " The girl has unfortunately got some romantic notions 
 concerning the profession, Clinch, and they are ever the 
 hardest to be convinced of what is lor their own good." 
 
 " Jane Weston ! Not she, sir There is not as much 
 romance about her, as in the fly-leaves of a prayer-book. 
 She is all heart* poar Jane ; and how I came to get such a 
 hold of it, Captain Cuffe, is a great mystery to myself. I 
 certainly do not deserve half her affection, and I now begin 
 to despair of ever being able to repay her for it." 
 
 Clinch was still a handsome man, though exposure and his 
 habits had made some inroads on a countenance, that by 
 nature was frank, anen, and prepossessing. It now ex 
 pressed the anguish that occasionally came over his heart, 
 as the helplessness of his situation presented itself fully to 
 his mind. Cuffe s feelings were touched, for he remem 
 bered the time when they were messmates, with a future before 
 them, that promised no more to the one than to the other, 
 the difference in the chances which birth afforded the cap 
 tain, alone excepted. Clinch was a prime seaman, and as 
 brave as a lion, too ; qualities that secured to him a degree 
 of respect, that his occasional self-forgetfulness had never 
 entirely forfeited. Some persons thought him the most 
 skilful mariner the Proserpine contained ; and, perhaps, 
 this was true, if the professional -skill were confined strictly 
 to the handling of a ship, or to taking care of her on critical 
 occasions. All these circumstances induced Cuffe to enter 
 more closely into the master-mate s preset distress thao he 
 might otherwise have done. Instead ** hnv a tha bottle 
 to him, however, as if conscious how 
 26* 
 
306 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 nope had already driven the other to its indiscreet use, he 
 pushed it gently aside, and taking his old messmate s hand, 
 with a momentary forgetfulness of the difference in rank, he 
 said in a tone of kindness and confidence, that had long 
 been strangers to Clinch s ears 
 
 " Jack, my honest fellow, there is good stuff in you yet, 
 if you will only give it fair play. Make a manly rally, 
 respect yourself for a few months, and something will turn 
 up, that will yet give you your Jane, and gladden your old 
 mother s heart." 
 
 There are periods in the lives of men, when a few kind 
 words, backed by a friendly act or two, might save thou 
 sands of human beings from destruction. Such was the 
 crisis in the fate of Clinch. He had almost given up hope, 
 though it did occasionally revive in him, whenever he got a 
 cheering letter from the constant Jane, who pertinaciously 
 refused to believe anything to his prejudice, and religiously 
 abstained from all reproaches. But, it is necessary to under 
 stand the influence of rank, on board a man-of-war, fuljy 
 to comprehend the effect, which was now produced on the 
 master s-mate, by the captain s language and manner. 
 Tears streamed out of the eyes of Clinch, and he grasped 
 the hand of his commander, almost convulsively. 
 
 " What can I do, sir 1 Captain Cuffe, what can I do ?" 
 he exclaimed. " My duty is never neglected ; but there are 
 moments of despair, when I find the burthen too hard to be 
 borne, without calling upon the bottle for support." 
 
 " Whenever a man drinks with such a motive, Clinch, I 
 would advise him to abstain altogether. He cannot trust 
 himself; and that which he terms his friend, is, in truth, his 
 direst enemy. Refuse your rations, even ; determine to be 
 free. One week, nay, one day, may give a strength that 
 will enable you to conquer, by leaving your reason unim 
 paired. Absence from the ship has accidentally befriended 
 you, for the little you have taken here, has not been suffi 
 cient to do any harm. We are now engaged on a most 
 interesting duty, and I will throw service into your way, 
 that may be of importance to you. Get your name once 
 fairly in a despatch, and your commission is safe. Nelson 
 loves to prefer old tars ; and nothing would make him 
 happier, than to be able to serve you Put it in my power 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 307 
 
 to ask it of him, and I 11 answer for the result. Something 
 may yet come out of your visit to the cottage of this woman, 
 and do you be mindful to keep yourself in fortune s way." 
 
 " God bless you, Captain Cuffe God bless you, sir,"- 
 answered Clinch, nearly choked, " I 11 endeavour to do as 
 you wish." 
 
 " Remember Jane and your mother. With such a woman 
 dependent for her happiness on his existence, a man must 
 be a brute, not to struggle hard." 
 
 Clinch groaned, for Cuffe probed his wound deep ; though 
 it was done with an honest desire to cure. After wiping 
 the perspiration from his face, and writhing on his chair, 
 however, he recovered a little of his self-command, and be 
 came comparatively composed. 
 
 "If a friend could only point out the way by which I 
 might recover some of the lost ground," he said, " my gra 
 titude to him would last as long as life, Captain Cuffe." 
 
 " Here is an opening then, Clinch. Nelson attaches as 
 much importance to our catching this lugger as he ever did 
 to falling in with a fleet. The officer who is serviceable on 
 this occasion may be sure of being remembered, and I will 
 give you every chance in my power. Go, dress yourself in 
 your best; make yourself look as you know you can; then 
 be ready for boat service. I have some duty for you now, 
 which will be but the beginning of good luck, if you only 
 remain true to your mother, to Jane, and to yourself." 
 
 A new life was infused into Clinch. For years he had 
 been overlooked ; apparently forgotten, except when tho 
 rough seamanship was required ; and even his experiment 
 of getting transferred to a vessel commanded by an old 
 messmate had seemingly failed. Here was a change, how 
 ever, and a ray, brighter than common, shone athwart the 
 darkness of his future. Even Cuffe was struck with the 
 cheerfulness of his countenance, and the alacrity of the 
 master s-mate s movements, and he reproached himself with 
 having so long been indifferent to the best interests of one 
 who certainly had some claims on his friendship. Still, 
 there was nothing unusual in the present relations between 
 these old messmates. Favoured by family and friends, 
 Cuffe had never been permitted to fall into despondency, and 
 had pursued his career successfully and with spirit ; while 
 
308 LE PEU-FOLLET. 
 
 the other, unsupported, and failing of any immediate oppor 
 tunity for getting ahead, had fallen into evil ways, and corne 
 to be, by slow degrees, the man he was. Such instances as 
 the latter, are of not unfrequent occurrence even in a marine 
 in which promotion is as regular as our own, though it is 
 rare indeed that a man recovers his lost ground, when placed 
 in circumstances so trying. 
 
 In half an hour Clinch was ready, dressed in his best. 
 The gentlemen of the quarter-deck saw all these prepara 
 tions with surprise ; for, of late, the master s-mate had sel 
 dom been seen in that part of the ship at all. But, in a 
 man-of-war, discipline is a matter of faith, and no one pre 
 sumed to ask questions. Clinch was closeted with the 
 Captain for a few minutes, received his orders, and went 
 over the ship s side with a cheerful countenance, actually 
 entering the Captain s gig, the fastest rowing boat of the 
 ship. As soon as seated, he shoved off , and held his way 
 towards the point of Campanella, then distant about three 
 leagues. No one knew whither he was bound, though all 
 believed it was on duty that related to the lugger, and duty 
 that required a seaman s judgment. As for Cuffe, his man 
 ner, which had begun to be uneasy and wandering, became 
 more composed when he saw his old messmate fairly off*, 
 and that too, at a rate which would carry him even to 
 Naples, in the course of a few hours should his voyage 
 happen to be so long. 
 
 CHAPTEK XXL 
 
 "His honour s link d 
 Unto his life; he that will seek the one 
 Must venture for the other, or lose both." 
 
 TATHAM. 
 
 IT was now certain that le Feu-Follet was not in the Bay 
 of Salerno. By means of the lofty spars of the ship, and 
 the aid of glasses, the whole coast had been effectually sur- 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 309 
 
 veyed, and no signs of such a craft were visible. Even 
 Lyon had given it up, had wore round, and was standing 
 along the land again, towards Campanella, a disappointed 
 man. As Cuffe expected the next wind from the westward, 
 he continued on to the northward, however, intending to go 
 off Amalfi, and question any fisherman he might fall in with. 
 Leaving the ship slowly pursuing her course in that direc 
 tion, then, we will turn our attention to the state of the 
 prisoners. 
 
 Ghita and her uncle had been properly cared for, all this 
 time. The gunner s wife lived on board, and, being a 
 respectable woman, Cuffe had the delicacy to send the poor 
 girl forward to the state-room and mess of this woman. 
 Her uncle was provided for near by, and, as neither was 
 considered in any degree criminal, it was the intention to 
 put them ashore, as soon as it was certain that no informa 
 tion concerning the lugger was to be obtained from them 
 Ithucl was at duty again, having passed half the morning in 
 the fore-top. The shore-boat, which was in the way on 
 deck, was now struck into the water, and was towing astern, 
 in waiting for the moment when Carlo Giuntotardi and his 
 niece were to be put in possession of it again, and permitted 
 to depart. This moment was delayed, however, until the 
 ship should again double Campanella, and be once more in 
 the Bay of Naples, as it would have been cruel to send two 
 such persons as the uncle and niece adrift, at any material 
 distance from their proper place of landing. 
 
 It was very different with Raoul Yvard, however. He 
 was under the charge of a sentry on the berth-deck, in 
 waiting for the fearful moment when he should be brought 
 forth for execution. His sentence was generally known in 
 the ship, and with a few he was an object of interest ; 
 though punishment, deaths in battle, and all the other 
 casualties of nautical life, were much too familiar in such a 
 war to awaken anything like a sensation in an active 
 cruising frigate. Still, some had a thought for the prisoner s 
 situation. Winchester was a humane man, and, to his 
 credit, ho bore no malice for his own defeat and sufferings; 
 while in his capacity of first-lieutenant, it was in his power 
 to do much towards adding to the comfort of the condemned. 
 He had placsd the prisoner between two open ports, where 
 
310 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 the air circulated freely, no trifling consideration in so warm 
 a climate, and had ordered a canvass bulk-head to be placed 
 around him, giving Raoul the benefit of a state-room tor his 
 meditations at so awful a moment. His irons, too, had 
 been removed as useless ; though c *re had been had to take 
 away from the prisoner everything by which he might 
 attempt his own life. The probability of his jumping 
 through a port had been discussed between the first and 
 second lieutenants ; but the sentry was admonished to be on 
 his guard against any such attempt, and little apprehension 
 was felt, Raoul being so composed and so unlikely to do 
 anything precipitately. Then it would be easy to pick him 
 up, while the vessel moved so slowly. To own the truth 
 too, many would prefer his drowning himself, to seeing hirr 
 swinging at a yard-arm. 
 
 In this narrow prison, then, Raoul passed the night and 
 morning. It would be representing him as more stoical 
 than the truth, if we said he was unmoved. So far from this, 
 his moments were bitter, and his anguish would have been 
 extreme, were it not for a high resolution which prompted 
 him to die, as he fancied it, like un Francais. The nume 
 rous executions by the guillotine, had brought fortitude 
 under such circumstances, into a sort of fashion, and there 
 were few who did not meet death with decorum. With our 
 prisoner, however, it was still different ; for, sustained by a 
 dauntless spirit, he would have faced the great tyrant of the 
 race, even in his most ruthless mood, with firmness, if not 
 with disdain. But, to a young man and a lover, the last 
 great change could not well approach without bringing with 
 it a feeling of hopelessness, that, in the case of Raoul, was 
 unrelieved by any cheering expectations for the future. He 
 fully believed his doom to be sealed, and that, less or. 
 account of his imaginary offence as a spy, than on account 
 of the known and extensive injuries he had done to the En< 
 glish commerce. Raoul was a good hater ; and, according 
 to the fashion of past times, which we apprehend, in spite of 
 a vast deal of equivocal philanthropy that now circulates 
 freely from mouth to mouth, and from pen to pen, will con 
 tinue to be the fashion of limes to co me, he heartily disliked 
 the people with whom he was at war, and consequently, was 
 ready to believe anything to their prejudice that political 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 311 
 
 rivalry might invent ; a frame of mind that led him to think 
 his life would be viewed as a trifle, when put in the scalea 
 against English ascendency, or English profit. He was 
 accustomed to think of the people of Great Britain as a 
 u nation of shop-keepers," and, while engaged himself in a 
 calling that bears the brand of rapacity on its very brow, 
 he looked upon his own pursuit as comparatively martial 
 and honourable; qualities, in sooth, it was far from being 
 without, as he himself had exercised its functions. In a 
 word, Raoul understood Cuffe, as little as Cuffe understood 
 him ; facts that will sufficiently appear in the interview 
 which it has now become our office to relate. 
 
 The prisoner received one or two friendly visits in the 
 course of the morning ; Griffin, in particular, conceiving it 
 to be his duty to try to cheer the condemned man, on 
 account of his own knowledge of foreign tongues. On these 
 occasions, the conversation was prevented from falling into 
 anything like the sombre, by the firmness of the prisoner s 
 manner. With a view to do the thing handsomely, Win 
 chester had caused Ihe canvass bulk-head to include the guns 
 on each side, which of course gave more air and light within 
 the narrow apartment, as it brought both ports into the little 
 room. Raoul adverted to this circumstance, as, seated on 
 one stool, he invited Griffin, in the last of his visits, to take 
 another. 
 
 " You find me, here, supported by a piece of eighteen on 
 each side," observed the prisoner, smiling, " as becomes a 
 seaman who is about to die. Were my death to come from 
 the mouths of your cannon, Monsieur Lieutenant, it would 
 only meet me a few months, or perhaps a few days sooner 
 than it might happen by the same mqde, in the ordinary 
 course of events." 
 
 " We know how to feel for a brave man in your situa 
 tion," answered Griffin, with emotion ; " and nothing would 
 make us all happier than to have it as you say ; you in a 
 good warm frigate, on our broadside, and we in this of our 
 own, contending fairly for the honour of our respective 
 countries." 
 
 " Monsieur, the fortune of war has ordered it otherwise- 
 but, you are not seated, Monsieur Lieutenant." 
 
 " Mon pardon Captain Cuffe has sent me to request you 
 
312 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 will favour him with your company, in his cabin, as soon as 
 it may be agreeable to yourself, Monsieur Yvard." 
 
 There is something in the polished expressions of the 
 French language, that would have rendered it difficult for 
 Griffin to have been other than delicate in his communica 
 tions with the prisoner, had he been so disposed ; but, such 
 was not his inclination ; for, now that their gallant adver 
 sary -vas at their mercy, all the brave men in the Proserpine 
 felt a disposition to deal tenderly with him. Raoul was 
 touched with these, indications of generosity, and, as he had 
 witnessed Griffin s spirit in the different attempts made on 
 his lugger, it inclined him to think better of his foes. Rising, 
 he professed his readiness to attend the captain, at that very 
 moment. 
 
 Cuffe was waiting in the after-cabin. When Griffin and 
 the prisoner entered, he courteously requested both to be 
 seated, the former being invited to remain, not only as a 
 witness of what might occur, but to act as interpreter in 
 case of need. A short pause succeeded, and then the cap 
 tain opened the dialogue, which was carried on in English, 
 with occasional assistance from Griffin, whenever it became 
 necessary. 
 
 " I greatly regret, Monsieur Yvard, to see a brave man 
 in your situation," commenced Cuffe, who, sooth to say, 
 apart from the particular object he had in view, uttered no 
 more than the truth. " We have done full justice to your 
 spirit and judgment, while we have tried the hardest to get 
 you into our power. But the laws of war are severe, neces 
 sarily, and we English have a commander-in-chief who is 
 not disposed to trifle in matters of duty." 
 
 This was said, partly in policy, and partly from a habit 
 of standing in awe of the character of Nelson. Raoul 
 received it, however, in the most favourable light ; though 
 the politic portion of the motive was altogether thrown away, 
 as will be seen in the sequel. 
 
 " Monsieur, un Francais knows how to die in the cause 
 of liberty and his country," answered Raoul, courteously, 
 yet with emphasis. 
 
 " I do not doubt it, Monsieur ; still, I see no necessity of 
 things being pushed to that extremity. England is as liberal 
 of her rewards, as she is powerful to resent injuries. Per- 
 
LB FEU-FOLLET. 813 
 
 haps some plan may be adopted which will avert the neces 
 sity of sacrificing the life of a brave man, in so cruel a 
 mode." 
 
 " I shall not affect to play the hero, Monsieur le Capitaine. 
 If any proper mode of relieving me, ir: my present crisis, 
 can be discovered, my gratitude will be in proportion to the 
 service rendered." 
 
 " This is talking sensibly, and to the purpose : I make no 
 doubt, when we come to a right understanding, everything 
 will be amicably arranged between us. Griffin, do me the 
 favour to help yourself to a glass of wine and water, which 
 you will find refreshing this warm day. Monsieur Yvard 
 will join us ; the wine coming from Capri, and being far 
 from bad ; though some do prefer the Lachrymse Christ! 
 that grows about the foot of Vesuvius, I believe." 
 
 Griffin did as desired, though his own countenance was 
 far from expressing all the satisfaction that was obvious in 
 the face of Cuffe. Raoul declined the offer ; waiting for the 
 forthcoming explanation with an interest he did not affect to 
 conceal. Cuffe seemed disappointed and reluctant to pro 
 ceed ; but, finding his two companions silent, he was obliged 
 to make his proposal. 
 
 " Oui, Monsieur," he added, " England is powerful to 
 resent, but ready to forgive. You are very fortunate in 
 having it in your power, at so serious a moment, to secure 
 her pardon for an offence that is always visited in war with 
 a punishment graver than any other." 
 
 " In what way can this be done, Monsieur le Capitaine? 
 I am not one who despises life ; more especially when it is 
 in danger of being lost by a disgraceful death." 
 
 " I am rejoiced, Monsieur Yvard, to find you in this frame 
 of mind ; it will relieve me from the discharge of a most 
 painful duty, and be the means of smoothing over many 
 difficulties. Without doubt, you have heard of the character 
 of our celebrated admiral, Nelson?" 
 
 " His name is known to every seaman, Monsieur," 
 answered Raoul, stiffly ; his natural antipathies being far 
 from cured by the extremity of his situation. " He has 
 written it on the waters of the Nile, in letters of blood !" 
 
 " Ay, his deeds, there, or elsewhere, will not soon be for 
 gotten. He is a man of an iron will; when his heart is sot 
 27 
 
314 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 on a thing, he sticks at no risk to obtain it, especially if the 
 means be lawful, and the end is glory. To be frank, Mon 
 sieur, he wishes much for your lugger, the le Few-Folly." 
 
 "Ah!" exclaimed Raoul, smiling ironically " Nelson is 
 not the only English admiral who has had the same desire. 
 Le Feu-FoIIet, Monsieur le Capitaine, is so charming, that 
 she has many admirers !" 
 
 " Among whom Nelson is one of the warmest. Now, this 
 makes your case so much the easier to be disposed of. You 
 have nothing to do but put the lugger into our hands, when 
 you will be pardoned, and be treated as a prisoner of war." 
 
 " Does Monsieur Nelson authorize you to make this pro 
 posal to me ?" asked Raoul, gravely. 
 
 " He does. Intrusted with the care of his country s inte 
 rests, he is willing to overlook the offence against her, under 
 the law of nations, to deprive the enemy of the means of 
 doing so much harm. Put the lugger into our hands, and 
 you shall be sent to an ordinary prison-ship. Nay, merely 
 let us into the secret of her position, and we will see to her 
 capture." 
 
 " Monsieur Nelson doubtless does no more than his duty, 51 
 answered Raoul, quietly, but with an air of severe self- 
 respect. " It is his business to have a care for English 
 commerce, and he has every right to make this bargain. 
 But the treaty will not be conducted on equal terms ; while 
 he is doing no more than his duty, I have no powers." 
 
 " How 1 You have the power of speech ; that will suffice 
 to let us into the secret of the orders you have given the 
 lugger, and where she is probably to be found, at this mo 
 ment." 
 
 " Non, Monsieur ; I have not even that power. I can 
 do nothing that must cover me with so much infamy. My 
 tongue is under laws that I never made, when treachery is 
 in question." 
 
 Had Raoul assumed a theatrical tone and manner, as 
 might have been expected, probably it would have made very 
 little impression on Cuffe; but his quiet simplicity and 
 steadiness carried conviction with them. To say the truth, 
 the captain was disappointed. He would have hesitated 
 about making his proposition to an officer of^the regular 
 French marine, low as even these stood, at that* day, in the 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET 315 
 
 estimation of Nelson s fleet, in particular ; but from a priva- 
 leersnvin, he expected a greedy acquiescence, in a plan that 
 offered life as a reward, in exchange for a treachery like 
 that he proposed. At first he felt disposed to taunt Raoul 
 with the contradiction between what he, Cufle, conceived to 
 be his general pursuits, and his present assumption of prin 
 ciples ; but, the unpretending calmness of the other s manner, 
 and the truth of his feelings, prevented it. Then, to do 
 Cufie, himself, justice, he was too generous to abuse the 
 power he had over his prisoner. 
 
 " You may do well to think of this, Monsieur Yvard" 
 observed the captain, after a pause of quite a minute. "The 
 interest at stake is so heavy, that reflection may yet induce 
 you to change your mind." 
 
 " Monsieur Cuffe, I pardon you, if you can pardon your 
 self," answered Raoul, with severe dignity in his manner, 
 rising as he spoke, as if disdaining civilities which came 
 from his tempter. " I know what you think of us corsairs 
 but an officer in an honourable service, should hesitate long, 
 before he tempts a man to do an act like this. The fact that 
 the life of your prisoner is at stake, ought to make a brave 
 seaman still more delicate how he tries to work on his ter 
 rors or his principles. But, I repeat, I forgive you, Monsieur, 
 if you can forgive yourself." 
 
 Cuffe stood confounded. The blood rushed to his heart ; 
 after which, it appeared as if about to gush through the pores 
 of his face. A feeling of fierce resentment almost consumed 
 him ; then he became himself again, and began to see things, 
 as was his wont, in cooler moments. Still he could not 
 speak, pacing the cabin to recover his self-command. 
 
 " Monsieur Yvard," he at length said, " I ask your for 
 giveness, sincerely, and from the bottom of my heart. I 
 did not know you, or such a proposal would never have 
 insulted you, or disgraced a British officer, in my person. 
 Nelson, too, is the last man living, to wound the feelings of 
 an honourable enemy ; but we did not know you. All pri- 
 vateersmen are not of your way of thinking, and it was 
 there we fell into our mistake." 
 
 " Touchez-la" said Raoul, frankly extending his hand. 
 " Monsieur le Captiaine, you and I ought to meet in two 
 fine frigates, each ibr his country s honour ; let what would 
 
316 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 be the result, it would lay the foundations of an eternal 
 friendship. I have lived long enough in votre Anglcterre, 
 to understand how little you know noire France; mais 
 n importe. Brave men can understand one another, all over 
 the world ; for the little time which is left me, we shall be 
 friends." 
 
 Cuffc seized RaouPs hand, and even a tear escaped him, 
 as he squeezed it warmly. 
 
 " This has been a d d miserable business, Griffin," said 
 the captain, as soon as he could speak without betraying 
 weakness, " and one no man will ever find me employed in 
 again, though a fleet as large as that up in the Bay yonder 
 were the price." 
 
 " I never thought it would succeed, sir ; and, to say the 
 truth, I never hoped it would. You ll excuse me, Captain 
 Cuffe, but we English don t give the continentals exactly 
 the credit they deserve; and particularly the French. I 
 thought it wouldn t do, from the first." 
 
 Cuffe now repeated his apologies; and after a few expres 
 sions of friendly esteem on both sides, Raoul returned to his 
 little room, declining the captain s offer to occupy one of the 
 .cabin state-rooms. Griffin was soon back again, and then 
 the conversation was resumed between the two officers. 
 
 " This is altogether a most painful business, Griffin," 
 observed Cuffe. " There is no doubt that Monsieur Yvard 
 is technically a spy, and guilty, according to the forms of 
 law ; but I entertain not the smallest doubt of the truth of 
 his whole story. This Ghita Caraccioli, as the girl calls 
 herself, is the very picture of truth ; and was actually in 
 Nelson s cabin the day before yesterday, under circum 
 stances that leave no doubt of the simplicity and truth of 
 her character, while every part of the tale corresponds with 
 the other. Even the veechy, and this pursy old podesta, 
 confirm the account; for they have seen Ghita in Porto 
 Ferrajo, and begin to think the Frenchman came in there 
 solely on her account." 
 
 " I make no doubt, Captain Cuffe, that. Lord Nelson will 
 give a respite, or even a pardon, were the facts fairly laid 
 before him," observed Griffin, who felt a generous interest 
 in preserving the life of Raoul, the very man he had endea 
 voured to destroy by fire only a few weeks before ; but such 
 
LE FEU-POL LET. 317 
 
 is the waywardness of man, and such are the mixed feelings 
 generated by war. 
 
 "This is the most serious part of the affair, Griffin. 
 The sentence is approved ; with an order that it shall be 
 carried into effect this very day, between the hours of sun- 
 rise and sunset ; while here it is already noon, and we are 
 to the southward of Campanella, and so distant from the 
 flag-ship, as to put signals out of the question." 
 
 Griffin started ; all the grave difficulties of the case glanc 
 ing upon his rnind in a moment. An order, according to 
 the habits of the service, and more especially an order of 
 this serious character, was not to be questioned ; yet here 
 was a dilemma in which there appeared no means of 
 relief. 
 
 " Good God, Captain Cuffe, how unlucky ! Cannot an 
 express be sent across by land, so as yet to reach the flag 
 ship in time?" 
 
 " I have thought of that, Griffin, and Clinch has gone 
 precisely on that errand." 
 
 "Clinch! Pardon me, sir; but such a duty requires a 
 very active and sober officer !" 
 
 " Clinch is active enough, and I know his besetting weak 
 ness will have no power over him to-day. I have opened 
 the way for a commission to him, and no one in the ship 
 can go to Naples in a boat sooner than Clinch, if he really 
 try. He will make the most of the afternoon s breeze, 
 should there be any, and I have arranged a signal with him, 
 by which he may let us know the result even at the distance 
 of eight or ten miles." 
 
 " Has Lord Nelson left no discretion in the orders, sir ?" 
 
 " None ; unless Raoul Yvard distinctly consent to give 
 up the lugger. In that case, I have a letter, which autho 
 rizes me to delay the execution, until I can communicate 
 directly with the commander-in-chief." 
 
 " How very unlucky it has been, all round ! Is there no 
 possibility, sir, of making up a case that might render this 
 discretion available?" 
 
 " That might do among you irresponsibles, Mr. Griffin," 
 answered Cuffe, a little sharply ; " but I would rather hang 
 forty Frenchmen than be Bronted by Nelson, for neglect of 
 duty." 
 
 27 * 
 

 318 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 Cuffe spoke more strongly than he intended, perhaps ; but, 
 the commander of a ship-of-war does not always stop to weigh 
 his words, when he condescends to discuss a point with an 
 inferior. The reply put a check upon Griffin s zeal, how 
 ever, though the discourse did not the less proceed. 
 
 " Wei!, sir," the lieutenant answered, " I m sure we are 
 all as anxious as you can be, to avert this affair from our 
 ship. Twas but the other day, we were boasting in the 
 gun-room, to some of the Lapwing s officers that were on a 
 visit here, that the Proserpine never had an execution or a 
 court-martial flogging on board her, though she had now 
 been under the British ensign near four years, and had been 
 seven times under fire !" 
 
 " God send, Griffin, that Clinch find the admiral, and get 
 back in time !" 
 
 " How would it do, sir, to send the vice-governatore to 
 try the prisoner ; perhaps he might persuade him to seem to 
 consent or, some such thing, you know, sir, as might ju^ify 
 a delay. They say the Corsicans are the keenest- wilted 
 fellows in all these seas ; and Elba is so near to Corsica, 
 that one cannot fancy there is much difference between their 
 people." 
 
 " Ay, your veechy is a regular witch ! He made out so 
 well in his first interview with Yvard, that no one can doubt 
 his ability to overlay him, in another !" 
 
 " One never knows, Captain Cuffe. The Italian has 
 more resources than most men ; and the Signor Barrofaldi 
 is a discreet, sensible man, when he acts with his eyes open. 
 Le Feu-Follet has cheated others besides the vice-governu- 
 tore, and the podesta. !" 
 
 " Ay, these d d Jack-o -Lanterns are never to be 
 
 trusted. It would hardly surprise me to see the Folly com 
 ing down, wing-and-wing, from under the land, and passing 
 out to sea, with a six-knot breeze, while we lay as still as a 
 cathedral, with not air enough to turn the smoke of the gal 
 ley-fire from the perpendicular." 
 
 " She s not inside of us, Captain Cuffe ; of tha-t we may 
 be certain. I have been on the main-top-gallant-yard, with 
 the best glass in the ship, and have swept the whole coast, 
 from the ruins over against us, here to the eastward, up to 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 319 
 
 the town of Salerno ; there is nothing to be seen, as large 
 as a sparanara." 
 
 " One would think, too, this Monsieur Yvard might give 
 up, to save his own life, after all P 
 
 We should hardly do it, I hope, Captain Cuffe ?" 
 
 " I believe you are right, Griffin ; one feels forced to 
 respect the privateersman, in spite of his trade. Who knows 
 but something might be got out of that Bolt ? He must 
 know as much about the lugger as Yvard himself." 
 
 " Quite true, sir ; I was thinking of proposing something 
 of the sort, not a minute since. Now, that s a fellow one 
 may take pleasure in riding down, as one would ride down 
 the main tack. Shall I have him sent for, Captain Cuffe ?" 
 
 The captain hesitated ; for the previous experiments on 
 Ithuel s selfishness had failed. Still, the preservation of 
 Raoul s life, and the capture of the lugger, were now objects 
 of nearly equal interest with Cuffe, and he felt disposed to 
 neglect no plausible means of effecting either. A sign of 
 approbation was all the lieutenant needed ; and, in a few 
 minutes, Ithuel stood, again, in the presence of his captain. 
 
 " Here is an opportunity for you to fetch up a good deal 
 of lee-way, Master Bolt," commenced the captain ; " and I 
 am willing to give you a chance to help yourself. You 
 know where you last left the Few-Folly, I suppose?" 
 
 " I don t know but I might, sir," answered Ithuel, rolling 
 his eyes around him, curious to ascertain what the other 
 would be at. " I don t know but I might remember, on a 
 pinch, sir ; though, to own the truth, my memory is none 
 of the most desperate best." 
 
 " Well, then, where was it? Recollect that the life of 
 your late friend, Raoul Yvard, may depend on your 
 answer." 
 
 " I want to know ! Well; this Europe is a curious part 
 of the world, as all must admit, that come from Ameriky. 
 What has Captain Rule done now, sir, that he stands in such 
 jeopardy ?" 
 
 " You know that he is convicted as a spy ; and my orders 
 are to have him executed, unless we can get his lugger. 
 T/ten, indeed, we may possibly show him a little favour; 
 as we do not make war so much on individuals, as on 
 nations." 
 
320 
 
 FEU-FOLLET 
 
 Cuffe would probably have been puzzled to explain the 
 application of his own sentiment to the case before him ; but, 
 presuming on his having to deal with one who was neither 
 very philosophical nor logical himself, he was somewhat 
 indifferent to his own mode of proceeding, so that it effected 
 the object. Ithuel, however, was not understood. Love for 
 Raoul, or the lugger, or, indeed, for anything else, himself 
 excepled, formed no part of his character ; while hatred of 
 England had got to be incorporated with the whole of his 
 moral system ; if such a man could be said to have a moral 
 system at all. He saw nothing to be gained by serving 
 Raoul, in particular; though this he might have done did 
 nothing interfere to prevent it ; while he had so strong an 
 aversion to suffering the English to get le Feu-Follet, as to 
 De willing even to risk his own life, in order to prevent it, 
 His care, therefore, was to accomplish his purpose, with the 
 least hazard to himself. 
 
 " And, if the lugger can be had, sir, you intend to let 
 Captain Rule go ?" he asked, with an air of interest. 
 
 " Ay, we may do that ; though it will depend on the 
 admiral. Can you tell us where you left her, and where 
 she probably now is ?" 
 
 " Captain Rule has said the first, already, sir. He told 
 the truth, about that, before the court. But, as to telling 
 where the lugger is now, I 11 defy any man to do it ! Why, 
 sir, I ve turned in, at eight bells, and left her, say ten or 
 fifteen leagues dead to leeward of an island, or a light-house, 
 perhaps ; and on turning out at eight bells, in the morning, 
 found her, just as far to windward of the same object. 
 She s as oncalculating craft as I ever put foot aboard of." 
 
 " Indeed !" said Cuffe, ironically ; " I do not wonder that 
 her captain s in a scrape." 
 
 " Scrape, sir ! The Folly is nothing but a scrape. I ve 
 tried my hand at keeping her reck nin ." 
 
 You !" 
 
 " Yes, sir, I ; Ithuel Bolt, that s my name, at hum or 
 abroad, and I ve tried to keep the Folly s reck nin , with all 
 the advantage of thermometer, and lead-lines, and loga 
 rithms, and such necessaries, you know, Captain Cuffe; 
 and / never yet could place her within a hundred miles of 
 the spot where she was actually seen to be." 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 32* 
 
 " 1 am not at all surprised to hear this, Bolt ; but what I 
 want at present, is to know what you think may be the pre 
 cise posiiion of the lugger, without the aid of the thermome 
 ter, and of logarithms; I ve a notion you would make out 
 setter, by letting such things alone?" 
 
 " Well, who knows but I might, sir ! My idee of the 
 Folly, just now, sir, is that she is somewhere off Capri, 
 under short canvass, waiting for Captain Rule and I to join 
 her, and keeping a sharp look-out after the inimies cruisers." 
 
 Now, this was not only precisely the position of the lugger 
 at that very moment, but it was what Ithuel actually be 
 lieved to be her position. Still, nothing was farther from 
 this man s intention than to betray his Ibrmer messmates. 
 He was so very cunning, as to have detected how little 
 Cuffe was disposed to believe him ; and he told the truth, as 
 the most certain means of averting mischief from the lugger. 
 Nor did his ruse fail of its object. His whole manner had 
 so much deceit and low cunning about it, that neither Guile 
 nor Griffin believed a word he said ; and after a little more 
 pumping, the fellow was dismissed in disgust, with a sharp 
 intimation that it would be singularly for his interest to look 
 out how he discharged his general duties in the ship. 
 
 " This will never do, Griffin," exclaimed the captain, vexed 
 and disappointed. "Should anything occur to Clinch, or 
 should the admiral happen to be off, with the king, on one 
 of his shooting excursions, we shall be in a most serious 
 dilemma. Would to God, we had not left the anchorage, at 
 Capri ! Then, one might communicate with the flag, with 
 some certainty. I shall never forgive myself, if anything 
 fatal actually take place !" 
 
 " When one does all for the best, Captain Cuffe, his mind 
 ought to be at ease, and you could not possibly foresee 
 what has happened. Might not one wouldn t like either 
 but necessity is a hard master " 
 
 " Out with it, Griffin anything is better than suspense. 
 
 " Well, sir, I was just thinking that possibly this young 
 Italian girl might know something about the lugger, and, as 
 she clearly loves the Frenchman, we should get a strong 
 purchase on her tongue, by means of her heart." 
 
 Cuffe looked intently at his lieutenant, for half a minutes 
 then he shook his head in disapprobation. 
 
322 LB FETJ-FOLLET 
 
 " No, Griffin, no," he said, " to this I never can consent. 
 As for this quibbling, equivocating Yankee, if Yankee he 
 be, one wouldn t (eel many scruples of delicacy ; but to 
 probe the affections of a poor, innocent girl, in this way, 
 would be going too far. The heart of a young girl should 
 be sacred, under every circumstance." 
 
 Griffin coloured, and he bit his lip. No one likes to be 
 outdone, in the appearance of generosity, at least; and he 
 felt vexed that he should have ventured on a proposition 
 that his superior treated as unbecoming. 
 
 "Nevertheless, sir, she might think the lugger cheaply 
 sold," he said, with emphasis, * provided her lover s life 
 was what she got in exchange. It would be a very dif 
 ferent thing were we to ask her to sell her admirer, instead 
 of a mere privateer." 
 
 " No matter, Griffin. We will not meddle with the 
 private feelings of a young female, that chance has thrown 
 into our hands. As soon as we get near enough in with 
 the land, I intend to let the old man take his boat, and carry 
 his niece ashore. That will be getting rid of them, at least, 
 honourably and fairly. God knows what is to become of the 
 Frenchman." 
 
 This terminated the conference. Griffin went on deck, 
 where duty now called him ; and Cuffe sat down to re-pe 
 ruse, for the ninth or tenth time, the instructions of the 
 admiral. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 " I have no dread, 
 
 And feel the curse to have no natural fear, 
 Nor fluttering throb, that beats with hopes or wishes, 
 Or lurking love of something on the earth." 
 
 Manfred. 
 
 BY this time, the day had materially advanced, and there 
 were grave grounds for the uneasiness which Cuffe began so 
 seriously to feel. All three of the ships were still in the Bay 
 8* 
 
LE PEU-FOLLET. 323 
 
 of Salerno, gathering in towards its northern shore, however. 
 The Proserpine, the deepest embayed, the Terpsichore, and 
 the Ringdove, having hauled out towards Campanella, as soon 
 as satisfied nothing was to be seen in-shore of them. The 
 heights, which line the coast, from the immediate vicinity of 
 the town of Salerno, to the head-land that ends near Capri, 
 have long been celebrated, not only for their beauty and 
 grandeur, but in connection with the lore of the middle ages. 
 As the Proserpine had never been in this bay before, or never 
 so near its head, her officers found some temporary relief 
 from the very general uneasiness that was felt on account 
 of their prisoner, in viewing scenery that is remarkable even 
 in that remarkable section of the globe. The ship had gone 
 up abreast of Amalfi, and so close in, as to be less than a 
 mile from the shore. The object r was to communicate with 
 some fishermen, which had been done ; the information re 
 ceived going to establish the fact, that no craft resembling 
 the lugger had been in that part of the Bay. The vessel s 
 head was now laid to the southward and westward, in wait 
 ing for the zephyr, which might soon be expected. The gal 
 lant frigate, seen from the impending rocks, looked like a 
 light merchantman, in all but her symmetry and warlike 
 guise ; nature being moulded on so grand a scale all along 
 that coast, as to render objects of human art, unusually di 
 minutive to the eye. On the other hand, the country-houses, 
 churches, hermitages, convents, and villages, clustered all 
 along the mountain sides, presented equally delusive forms, 
 though they gave an affluence to the views, that left tho 
 spectator in a strange doubt, which most to admire, their 
 wildness, or their picturesque beauty. The little air that 
 remained, was still at the southward, and as the ship moved 
 slowly along this scene of singular attraction, each ravine 
 seemed to give up a town, each shelf of rock, a human habi 
 tation, and each natural terrace, a villa and a garden. 
 
 Of all men, sailors get to be the most blazes in the way of 
 the sensations produced by novelties, and fine scenery. It ap 
 pears to be a part of their calling, to suppress the emotions of 
 a greenhorn ; and, generally, they look upon anything that is 
 a little out of the ordinary track, with the coolness of those 
 who feel it is an admission of inferiority to betray surprise. 
 It seldom happens with them, that anything occurs, or any- 
 
324 LE FEU-FOLLET 
 
 thing is seen to which the last cruise, or, if the vessel be en. 
 gaged in trade, the last voyage, did not at least furnish a 
 parallel; usually the past event, or the more distant ot> 
 ject, has the advantage. He who has a sufficient store of 
 this reserved knowledge and experience, it will at once be 
 seen, enjoys a great superiority over him who has not, and 
 is placed above the necessity of avowing a sensation as hu 
 miliating as wonder. On the present occasion, however, 
 but few held out against the novelty of the actual situation 
 of the ship ; most on board being willing enough to allow 
 that they had never before been beneath cliffs that had sucb 
 a union of the magnificent, the picturesque, and the soft ; 
 though a few continued firm, acting up to the old characters, 
 with the consistency of settled obstinacy. 
 
 Strand, the boatswain, was one of those who, on all such 
 occasions, " died hard." He was the last man in the ship 
 who ever gave up a prejudice ; and this for three several 
 reasons : he was a cockney, and believed himself born in 
 the centre of human knowledge ; he was a seaman, and un 
 derstood the world ; he was a boatswain, and stood upon his 
 dignity. 
 
 As the Proserpine fanned slowly along the land, this per 
 sonage took a position between the knight-heads, on the 
 bowsprit, where he could overlook the scene, and at the 
 same time hear the dialogue of the forecastle; and both with 
 suitable decorum. Strand was as much of a monarch for 
 ward, as Cuffe was aft ; though the appearance of a lieu 
 tenant, or of the master, now and then, a little dimmed the 
 lustre of his reign. Still, Strand succumbed completely to 
 only two of the officers the captain and the first-lieutenant ; 
 and not always to these, in what he conceived to be purely 
 matters of sentiment. In the way of duty, he understood 
 himself too well, ever to hesitate about obeying an order ; 
 but when it came to opinions, he was a man who could 
 maintain his own, even in the presence of Nelson. 
 
 The first captain of the forecastle, was an old seaman of 
 the name of Catfall. At the precise moment when Strand 
 occupied the position named, between the knight-heads, this 
 personage was holding a discourse with three or four of the 
 forecastle-men, who stood on the heel of the bowsprit, 
 inboard the etiquette of the ship not permitting these wor- 
 
LE FEU-POLLET. 325 
 
 thies to show their heads above the nettings. Each of the 
 party had his arms folded ; each chewed tobacco ; each had 
 his hair in a queue ; and each occasionally hitched up his 
 trousers, in a way to prove that he did not require the aid 
 of suspenders in keeping his nether garments in their proper 
 place. It may be mentioned, indeed, that the point of divi 
 sion between the jacket and the trousers, was marked in 
 each by a bellying line of a clean white shirt, that served to 
 relieve the blue of the dress, as a species of marine facing. 
 As was due to his greater experience and his rank, Catfall 
 was the principal speaker among those who lined the heel 
 of the bowsprit. 
 
 " This here coast is mountainious, as one may own," 
 observed the captain of the forecastle ; " but what I say is, 
 that it s not as mountaimous as some I ve seen. Now, 
 when I went round the arth with Captain Cook, we fell in 
 with islands that were so topped off with rocks, and the like 
 o that, that these here affairs, alongside on em, wouldn t 
 pass for anything more than a sort of jury mountains." 
 
 " There you re right, Catfall," said Strand, in a patroniz 
 ing way ; " as anybody knows as has been round the Horn. 
 I didn t sail with Captain Cook, seeing that I was then the 
 boatswain of the Hussar, and she couldn t have made one 
 of Cook s squadron, being a post-ship, and commanded by 
 a full-built captain ; but I was in them seas when a younker, 
 and can back Catfall s account of the matter by my largest 
 anchor, in the way of history. D e, if I think these hil 
 locks would be called even jury mountains, in that quarter 
 of the world. They tell me there s several noblemen s and 
 gentlemen s parks near Lunnun, where they make moun 
 tains just to look at; that must be much of a muchness with 
 these here chaps. I never drift far from Wappin , when 
 I m at home, and so I can t say I ve seen these artifice 
 hills, as they calls them, myself; but there s one Joseph 
 Shirk, that lives near St. Katharine s Lane, that makes 
 trips regularly into the neighbourhood, who gives quite a 
 particular account of the matter." 
 
 "I dare to say it s all true, Mr. Strand," answered the 
 
 captain of the forecastle, " for I ve know d some of them 
 
 travelling chaps who have seen stranger sights than that. 
 
 No, sir, I calls these mountains no great matter ; and as to 
 
 26 
 
326 LE PEU-FOLLET. 
 
 the houses and villages on em, where you see one, here, 
 you might say you could see two on some of the desert 
 Islands " 
 
 A very marvellous account of Cook s Discoveries was 
 suddenly checked by the appearance of CufFe on the fore 
 castle. It was not often the captain visited that part of the 
 ship ; but he was considered a privileged person, let him go 
 where he would. At his appearance, all the " old salts" 
 quitted the heel of the spar, tarpaulins came fairly down to 
 a level with the bag-reefs of the shirts, and even Strand 
 stepped into the nettings, leaving the place between the 
 knight-heads clear. To this spot Cuffe ascended with a 
 light, steady step, for he was but six-and-twenty, just touch 
 ing his hat, in return to the boatswain s bow. 
 
 A boatswain, on board an English ship-of-war, is a more 
 important personage than he is apt to be on board an Amen- 
 can. Neither the captain nor the first-lieutenant disdains 
 conversing with him, on occasions; and he is sometimes 
 seen promenading the starboard side of the quarter-deck, in 
 deep discourse with one or the other of those high function 
 aries. It has been said that Cuffe and Strand were old ship 
 mates, the latter having actually been boatswain of the ship 
 in which the former first sailed. This circumstance was 
 constantly borne in mind by both parties, the captain seldom 
 coming near his inferior, in moments of relaxation, without 
 having something to say to him. 
 
 " Rather a remarkable coast, this, Strand," he commenced, 
 on the present occasion, as soon as fairly placed between 
 the knight-heads ,* " something one might look for a week, in 
 England, without finding it." 
 
 " I beg your pardon, sir, but I m not of the same way of 
 thinking. I was just telling the forecastle lads, down there, 
 that there s many a nobleman and gentleman, at home, as 
 has finer hills than these, made by hand, in his parks and 
 gardens, just to look at." 
 
 " The d 1 you have ! And what did the forecastle 
 
 lads, down there, say to that?" 
 
 " What could they, sir ? It just showed the superiority 
 of an Englishman to an Italian ; and that ended the matter. 
 Don t you remember the Injees, sir ?-<-" 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 327 
 
 "The Indies! AVhy the coast between Bombay and 
 Calcutta is as flat as a pancake^ most of the distance." 
 
 " Not them Injees, sir, but t other the West, I mean. 
 The islands and mountains we passed and went into in the 
 Rattler ; your honour was only b. young gentleman, then, 
 but was too much aloft to miss the sight of anything and 
 all along America, too." 
 
 As Strand was speaking, he glanced complacently round, 
 as if to intimate to the listeners what an old friend of the 
 captain s they enjoyed in the person of their boatswain. 
 
 " Oh ! the West-Indies you re nearer right there, Strand; 
 and yet they have nothing to compare to this. Why, here 
 are mountains, alive with habitations, that fairly come up to 
 the sea !" 
 
 " Well, sir, as to habitations, what s these to a street in 
 Lunnun? Begin on the starboard hand, for instance, as 
 you walk down Cheapside, and count as you go ; my life 
 for it, you Ml reel off more houses, in half an hour s walk, 
 than are to be found in all that there village yonder. 
 Then you 11 remember, sir, that the starboard hand only has 
 half, every Jack having his Jenny. I look upon Lunnun as 
 the finest sight in nature, Captain Cuffe, after all I have 
 seen in many cruises !" 
 
 " I don t know, Mr. Strand. In the way of coast, one 
 may very well be satisfied with this. Yonder town, now, 
 is called Amalfi; it was once a place of great commerce 
 they say." 
 
 " Of commerce, sir ! why it s nothing but a bit of a vil 
 lage, or at most, of a borough, built in a hollow. No haven, 
 no docks, no comfortable place, even, for setting up the 
 frame of a ship on the beach. The commerce cf such a 
 town must have been mainly carried on by means of mules 
 and jackasses, as one reads of in the trade of the Bible." 
 
 " Carried on as it might be, trade it once had. There 
 does not seem to be any hiding-place, along this shore, for 
 a lugger like the Folly, after all, Strand." 
 
 The boatswain smiled, with a knowing look, while, at the 
 same time, the expression of his countenance was like that 
 of a man who did not choose to let others into all hia 
 secrets. 
 
428 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 " The Folly is a craft we are not likely to see, again, 
 Captain CufFe," he then angwered, if it were only out of 
 respect to his superior. 
 
 " Why so 1 The Proserpine generally takes a good look 
 at everything she chases." 
 
 " Ay, ay, sir ; that may be true, as a rule, but I never 
 knew a craft found, after a third look for her. Everything 
 seems to go by thirds, in this world, sir ; and I always look 
 upon a third chase as final. Now, sir, there are three 
 classes of admirals, and three sets of flags ; a ship has three 
 masts ; the biggest ships are three deckers ; then there are 
 three planets " 
 
 " The d 1 there are ! How do you make that out, 
 
 Strand ?" 
 
 " Why, sir, there s the sun, moon and stars ; that makes 
 just three, by my count." 
 
 " Ay, but what do you say to Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, and 
 all the rest of them, the earth included ?" 
 
 " Why, sir, they re all the rest of the stars, and not 
 planets, at all. Then, sir, look around you, and you 11 find 
 everything going by threes. There are three topsails, three 
 jibs, and three top-gallant-sails " 
 
 " And two courses," said the captain, gravely, to whom 
 this theory of the threes was new. 
 
 " Quite true, sir, in name, but your honour will recollect 
 the spanker is nothing but a fore-and-aft course, rigged to a 
 mast, instead of to a jack-yard, as it used to be." 
 
 " There are neither three captains nor three boatswains, 
 to a ship, Master Strand." 
 
 " Certainly not, sir ; that would be oppressive, and they 
 would stand in each other s way ; still, Captain Cuffe, the 
 thirds hold out wonderfully, even in all these little matters. 
 There s the three lieutenants ; and there s the boatswain, 
 gunner and carpenter and " 
 
 " Sail-maker, armourer, and captain of the mast," inter 
 rupted Cuffe, laughing. 
 
 u Well, sir, you may make anything seem doubtful, by 
 bringing forward a plenty of reasons ; but all my experience 
 says, a third chase never comes to anything, unless it turns 
 out successful ; but that after a third chase, all may as well 
 be given up." 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 329 
 
 " I fancy, Lord Nelson holds a different doctrine, Strand, 
 He tells us to follow a Frenchman round the earth, rather 
 than let him escape." 
 
 "No doubt, sir. Follow him round three earths, if you 
 can keep him in sight ; but not round four. That is all 1 
 contend for, Captain Cuffe. Even women, they tell me, 
 take what is called their thirds, in a fellow s forti n." 
 
 " Well, well, Strand, I suppose there must be some truth 
 in your doctrine, or you wouldn t hold out for it so strenu 
 ously ; and, as for this coast, I must give it up, too, for 1 
 never expect to see another like it ; much less a third." 
 
 " It s my duty to give up to your honour ; but I ask per 
 mission to think a third chase should always be the last 
 one. That s a melancholy sight to a man of feelin , Cap 
 tain Cuffe, the object between the two midship-guns, on the 
 starboard side of the main-deck, sir?" 
 
 " You mean the prisoner ? I wish, with all my heart, he 
 was not there, Strand. I think I would rather he were in 
 his lugger again, to run the chances of that fourth chase of 
 which you seem to think so lightly." 
 
 " Your hanging ships are not often lucky ships, Captain 
 Cuffe. In my judgment, asking your pardon, sir, there 
 ought to be a floating gaol in every fleet, where all the courts 
 and all the executions should be held." 
 
 " It would be robbing the boatswains of no small part of 
 their duty, were the punishments to be sent out of the differ 
 ent vessels," answered Cuffe, smiling. 
 
 "Ay, ay, sir the punishments, I grant, your honour; 
 but hanging is an execution, and not a punishment. God 
 forbid that, at my time of life, I should be ordered to sail in 
 a ship that has no punishment on board ; but I m really get 
 ting to be too old to look at executions with any sort of 
 pleasure. Duty .that isn t done with pleasure, is but poor 
 duty, at the best, sir." 
 
 " There are many disagreeable, and some painful duties 
 to be performed, Strand ; this of executing a man, let the 
 oflence be what it may, is among the most painful." 
 
 " For my part, Captain Cuffe, I do not mind hanging a 
 
 mutineer so very much, for he is a being that the world 
 
 ought not to harbour ; but it is a different thing with an 
 
 enemy, and a spy. It s our duty to spy as much as we 
 
 28* 
 
330 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 can for our king and country, and one ought never to bear 
 too hard on such as does their duty. With a fellow that 
 can t obey orders, and who puts his own will above the 
 pleasure of his superiors, I have no patience; but I do not 
 so much understand why the gentlemen of the courts are so 
 hard on such as do a little more reconn itrin than com. 
 mon." 
 
 " That is because ships are less exposed to the attempts 
 of spies than armies, Strand. A soldier hates a spy, as 
 much as you do a mutineer. The reason is, that he may 
 be surprised by an enemy through his means, and butchered 
 in his sleep. Nothing is so unpleasant to a soldier as a 
 surprise ; and the law against spies, though a general law of 
 war, originated with soldiers, rather than with us sailors, I 
 should think." 
 
 "Yes, sir, I dare say your honour is right. He s a 
 rum un a soldier, at the best ; and this opinion proves it. 
 Now, sir, Captain CufFe, just suppose a Frenchman of about 
 our own metal, took it into his head to surprise the Proser 
 pine, some dark night : what would come of it, after all ? 
 There s the guns, and it s only to turn the hands up, to set 
 em at work, just the same as if there wasn t a spy in the 
 world. And should they prefer to come on board us, and 
 to try their luck at close quarters, I rather think, sir, the 
 surprise would meet em face to face. No no sir ; spies 
 is nothing to us, though it might teach em manners to keel 
 haul one, once-and-a-while." 
 
 Curie now became thoughtful and silent, and even Strand 
 did not presume to speak, when the Captain was in this 
 humour. The latter descended to the forecastle, and walked 
 aft, his hands behind his back, and his head inclining 
 downward. Every one he met made way for him, as a 
 matter of course; in that mood, he moved among the throng 
 of a ship of war, as a man tabooed. Even Winchester re 
 spected his commander s abstraction, although he had a 
 serious request to make, which it is time to explain. 
 Andrea Barrofaldi and Vito Viti remained on board the 
 frigate, inmates of the cabin, and gradually becoming more 
 accustomed to their novel situation. They did not escape 
 the jokes of a man-of-war, but, on the whole, they were well 
 treated, and were tolerably satisfied; more especially as the 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 331 
 
 hope of capturing le Feu-Follet bogan to revive. As a mut 
 ter of course, they were apprised of the condition of Raoul, 
 and, both kind and benevolent men in the main, they were 
 desirous of conversing with the prisoner, and of proving to 
 him that they bore no malice. Winchester was spoken to 
 on the subject, but before he granted the permission, he 
 thought it safest to consult the Captain in the matter. At 
 length an opportunity offered, Cuffe suddenly rousing him 
 self, and giving an order in relation to the canvass the ship 
 was under. 
 
 " Here are the two Italian gentlemen, Captain Cuffe," 
 observed Winchester, "desirous of speaking to the prisoner. 
 I did not think it right, sir, to let him have communication 
 with any one, without first ascertaining your pleasure." 
 
 " Poor fellow ! His time is getting very short, unless we 
 hear from Clinch ; and there can be no harm in granting 
 him every indulgence. I have been thinking of this matter, 
 and do not possibly see how I can escape ordering the 
 execution, unless it be countermanded from Nelson him 
 self. 3 
 
 " Certainly not, sir. But Mr. Clinch is an active and 
 experienced seaman, when he is in earnest ; we may still 
 hope something from him. What is to be done with the 
 Italians, sir /" 
 
 " Let them, or any one else that poor Yvard is willing to 
 see, go below." 
 
 " Do you mean to include old Giuntotardi and his niece, 
 Captain CufTe? and this deserter of our own, Bolt, he, 
 too, has had something to say of a wish to take leave of his 
 late shipmate ?" 
 
 " We might be justified in denying the request of the 
 last, Mr. Winchester, but hardly of the others. Still, if Raoul 
 Yvard wishes to see even him, his desire may as well be 
 granted." 
 
 Thus authorized, Winchester no longer hesitated about 
 granting the several permissions. An order was sent to 
 the sentinel, through the corporal of the guard, to allow any 
 one to enter the prisoner s room, whom the latter might wish 
 to receive. A ship was not like a prison on shore, escape 
 being next to impossible, more especially from a vessel at 
 sea. The parties accordingly received intimation that they 
 
332 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 might visit the condemned man, should the latter be disposed 
 to receive them. 
 
 By this time, something like a general gloom had settled 
 on the ship. The actual state of things was known to all 
 on board, and few : believed it possible that Clinch could reach 
 the Foudroyant, receive his orders, and be back in time to 
 prevent the execution. It wanted now but three hour? of 
 sunset, and the minutes appeared to fly, instead of dragging. 
 The human mind is so constituted, that uncertainty increases 
 most of its sensations; the apprehension of death even, 
 very usually exciting a livelier emotion than its positive 
 approach. Thus it was with the officers and people of the 
 Proserpine : had there been no hope of escaping the execu 
 tion, they would have made up their minds to submit to the 
 evil, as unavoidable ; but the slight chance which did actu 
 ally exist, created a feverish excitement that soon extended 
 to all hands ; and this as .completely as if a chase were in 
 sight, and each individual was bent on overtaking her. As 
 minute after minute flew by, the feeling increased, until it 
 would not much exceed the bounds of truth to say, that, 
 under none of the vicissitudes of war, did there ever exist so 
 feverish an hour, on board his Britannic Majesty s ship, the 
 Proserpine, as the very period of which we are now writing. 
 Eyes were constantly turlied towards the sun, and several 
 of the young gentlemen collected on the forecastle, with no 
 other view than to be as near as possible to the head-land, 
 around which the boat of Clinch was expected to make her 
 re-appearance, as behind it she had last been seen. 
 
 The zephyr had come at the usual hour, but it was light, 
 and the ship was so close to the mountains, as to feel very 
 little of its force. It was different with the two other 
 vessels. Lyon had gone about in time, to get clear of the 
 highest mountains, and his lofty sails took enough of the 
 breeze, to carry him out to sea, three or four hours before ; 
 while the Terpsichore, under Sir Frederick Dashwood, had 
 never got near enough in with the land, to be becalmed at 
 all. Her head had been laid to the south-west, at the first 
 appearance of the afternoon wind; and that frigate was now 
 hull-down to sea-ward actually making a free wind of it, 
 as she shaped her course up between Ischia and Capri. As 
 r or the Proserpine, when the bell struck three, in the first 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 333 
 
 dog-watch, she was just abeam of the celebrated little islets 
 of the Sirens, the western breeze now beginning to die 
 away, though, getting more of it, the ship was drawing 
 ahead, faster than she had been since the turn of the day. 
 
 Three bells, in the first dog-vva!ch, indicate the hour of 
 half-past five. At that season of the year, the sun sets a 
 few minutes post six. Of course, there remained but little-, 
 more than half-an-hour, in which to execute the sentence of 
 the law. CufTe had never quitted the deck, and he actually 
 started, when he heard the first sound of the clapper. Win 
 chester turned towards him, with an inquiring look ; 
 for every thing had been previously arranged between 
 them ; he received merely a significant gesture in return. 
 This, however, was sufficient. Certain orders were privately 
 issued. Then there appeared a stir among the fore-top- 
 men, and on the forecastle, where a rope was rove at the 
 fore-yard-arrn, and a grating was rigged for a platform- 
 unerring signs of the approaching execution. 
 
 Accustomed as these hardy mariners were to brave dan 
 gers of all sorts, and to witness human suffering of nearly 
 every degree, a feeling of singular humanity had come over 
 the whole crew. Raoul was their enemy, it is true, and he 
 had been sincerely detested by all hands, eight-and-forty 
 hours before ; but circumstances had entirely changed the 
 ancient animosity into a more generous and manly senti 
 ment. In the first place, a successful and a triumphant 
 enemy was an object very different from a man in their 
 own power, and who lay entirely at their mercy. .Then, 
 the personal appearance of the young privateersman was 
 unusually attractive, and altogether different from what it 
 had been previously represented, and that, too, by an active 
 rivalry, that was not altogether free from bitterness. But 
 chiefly, was the generous sentiment awakened by the con 
 viction that the master-passion, and none of the usual in 
 ducements of a spy, had brought their enemy into this 
 strait ; and though clearly guilty, in a technical point of 
 view, that he was influenced by no pitiful wages, even al 
 lowing that he blended with the pursuit of his love, some of 
 the motives of his ordinary warfare. All these considera 
 tions, coupled with the reluctance that seamen ever feel to 
 having an execution in their ship, had entirely turned the 
 
334 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 tables ; and there, where Raoul would have found so lately, 
 between two and three hundred active and formidable ene 
 mies, he might almost be said now to have as many sym 
 pathizing friends. 
 
 No wonder, then, that the preparations of the ft. re- top- 
 men were regarded with unfavourable eyes. The unseen 
 hand of authority, nevertheless, held all in restraint. Gutfb 
 himself did not dare to hesitate any longer. The necessary 
 orders were given, though with deep reluctance, and then 
 the captain went below, as if to hide himself from human 
 eyes. 
 
 The ten minutes that succeeded were minutes of intense 
 concern. All hands were called, the preparations had been 
 completed, and Winchester waited only for the re-appear 
 ance of Cuffe, to issue the order 10 have the prisoner placed 
 on the grating. A midshipman was sent into the cabin, 
 after which, the commanding officer came slowly, and with 
 a lingering step, upon the quarter-deck. The crew was 
 assembled on the forecastle and in the waists ; the marine 
 guard was under arms ; the officers clustered around the 
 capstan ; and a solemn, uneasy expectation, pervaded the 
 whole ship. The lightest foot-foil was audible. Andrea 
 and his friend stood apart, near the taffrail, but no one saw 
 Carlo Giuntotardi, or his niece. 
 
 "There is yet some five-and-twenty minutes of sun, I 
 should think, Mr. Winchester," observed Cuffe, feverishly 
 glancing his eye at the western margin of the sea, towards 
 which. the orb of day was slowly settling, gilding all that 
 side of the vault of heaven with the mellow lustre of the 
 hour and the latitude. 
 
 * Not more than twenty, I fear, sir," was the reluctant 
 answer. 
 
 " I should think five might suffice, at the worst ; espe 
 cially, if the men made a swift run. This was said in a 
 half whisper, and thick, husky, tones, the Captain looking 
 anxiously at the lieutenant the while. 
 
 Winchester shrugged his shoulders, and turned awny 
 unwilling to reply. 
 
 Cuffe now had a short consultation with the surgeon, the 
 object of which was to ascertain the minimum of time a man 
 might live suspended by the neck at the yard-arm of a 
 
LE PEU-FOLLET. 335 
 
 frigate. The result was not favourable; for a sign followed 
 to bring forth the prisoner. 
 
 Raoul came on deck, in charge of the master-at-arms, 
 and the officer who had acted as prevost-martial. He was 
 clad in his clean white lazzarone garb, wearing the red 
 Phrygian cap already mentioned. Though his face was 
 pale, no man could detect any tremor in the well-turned 
 muscles that his loose attire exposed 10 view. He raised his 
 cap courteously to the group of officers, and threw an un 
 derstanding glance forward, at the fearful arrangement on 
 the fore-yard. That he was shocked, when the grating and 
 the rope met his eye, is unquestionable; but, rallying in an 
 instant, he smiled, bowed to Cuffe, and moved towards the 
 scene of his contemplated execution, firmly, but without the 
 smallest signs of bravado in his manner. 
 
 A death-like stillness prevailed, while the subordinates 
 adjusted the rope, and placed the condemned man on the 
 grating. Then the slack of the rope was drawn in, by 
 hand, and the men were ordered to lay hold of the instru 
 ment of death, and to stretch it along the deck. 
 
 "Stand by, my lads, to make a swift run, and a strong 
 jerk, at your first pull," said Winchester in a low voice, as 
 he passed down the line. " Rapidity is mercy, at such a 
 moment." 
 
 " Good God !" muttered Cuffe, " can the man die in this 
 manner, without a prayer ; without even a glance towards 
 heaven, as if asking for mercy ?" 
 
 "He is an unbeliever, I hear, sir," returned Griffin. " We 
 have offered him all the religious consolation we could ; but 
 he seems to wish for none. 5 
 
 " Hail the top-gallant yards once more, Mr. Winchester," 
 said Cuffe, huskily. 
 
 "Fore-top-gallant yard, ttnre !" 
 
 "Sir?" 
 
 " Any signs of the boat look well into the bay of Naples 
 we are opening Campanella now sufficiently to give you 
 a good look up towards the head." 
 
 A pause of a minute succeeded. Then the look-out aloft 
 shook his head in the negative, as if unwilling to speak. 
 Winchester glanced at Cuffe, who turned anxiously, mounted 
 a gun, and strained his eyes ; ^ a gaze to the northward. 
 
336 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 "All ready, sir," said the first-lieutenant, when another 
 minute elapsed. 
 
 Cuffe was in the act of raising his hand, which would 
 have been the signal of death, when the dull, heavy report 
 of a distant gun, came booming down from the direction of 
 the town of Naples. 
 
 " Stand fast !" shouted Cuffe, fearful the men might get 
 the start of him. " Make your mates take their calls from 
 their mouths, sir. Two more guns, Winchester, and I am 
 the happiest man in Nelson s fleet !" 
 
 A second gun did come, just as these words were uttered : 
 then followed a breathless pause of half a minute, when a 
 third, smothered, but unequivocal report succeeded. 
 
 " It must be a salute, s*r," Griffin uttered, inquiringly. 
 
 " The interval is too long. Listen ! I hope to God, we 
 have had the last !" 
 
 Every ear in the ship listened intently, Cuffe holding his 
 watch in his hand. Two entire minutes passed, and no 
 fourth gun was heard. As second after second went by, 
 the expression of the captain s countenance changed, and 
 then he waved his hand in triumph. 
 
 " It s as it should be, gentlemen," he said. "Take the 
 prisoner below, Mr. Winchester. Unreeve the rope, and 
 
 send that d d grating off the gun. Mr. Strand, pipe 
 
 down the people." 
 
 Raoul was immediately led below. As he passed through 
 the after-hatch, all the officers on the quarter-deck bowed to 
 him ; and not a man was there in the ship, who did not feel 
 the happier for the reprieve. 
 
L E FEU-FOLLET. 337 
 
 CHAPTER XXIIL 
 
 * He saw with his own eyes the moon was round, 
 Was also certain that the earth was square, 
 Because he d journey d fifty miles, and found 
 No sign that it was circular anywhere." 
 
 Don Juan. 
 
 RAOUL YVARD was indebted to a piece of forethought iu 
 Clinch, for his life. But for the three guns, fired so oppor 
 tunely from the Foudroyant, the execution could not have 
 been stayed ; and but for a prudent care on the part of the 
 master s-mate, the guns would never have been fired. The 
 explanation is this : When Cufle was giving his subordinate 
 instructions how to proceed, the possibility of detention struck 
 the latter, and he bethought him of some expedient by which 
 such an evil might be remedied. At his suggestion, then, 
 the signal of the guns was mentioned by the captain, in his 
 letter to the commander-in-chief, and its importance pointed 
 out. When Clinch reached the fleet, Nelson was at Castel 
 a Mare, and it became necessary to follow him to that place 
 by land. Here Clinch found him in the palace of Qui-Si- 
 Sane, in attendance on the court, and delivered his des 
 patches. Nothing gave the British admiral greater plea 
 sure, than to be able to show mercy ; the instance to the 
 contrary already introduced, existing as an exception in his 
 private character and his public career ; and it is possible 
 that an occurrence so recent, and so opposed to his habits, 
 may have induced him the more willingly now to submit to 
 his ordinary impulses, and to grant the respite asked, with 
 the greater promptitude. 
 
 " Your captain tells me, here, sir," observed Nelson, after 
 he had read Cuffe s letter a second time, " little doubt exists 
 that Yvard was in the Bay on a love affair, and that his 
 purposes were not those of a spy, after all?" 
 
 " Such is the opinion aboard us, my lord," answered the 
 master s-mate. " There are an old man and a very charm 
 ing young woman in his company, whom Captain CufFe 
 29 
 
338 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 says were in the cabin of this ship, on a visit to your lord 
 ship, only a few days since." 
 
 Nelson started, and his face flushed. Then he seized a 
 pen, and, with the only hand he had, scratched a letter, 
 directing a reprieve until further orders. This he signed, 
 and handed to Clinch, saying, as he did so 
 
 " Get into your boat, sir, and pull back to the frigate as 
 fast as possible; God forbid that any man suffer wrong 
 fully !" 
 
 " I beg your pardon, my lord but there is not time, 
 now, for me to reach the ship before the sun set. I have 
 a signal prepared in the boat, it is true ; but the frigate may 
 not come round Campanella before the last moment, and 
 then all these pains will be lost. Does not Captain Cuffe 
 speak of some guns to be fired from the flag-ship, my lord?" 
 
 " He does, sir ; and this may be the safest mode of com 
 municating, after all. With this light westerly air, a gun 
 will be heard a long distance at sea. Take the pen, and 
 write as I dictate, sir." 
 
 Clinch seized the pen, which the admiral, who had lost 
 his right arm only a few years before, really felt unable to 
 use, and wrote as follows 
 
 " Sir Immediately on receipt of this, you will fire three 
 heavy guns, at intervals of half-a-minute, as a signal to the 
 Proserpine to suspend an execution. 
 
 " To the Commanding Officer of His Majesty s Ship 
 Foudroyant." 
 
 As soon as the magical words of " Nelson and Bronte" 
 were affixed to this order, with a date, Clinch rose to depart. 
 After he had made his bows, he stood with his hand on the 
 lock of the door, as if uncertain whether to prefer a request 
 or not. 
 
 " This is a matter of moment, sir, and no time is to be 
 lost," added Nelson. " I feel great anxiety about it, and 
 wish yon to desire Captain Cuffe to send you back with a 
 report of all that has passed, as soon as convenient." 
 
 " I wiU report your wishes, my lord," answered Clinch, 
 brightening up ; for he only wanted an opportunity to speak 
 af his own promotion, and this was now offered in per- 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 339 
 
 spective. " May I tell the commanding officer of the flag- 
 ship to use the lower-deck guns, my lord 1" 
 
 " He will do that of his own accord, after reading those 
 orders heavy guns, mean the heaviest. Good-afternoon, 
 sir ; for God s sake, lose no time." 
 
 Clinch obeyed this injunction to the letter. He reached 
 the Foudroyant, some time before sunset, and immediately 
 placed the order in her captain s hands. A few words of 
 explanation set everything in motion, and the three guns 
 were fired on the side of the ship towards Capri, most 
 opportunely for our hero. 
 
 The half-hour that succeeded, on board the Proserpine, 
 was one of gaiety and merriment. Every person was glad 
 that the ship had escaped an execution ; and then, it was 
 the hour for piping down the hammocks, and for shifting 
 the dog-watches. Cuffe recovered all his animation, and 
 conversed cheerfully, having Griffin for an interpreter, with 
 his two Italian guests. These last had been prevented from 
 paying their visit to the prisoner, on account of the latter s 
 wish to be alone ; but the intention was now renewed ; and 
 sending below, to ascertain if it would be agreeable, they 
 proceeded together on their friendly mission. As the two 
 worthies, who had not altogether got their sea-legs, slowly 
 descended the ladder, and threaded their way among the 
 throng of a ship, the discourse did not flag between them. 
 
 " Cospetto 1" exclaimed the podesta ; " Signor Andrea, 
 we live in a world of wonders ! A man can hardly say 
 whether he is actually alive, or not. To think how near 
 this false Sir Smees was to death, half an hour since ; and, 
 now, doubtless he is as much alive, and as rnerry as a.ny 
 of us! 1 
 
 " It would be more useful, friend Vito Viti," answered the 
 philosophical vice-governalore, " to remember how near 
 those who live are always to death, who has only to open 
 his gates, to cause the strongest and fairest to pass at once 
 into the tombs." 
 
 " By San Stefano, but you have a way with you, vice- 
 govcrnatore, that would become a cardinal ! It s a thou 
 sand pities the church was robbed of such a support ; though 
 I do think, Signor Andrea, if your mind would dwell less on 
 another state of being, it would be more cheerful j and I 
 
340 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 may s? y more cheering to those with whom you discourse. 
 There are evils enough, in this life, without thinking so 
 much of death." 
 
 " There are philosophers who pretend, good Vito, that 
 nothing that we see around us actually has an existence. 
 That we fancy everything: fancy that this is a sea called 
 the Mediterranean; fancy this is a ship yonder is the 
 land ; fancy that we live ; and even fancy death." 
 
 " Corpo di Bacco ! Signer Andrea," exclaimed the other, 
 stopping short at the foot of the ladder, and seizing his com- 
 panion by a button, afraid he would desert him in the midst 
 of a strange delusion, " you would not trifle in such a matter 
 with an old friend one who has known you from child 
 hood ? Fancy that I am alive !" 
 
 " Si I have told you only the truth. The imagination 
 is very strong, and may easily give the semblance of reality 
 to unreal things." 
 
 " And that I am not a podesta in fact, but one only in 
 fancy !" 
 
 " Just so, friend Vito ; and that I am only a vice-gover- 
 natore, too, in the imagination." 
 
 " And that Elba is not a real island, or Porto Ferrajo a 
 real town , and that even all our iron, of which we seem to 
 send so much about the world, in good, wholesome ships, is 
 only a sort of ghost of solid substantial metal !" 
 
 " Si si that everything which appears to be material, 
 is, in fact, imaginary ; iron, gold, or flesh." 
 
 " And then I am not Vito Viti, but an impostor? What 
 a rascally philosophy is this ! Why, both of us are as bad 
 as this Sir Smees, if what you say be true, vice-governatore 
 or make-believe vice-governatore." 
 
 " Not an impostor, friend Vito ; for there is no real being 
 of thy name, if thou art not he." 
 
 " Diavolo ! A pretty theory this, which would teach the 
 young people of Elba that there is no actual podesta in the 
 island, but only a poor miserable sham one ; and no Vito 
 Viti on earth. If they get to think this, God help the place 
 as to order and sobriety." 
 
 " I do not think, neighbour, that you fully understand the 
 matter, which may be owing to a want of clearness on my 
 part ; but as we are now on our way to visit an unfortunate 
 
.1 
 
 LEFEU-FOLLET. 34 
 
 prisoner, we may as well postpone the discussion to another 
 time. There are many leisure moments on board a ship, to 
 the language of which one is a stranger, that might be use 
 fully and agreeably relieved by going into the subject more 
 at large." 
 
 " Your pardon, Signor Andrea ; but there is no time like 
 the present. Then, if the theory be true, there is no pri 
 soner at all or, at the most, an imaginary one and it can 
 do Sir Smees no harm to wait ; while, on the other hand, I 
 shall not have a moment s peace, until I learn whether there 
 is such a man as Vito Viti, or not, and whether I am he." 
 
 " Brother Vito, thou art impatient ; these things are not 
 learned in a moment ; moreover, every system has a begin 
 ning and an end, like a book ;. and who would ever become 
 learned, that should attempt to read a treatise backward ?" 
 
 " I know what is due to you, Signor Andrea, both on 
 account of your higher rank, and on account of your greater 
 wisdom, and will say no more at present; though to keep 
 from thinking on a philosophy that leaches I am not a 
 podesta, or you a vice-governatore, is more than flesh and 
 blood can bear." 
 
 Andrea Barrofaldi, glad that his companion was momen 
 tarily appeased, now proceeded towards Raoul s little prison, 
 and was immediately admitted by the sentry, who had his 
 orders to that effect. The prisoner received his guests 
 courteously and cheerfully ; for we are far from wishing to 
 represent him as so heroic as not to rejoice exceedingly at 
 having escaped death by hanging, even though it might 
 prove to be a respite, rather than a pardon. At such a 
 moment, the young man could have excused a much more 
 offensive intrusion, and the sudden change in his prospects 
 disposed him a little to be jocular; for truth compels us to 
 add, that gratitude to God entered but little into his emo 
 tions. The escape from death, like his capture, and the 
 other incidents of his cruise, were viewed simply as the 
 results of the fortune of war. 
 
 Winchester had directed that Raoul s state-room should 
 be supplied with every little convenience that his situation 
 required, and, among other things, it had two common 
 ship s stools. One of these was given to each of the Ita 
 lians, while the prisoner took a seat on the gun-tackle of one 
 29 * 
 
342 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 of the two guns that formed the sides of his apartment. Ii 
 was now night, and a mist had gathered over the arch above, 
 which hid the stars, and rendered it quite dark. JStill, 
 Raoul had neither lamp, nor candles; and, though they had 
 K^cn offered him, he declined their use, as he had found 
 stranger eyes occasionally peeping through the openings in 
 the canvass, with the idle curiosity of the vulgar, to ascer 
 tain the appearance and employments of one condemned to 
 die. He had experienced a good deal of annoyance from 
 this feeling, the previous night ; and the same desire existing 
 to see how a criminal could bear a respite, he had deter 
 mined to pass his evening in obscurity. There was a 
 lantern, or two, however, on the gun-deck, which threw a 
 dim light, even beyond the limits of the canvass bulk-heads. 
 As has been said already, these bulk-heads extended from 
 gun to gun, so as to admit light and air from the ports. 
 This brought the tackles, on one side, into the room; and 
 on one of these Raoul now took his seat. 
 
 Andrea Barrofaldi, from his superior condition in life, as 
 well as from his better education, and nicer natural tact, far 
 surpassed his companion in courtesy of demeanour. Tho 
 latter would have plunged in medias res at once, but the 
 vicc-governatore commenced a conversation on genera! 
 matters, intending to oiler his congratulations for the recent 
 respite, when he conceived that a suitable occasion should 
 offer. This was an unfortunate delay in one respect ; for 
 Vito Viti no sooner found that the main object of the visit 
 was to be postponed, than he turned with eagerness to the 
 subject in discussion, which had been interrupted in order to 
 enter the state-room. 
 
 " Here has the vice-governatore come forward with a 
 theory, Sir Smees," he commenced, the moment a pause in 
 the discourse left him an opening " here has the vice- 
 governatore come forward with a theory, that I insist the 
 church would call damnable, and at which human nature 
 revolts " 
 
 " Nay, c;ood Vito, thou dost not state the case fairly," 
 interrupted Andrea, whose spirit was a little aroused at so 
 abrupt an assault. " The theory is not mine ; it is that of 
 a certain English philosopher, in particular who, let- it bo 
 said, too, was a bishop." 
 
LE FEU-POLLET. 343 
 
 " A Lutheran ! was it not so, honourable Signer An 
 drea? a bishop so called?" 
 
 " Why, to confess the truth, he teas a heretic, and not 
 to be considered as an apostle of the true church." 
 
 "Ay I would have sworn to that. No true son of 
 the church would ever broach such a doctrine. Only 
 fancy, signori, the number of imaginary fires, tongues, and 
 other instruments of torture that would become necessary 
 to carry on punishment under such a system ! To be con 
 sistent, even the devils ought to be imaginary." 
 
 " Comment, signori !" exclaimed Kaoul, smiling, and 
 arousing to a sudden interest in the discourse ; " did any 
 English bishop ever broach such a doctrine? Imaginary 
 devils, and imaginary places of punishment, are coming near 
 to our revolutionary France ! After this, I hope our much 
 abused philosophy will meet with more respect." 
 
 " My neighbour has not understood the theory of which 
 he speaks," answered Andrea, too good a churchman not to 
 feel uneasiness at the direction things were taking ; " and so, 
 worthy Vito Viti, I feel the necessity of explaining the whole 
 matter, at some length. Sir Smees," so the Italians called 
 Raoul, out of courtesy, still, it being awkward for them, 
 after all that had passed, to address him by his real name 
 * Sir Smees will excuse us, for a few minutes; perhaps it 
 may serve to amuse him, to hear to what a flight the imagi 
 nation of a subtle-minded man can soar." 
 
 Raoul civilly expressed the satisfaction it would give him 
 to listen, and stretching himself on the gun-tackle, in order 
 to be more at ease, he leaned back with his head fairly within 
 the port, while his feet were braced against the inner truck 
 of the gun-carriage. This threw him into a somewhat re 
 cumbent attitude, but it being understood as intended to 
 render what was but an inconvenient seat at the best, tole 
 rably comfortable, no one thought it improper. 
 
 It is unnecessary for us to repeat, here, all that Andrea 
 Barrofaldi thought proper to say, in his own justification, and 
 in explanation of the celebrated theory of Bishop Berkely. 
 Such a task was not performed in a minute ; and, in truth, 
 prolixity, whenever he got upon a favourite theme, was apt 
 to be one of the vice-governatore s weaknesses. He was far 
 from acquiescing in the doctrine, though he annoyed his old 
 
344 LE FEU-FOLLET, 
 
 neighbour exceedingly, by presenting the subject in such a 
 way as to render it respectable in appearance, if not conclu 
 sive in argument. To the latter, it was peculiarly unpleasant 
 to imagine, even for the sake of argument, that there was no 
 such island as Elba, and that he was not its podesta ; and 
 all his personal and egotistical propensities came in aid 
 of his official reluctance, to disgust him thoroughly with a 
 theory that he did not hesitate to say, " was an outrage o 
 every honest man s nature." 
 
 " There are fellows in the world, Signor Andrea," the 
 straight-forward podesta urged, in continuation of his objec 
 tions, " who might be glad enough to find everything imagi 
 nary, as you say chaps that cannot sleep of nights, for bad 
 consciences, and to whom it would be a great blessing if the 
 earth would throw them overboard, as they say in this ship, 
 and let them fall into the great ocean of oblivion. But they 
 are baroni in grain, and ought not to pass for anything 
 material, among honest people. I ve known several of those 
 rogues at Livorno, and, I dare say, Napoli is not altogether 
 without them ; but that is a very different matter from telling 
 a handsome and virtuous young maiden, that her beauty 
 and modesty are both seeming ; and respectable magistrates, 
 that they are as great impostors as the very rogues they 
 send to the prisons ; or, perhaps, to the galleys." 
 
 To speeches like these, Andrea opposed his explanations 
 and his philosophy, until the discussion became animated, 
 and the dialogue loud. It is rather a peculiarity of Italy, 
 that one of the softest languages of Christendom is frequently 
 rendered harsh and unpleasant, by the mode of using it. On 
 this occasion, certainly, the animation of the disputants did 
 not mitigate the evil. Griffin happened to pass the spot, on 
 the outside of the canvass, just at this moment, and, catch 
 ing some of the words, he stopped to listen. His smiles and 
 translations soon collected a group of officers, and the sentry 
 respectfully dropping a little on one side, the deck around 
 the state-room of the prisoner became a sort of parquet to 
 a very amusing representation. Several of the young gen 
 tlemen understood a little Italian, and Griffin translating 
 rapidly, though in an under-tone, the whole affair was deemed 
 to be particularly diverting. 
 
 " This is a rum way of consoling a man who is con- 
 
LE PEU-FOLLET 345 
 
 demned to die," muttered the master; "I wonder the French 
 man stands all their nonsense." 
 
 " O !" rejoined the marine officer, " drill will do anything. 
 These Revolutionists are so drilled into hypocrisy, that, I 
 dare say, the fellow is grinning, the whole time, as if per 
 fectly delighted." 
 
 Raoul, in fact, listened with no little amusement. At 
 first, his voice was occasionally heard in the discussion, 
 evidently aiming at exciting the disputants ; but the warmth 
 of the latter soon silenced him, and he was fain to do nothing 
 but listen. Shortly after the discussion got to be warm, 
 and just as Griffin was collecting his group, the prisoner 
 stretched himself still further into the port, to enjoy the cool 
 ness of the evening breeze, when, to his surprise, a hand 
 was laid gently on his forehead. 
 
 " Hush !" whispered a voice close to his ear, " it is the 
 American Ithuel be cool ; now is the moment to pull 
 for life." 
 
 Raoul had too much self-command to betray his astonishr 
 ment, but, in an instant, every faculty he possessed was on 
 the alert. Ithuel, he knew, was a man for exigencies. 
 Experience had taught him a profound respect for his enter 
 prise and daring, when it became necessary to act. Some 
 thing must certainly be in the wind, worthy of his attention, 
 or this cautious person would not have exposed himself in a 
 situation which would be sure to lead to punishment, if de 
 tected. Ithuel was seated astride of one of the chains, 
 beneath the main-channel of the ship, a position which might 
 be maintained without detection, possibly, so long as it con 
 tinued dark ; but which, in itself, if seen, would have beea 
 taken as a proof of an evil intention. 
 
 "What would you have, Etooelle?" whispered Raoul, 
 who perceived that his companions were too much occupied 
 to observe his movements, or to hear his words. 
 
 " The .Eyetalian, and his niece, are about to go ashore. 
 Everything is ready and understood. I Ve consaited you 
 might pass out of the port, in the dark, and escape in the 
 boat. Keep quiet we shall see." 
 
 Raoul understood his respite to be a thing of doubtful 
 termination. Under the most favourable results, an English 
 prison remained in perspective, and then the other side of 
 
346 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 the picture offered the image of Ghita to his eye ! He was 
 in a tumult of feeling, but, accustomed to self-command, still 
 no exclamation escaped him. 
 
 "When cher Etooelle? when?" he asked, his whisper 
 being tremulous, in spite of every effort to command him 
 self. 
 
 " Now too-der-sweet (tout-de-suite) the boat is at the 
 gangway, and old Giuntotardi is in her they are rigging a 
 chair for the gal. Ay there she swings off! don t you 
 hear the call 1" 
 
 Raoul did hear the whistle of the boatswain, which was 
 piping " lower away," at that very moment. He listened 
 intently, as he lay stretched upon the gun-tackles ; and then 
 he heard the splash in the water, as the boat was hauled 
 closer to, in order to be brought beneath the chair. The 
 rattling of oars, too, was audible, as Ghita left the seat, and 
 moved aft. " Round in," called out the officer of the deck ; 
 after which Carlo Giuntotardi was left in quiet possession of 
 his own boat. 
 
 The moment was exceedingly critical. Some one, in all 
 probability, was watching the boat from the deck ; and, 
 though the night was dark, it required the utmost caution to 
 proceed with any hopes of success. At this instant, Ithuel 
 again whispered 
 
 " The time s near. Old Carlo has his orders, and little 
 Ghita is alive to see them obeyed. All now depends on 
 silence and activity. In less than five minutes, the boat will 
 be under the port." 
 
 Raoul understood the plan ; but, it struck him as hope 
 less. It seemed impossible that Ghita could be permitted to 
 quit the ship, without a hundred eyes watching her move 
 ments ; and though it was dark, it was far from being suffi 
 ciently so, to suppose it practicable for any one to join her 
 and not be seen. Yet this risk must be taken, or escape 
 was out of the question. An order given through the 
 trumpet, was encouraging ; it announced that the officer of 
 the watch was employed at some duty that must draw his 
 attention another way. This was a great deal ; few pre 
 suming to look aside, while this functionary was invning 
 their attention in another direction. 
 
 RaouPs brain was in a w<hirl. The two Italians were at 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 347 
 
 the height of their discussion ; and fortunately, the clamour 
 they made was at the loudest. Even the suppressed laughter 
 of the officers on the outside of the canvass, was audible to 
 him; though the disputants could hear nothing but their 
 own voices. Every knock of the boat against the ship s 
 side, every sound of the oars, as Carlo s foot rattled them 
 about, and the wash of the water, were audible. It seemed 
 as if all the interests of life the future, the past, and the 
 present, together with the emotions of his whole heart, were 
 compressed into that single instant. Ignorant of what was 
 expected, he asked Ithuel, in French, the course he ought to 
 take. 
 
 " Am I to fall, head-foremost, into the water ? What 
 would you have of me?" he whispered. 
 
 " Lie quiet, till I tell you to move. I ll make the signal, 
 Captain Rule ; let the Eyetalians blaze away." 
 
 Raoul could not see the water, as he lay with his head 
 fairly in the port ; and he had to trust entirely to the single 
 sense of hearing. Knock, knock, knock ; the boat dropped 
 slowly along the ship s side, as if preparing to shove ofH 
 All this, Carlo Giuntotardi managed exceedingly well. When 
 he lay immediately beneath the main-channels, it would not 
 have been an easy thing to see his boat, even had there 
 been any one on the look-out. Here he held on ; for he 
 was not so lost to external things, as not fully to understand 
 what was expected of him. Perhaps he was less attended 
 to, by those on deck, from the circumstance that no one 
 believed him capable of so much worldly care. 
 
 " Is everything safe for a movement, inboard ?" whis 
 pered Ithuel. 
 
 Raoul raised his head and looked about him. That a 
 group was collected around the state-room, he understood 
 by the movements, the low conversation, and the suppressed 
 laughter; still, no one seemed to be paying any attention to 
 himself. As he had not spoken for some time, however, he 
 thought it might be well to let his voice be heard ; and, 
 taking care that it should sound well within the port, he 
 made one of the light objections to the vice-go vernatore s 
 theory, that he had urged at the commencement of the con 
 troversy. This was little heeded, as he expected ; but it 
 served to make thotse without know ihat he was in his prison, 
 
348 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 and might prevent an untimely discovery. Everything rise 
 seemed propitious ; and laying down again, ut his length, 
 his face came within a few inches of Ithuel s. 
 
 " All safe," he whispered ; " what would you have mo 
 do?" 
 
 " Nothing, but shove yourself ahead carefully, by means 
 of your feet." 
 
 This Raoul did ; at first, as it might be, inch by inch, 
 until Ithuel put the end of a rope into his hands, telling him 
 it was well fast to the channel above. The rope rendered 
 the rest easy ; the only danger now being of too much pre 
 cipitation. Nothing would have been easier, than for Raoul 
 to drag his body out at the port, and to drop into the boat ; 
 but, to escape, it was still necessary to avoid observation. 
 The ship was quite half-a-league from the point of Campa- 
 nella, and directly abreast of it ; and there was no security 
 to the fugitives unless they got some distance the start of 
 any pursuers. This consideration induced the utmost cau 
 tion on the part of Ithuel ; nor was it entirely lost on his 
 friend. By this time, however, Raoul found he was so 
 completely master of his movements, as to be able to swing 
 his legs out of the port, by a very trifling effort ; then the 
 descent into the boat would be the easiest thing imaginable. 
 But a pressure from the hand of Ithuel checked him. 
 
 " Wait a little," whispered the latter, " till the Eyetalians 
 are at it, cat and dog fashion." 
 
 The discussion was now so loud and warm, that it was 
 not necessary to lose much time. Ithuel gave the signal, 
 and Raoul dragged his head and shoulders up by his arms, 
 while he placed his feet against the gun ; the next moment 
 he was hanging perpendicularly, beneath the main-chains. 
 To drop lightly and noiselessly into the boat, took but a 
 second. When his feet touched a thwart, he found that the 
 American was there before him. The latter dragged him 
 down to his side, and the two lay concealed in the bottom 
 of the yawl, with a cloak of Ghita s thrown over their per. 
 sons. Carlo Giuntotardi was accustomed to the manage 
 ment of a craft like that in which he now found himself; 
 simply releasing his boat-hook from one of the chains, the 
 ship passed slowly ahead, leaving him, in about a minute 
 fairly in her wake, a hundred feet astern. 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 349 
 
 k,o far, everything had succeeded surprisingly. The night 
 was so dark, as to embolden the two fugitives now to rise, 
 and to take their seats on the thwarts ; though all this wag 
 done with exceeding caution, and without the least noise. 
 The oars were soon out, Carlo took the tiller, and a feeling 
 of exultation glowed at the heart of Raoul, as he bent to his 
 ashen implement, and felt the boat quiver with the impulse. 
 
 " Take it coolly, Captain Rule," said Ithuel, in a low 
 voice ; " it s a long- pull, and we are still within ear-shot of 
 the frigate. In five minutes more we shall be dropped so 
 far, as to be beyond sight ; then we may pull directly oul 
 to sea, if we wish." 
 
 Just then the bell of the Proserpine struck four ; the signal 
 it was eight o clock. Immediately after, the walch was 
 called, and a stir succeeded in the ship. 
 
 " They only turn the hands up," said Raoul, 
 that his companion paused, like one uneasy. 
 
 " That is an uncommon movement for shifting the watch ! 
 What is that r 
 
 It was clearly the overhauling of tackles ; the plash of a 
 boat, as it struck the water, followed. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 "Our dangers, and delights, are near allies 
 
 44 From the same stem the rose and prickle rise." 
 
 ALLEYN. 
 
 IT has been seen that a generous sympathy had taken 
 place of hostile feeling, as respects Raoul, in the minds 01 
 most on board the Proserpine. Under the influence of this 
 sentiment, an order had been passed through the sentries, 
 not to molest their prisoner, by too frequent or unnecessary 
 an examination of the state-room. With a view to a proper 
 regard to both delicacy and watchfulness, however, Win 
 chester had directed that the angle of the canvass nearest 
 the cabin-door lantern, should be opened a few inches, and 
 that the sentinel should look in, every half-hour ; or as often 
 30 
 
350 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 as the ship s bell told the. progress of time. The object 
 watf simply to be certain that the prisoner was in his room, 
 and that he was making no attempt on his own life ; a step 
 that had been particularly apprehended previously to the 
 respite. Now, the whole of the dispute between the two 
 Italians, and that which had passed beneath the ship s chan 
 nels, did not occupy but six or seven minutes ; and the 
 little cluster of officers was still gaining recruits, when 
 Raoul was fairly in the yawl of his own lugger. At this 
 moment the ship s bell struck the hour of half-past seven. 
 The marine advanced, with the respect of a subordinate, 
 but with the steadiness of a man on post, to examine the 
 state-room. Although the gentlemen believed this caution 
 unnecessary, the loud voices of Andrea and Vito Viti being 
 of themselves a sort of guarantee that the prisoner was in 
 his cage, they gave way to a man, fully understanding that 
 a sentinel was never to be resisted. The canvass was opened 
 a few inches, the light of the lantern at the cabin-door shot 
 in, and there sat the vice-governatore and the podesta, ges 
 ticulating, and staring into each other s face, still in hot 
 dispute ; but the place of Raoul Yvard was empty ! 
 
 Yelverton happened to look into the room with the sen 
 tinel. He was a young man of strong powers of percep 
 tion, with all the phrenological bumps that are necessary to 
 the character, and he saw, at a glance, that the bird had 
 flown. The first impression was, that the prisoner had 
 thrown himself into the sea, and he rushed on deck, without 
 speaking to those around him, made a hurried statement to 
 the officer of the deck, and had a quarter-boat in the water 
 in a surprisingly short time. His astonished companions 
 below, were less precipitate, though the material fact was 
 soon known to them. Griffin gave a hasty order, and the 
 canvass bulk-head came down, as it might be, at a single 
 jerk, leaving the two disputants in full view, utterly uncon 
 scious of the escape of their late companion, sputtering and 
 gesticulating, furiously. 
 
 "Halloo! vice-governatore," cried Griffin, abruptly, for 
 he saw that the moment was not one for ceremony ; " what 
 have you done with the Frenchman? where is Raoul 
 Yvard 1" 
 
 "II Sigcor, Sir Smees? Monsieur Yvard, if you will? 
 
LE FE U- FOLL ET. 351 
 
 Neighbour Vito, what, indeed, has become of the man who 
 so lately sat there ?" 
 
 " Cospetto ! according to your doctrine, Signer Andrea, 
 there never was a man there at all only the imagination of 
 one ; it is not surprising that such a being should be missed. 
 But, I protest against any inferences being drawn from this 
 accident. All Frenchmen are flighty and easily carried 
 away, and now that they are no longer ballasted by roli- 
 gion, they are so many moral feathers. No, no let a 
 man of respectable information, of sound principles, and 
 a love for the saints, with a good, substantial body, like 
 myself, vanish only once, and then I may confess, it will tell 
 in favour of your logic, vice-governatore." 
 
 " An obstinate man, neighbour Vito, is a type of the im 
 perfections that a " 
 
 " Your pardon, Signer Barrofaldi," interrupted Griffin 
 " this is not a moment for philosophical theories, but for us 
 seamen to do our duty. What has become of Raoul Yvard 
 your Sir Smees?" 
 
 " Sigoor Tenente, as I hope to be saved, I have not the 
 smallest idea ! There he was, a minute or two since, seated 
 by that cannon, apparently an attentive and much edified 
 auditor of a discussion we were holding on the celebrated 
 theory of a certain bishop of yur own country ; which 
 theory, rightly considered mind I say rightly considered, 
 neighbour Vito*; for the view you have taken of this matter 
 is" 
 
 " Enough of this, for the present, Signori" added Griffin. 
 " The Frenchman was in this place when you came here?" 
 
 " He was, Signer Tenente, and seemed greatly to enjoy 
 the discussion in which " 
 
 " And you have not seen him quit you through the can 
 vass, or the port ?" 
 
 " Not I, on my honour, I did suppose him too much 
 entertained to leave us." 
 
 " Ah ! Sir Smees has just vanished into the imagination, * 
 growled the podesta, "which is going home to the great 
 logical family of which he is an ideal member! There 
 being no lugger, no corsair, no sea, and no frigate, it seems 
 to me that we are all making a stir about nothing." 
 
 Griffin did not stop to question farther. He was quickly 
 
352 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 on deck, where he found Cuffe, who had just been brought 
 out of his cabin by a hurried report. 
 
 " What the d 1 is the meaning of all this, gentlemen?" 
 
 demanded the latter, in that tone which a commander so 
 naturally assumes when things go wrong. Whoever has 
 suffered the prisoner to escape may expect to hear from the 
 Admiral directly, on the subject." 
 
 "He is not in his state-room, sir," answered Griffin, " and 
 I directed the boatswain to pipe away all the boats -crews 
 as I came up the ladder." 
 
 As this was said, boat after boat was falling, and, in two 
 or three minutes, no less than five were in the water, includ 
 ing that in which Yelverton was already rowing round the 
 ship to catch the presumed swimmer, or drowning man. 
 
 " The Frenchman is gone, sir," said Winchester, " and he 
 must have passed out of the port. I have sent one of the 
 gentlemen to examine if he is not stowed away about the 
 chains." 
 
 " Where is the boat of the old Italian and his niece?" 
 
 A pause succeeded this question, and light broke in upon 
 all at the same instant. 
 
 " That yawl was alongside," cried Griffin, " no one 
 was in her, however, but Giuntotardi and the girl " 
 
 " Beg your pardon, sir," said a young fore-top-man, who 
 had just descended the rigging, " I saw the ^oat from aloft 
 sir, and it hung some time, sir, under the starboard main- 
 chains. It is so dark I couldn t fairly make it out ; but 
 summat seemed to be passed into it, from a port. I didn f 
 like the look of the thing, and so our captain just told me to 
 come on deck and report it, sir." 
 
 " Send Ithuel Bolt here, Mr. Winchester bear a hand, 
 sir, and let us have a look at that gentleman." 
 
 It is needless to say that the call was unanswered ; and 
 then all on board began to understand the mode of the 
 escape. Officers rushed into the several boats, and no less 
 than five different parties commenced the pursuit. At the 
 same time the ship hoisted a lantern, as a signal for the boats 
 to rally to. 
 
 It has been said that the Proserpine, when this incident 
 occurred, was off the point of the Campanella, distant about 
 half a marine league. The wind was light at cast, or was whal 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 353 
 
 is called the land breeze, and the vessel had ahout three 
 knots way on her. The head-land was nearly abeam, and 
 she was looking up through the pass which separates Capri 
 from the main, hauling round into the Bay of Naples ; in 
 tending to anchor in the berth she had left the previous day. 
 The night was too dark to permit an object small as a boat 
 to be seen at any distance, but the black mass of Capri was 
 plainly visible in its outlines, towering into the air near two 
 thousand feet; while the formation of the coast on the other 
 side, might be traced with tolerable certainty and distinct 
 ness. Such was the state of things when the five boats 
 mentioned quitted the ship. 
 
 Yelverton had acted as if a man were overboard ; or, he 
 had not waited for orders. While pulling round the ship 
 alone, he caught sight, though very dimly, of the yawl, as 
 it moved in towards the land, and without communicating 
 with any on board, the truth flashed on his mind also, and 
 he gave chase. When the other boats were ready, the two 
 that were on the outside of the ship pulled off to seaward a 
 short distance, to look about them in that direction ; while 
 the two others, hearing the oars of the light gig, in which 
 Yelverton was glancing ahead, followed the sound, under 
 the impression that they were in pursuit of the yawl. Such 
 was the state of things at the commencement of an exceed 
 ingly vigorous and hot pursuit. 
 
 As Raoul and Ithuel had been at work, while time was 
 lost in doubt in and around the ship, they had got about 
 three hundred yards the start of even Yelverton. Their 
 boat pulled unusually well, and being intended for only two 
 oars, it might be deemed full manned, with two as vigorous 
 hands in it as those it had. Still it was not a match for the 
 second gig, and the four chosen men who composed its crew, 
 which was the boat taken by Yelverton, in the hurry of the 
 moment. In a pull of a mile and a half, the yawl was cer 
 tain to be overtaken, and the practised ears of Raoul soon 
 assured him of the fact. His own oars were muffled. He 
 determined to profit by the circumstance, and turn aside, in 
 the hope that his fleet pursuers would pass him unseen. A 
 sheer was accordingly given to the boat, and instead of pull 
 ing directly towards the land, the fugitives inclined to the 
 westward ; the sea appearing the most obscure in that 
 30 * 
 
354 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 direction, on account of the proximity of Capri. This arti 
 fice was completely successful. Yelverton was so eager in 
 the chase, that he kept his eyes riveted before him, iancy- 
 ing, from time to time, that he saw the boat ahead, and lie 
 passed within a hundred and fifty yards of the yawl, without 
 in the least suspecting her vicinity. Raoul and Ithuel ceased 
 rowing, to permit this exchange of position, and the former 
 had a lew sarcastic remarks on the stupidity of his enemies, 
 as some relief to the feelings of the moment. None of the 
 English had muffled oars. On the contrary, the sounds of the 
 regular man-of-war jerks were quite audible in every direc 
 tion ; but so familiar were they to the ears of the Proserpines, 
 that the crews of the two boats that came next after Yelver 
 ton, actually followed the sounds of his oars, under the 
 belief that they were in the wake of the fugitives. In this 
 manner, then, Raoul suffered three of the five boats to pass 
 ahead of him. The remaining two were so distant as not 
 to be heard, and when those in advance were sufficiently in 
 advance, he and Ithuel followed them, with a leisurely stroke, 
 reserving themselves for any emergency that might occur. 
 
 It was a fair race between the gig and the two cutters 
 that pursued her. The last had the sounds of the former s 
 oars in the ears of their crews to urge them to exertion ; it 
 being supposed they came from the strokes of the pursued, 
 while Yelverton was burning with the desire to outstrip 
 those who followed, and to secure the prize for himself. 
 This made easy work for those in the yawl, which was soon 
 left more than a cable s-Iength astern. 
 
 "One would think, Ghita," said Raoul, laughing, though 
 he had the precaution to speak in an under-tone " one 
 would think that your old friends, the vice-governatore and 
 the podesta, commanded the boats in-shore of us, were it not 
 known that they are this very moment quarrelling about the 
 fact, whether there is such a place as Elba on this great 
 planet of ours, or not." 
 
 " Ah ! Ra oul, remember the last dreadful eight-and-forty 
 hours ! do not stop to trifle, until we are once more fairly 
 beyond the power of your enemies." 
 
 " Peste! I shall be obliged to own, hereafter, that there 
 is some generosity in an Englishman. I cannot deny their 
 treatment, and yet I had rather it. had been more ferocious." 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 355 
 
 " This is an unkind feeling ; you should strive to tear it 
 from your heart." 
 
 " It s a great deal to allow to an Englishman, Captain 
 Rule, to allow him gineros ty," interrupted Ithucl. " They re 
 a fierce race, and fatten on mortal misery." 
 
 44 Mais, bon Etooelle, your back has escaped this time; 
 you ought to be thankful." 
 
 " They re short-handed, and didn t like to cripple a top- 
 man," answered he of the Granite state, unwilling to con 
 cede anything to liberal or just sentiments. " Had the 
 ship s complement been full, they wouldn t have left as 
 much skin on my back as would cover the smallest-sized 
 pin-cushion. I owe em no thanks, therefore." 
 
 " Bien ; quant a moi, I shall speak well of the bridge 
 which carries me over," said Raoul. " Monsieur Cuffe has 
 given me good food, good wine, good words, a good state 
 room, a good bed, and a most timely reprieve." 
 
 " Is not your heart grateful to God for the last, dear 
 Raoul I" asked Ghita, in a voice so gentle and tender, that 
 the young man could have bowed down and worshipped her. 
 
 After a pause, however, he answered, as if intentionally 
 to avoid the question by levity. 
 
 " I forgot the philosophy, too," he said. That was no 
 small part of the good cheer. Ciel ! it was worth some risk 
 to have the advantage of attending such a school. Did you 
 understand the matter in dispute between the two Italians, 
 brave Etooelle?" 
 
 " I heerd their Ifye-talian jabber," answered Ithuel ; "but 
 supposed it was all about saints days, and eating fish. No 
 reasonable man makes so much noise when he is talking 
 senso." 
 
 " Pardie it was philosophy ! They laugh at us French 
 for living by the rules of reason, rather than those of preju 
 dice ; and then to hear what they call philosophy ! You 
 would scarce think it, Ghita," continued Raoul, who was 
 now light of heart, and full of the scene he had so recently 
 witnessed " you would hardly think it, Ghita, but Signer 
 Andrea, sensible and learned as he is, maintained that it 
 was not folly to believe in a philosophy which teaches that 
 nothing we see or do actually exists, but that everything 
 was mere seeming. In short, that we live in an imaginary 
 
356 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 world, with imaginary people in it; float on an imaginary 
 sea, and cruise in imaginary ships." 
 
 " And was all that noise about an idee, Captain Rule?" 
 
 " Si but men will quarrel about an idea an imaginary 
 thing, Etooelle, as stoutly as about substantial. Hist ! 
 They will chase imaginary things, too, as are the boats 
 ahead of us at this moment." 
 
 " There are others following us," observed Carlo Giunto- 
 tardi, who was more alive to surrounding objects than com 
 mon ; and who, from his habitual silence, often heard that 
 which escaped the senses of others. " I have noticed the 
 sound of their oars some time." 
 
 This produced a pause, and even a cessation in the row 
 ing, in order that the two seamen might listen. Sure 
 enough, the sound of oars was audible outside, as well as 
 in-shore, leaving no doubt that some pursuers were still 
 behind them. This was bringing the fugitives between two 
 fires, as it might be; and Ithuel proposed pulling off at right 
 angles to the course again, in order to get into the rear of 
 the whole party. But to this, Raoul objected. He thought 
 the boats astern were still so distant as to enable them to 
 reach the shore in time to escape. Once on the rocks, 
 there could be little danger of being overtaken in the dark 
 ness. Still, as it was a first object with Raoul to rejoin his 
 lugger as soon as possible, after landing Ghita, he did not 
 wish to place his boat in any situation of much risk. This 
 induced some deliberation ; and it was finaHy determined to 
 take a middle course, by steering into the pass between 
 Capri and Campanella, in the expectation that, when the 
 leading English boats reached the point of the latter, they 
 would abandon the pursuit as hopeless, and return to the 
 ship. 
 
 " We can land you, dearest Ghita, at the Marina Grande 
 of Sorrento ; then your walk to St. Agata will be neither 
 iong nor painful." 
 
 " Do not. mind me, Raoul ; put me on the land at the 
 nearest place, and go you to your vessel. God has relieved 
 you from this great jeopardy, and your duty is to strive to 
 act as it is evident he intends you to do. As for me, leagues 
 will be light, if I can only be satisfied that thou art in 
 safety." 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 357 
 
 " Angel ! Thou never thinkest of self! But not a foot 
 this side of Sorrento will I quit thee. We can pull thither 
 in an hour or two ; then I shall feel that I have done a duty. 
 Once ashore, Etooelle and I can set our little sail, and will 
 run out to sea between the two islands. No fear but what 
 we can do that, with this land breeze ; after which, a few 
 rockets burned, will tell us where to find le Feu-Follel." 
 
 Ghita again remonstrated, but in vain. Raoul persisted, 
 and she was obliged to submit. The conversation now 
 ceased ; the two men plying the oars diligently, and to good 
 effect. Occasionally they ceased, and listened to the. sounds 
 of the oars in the frigate s boats, all which were evidently 
 collecting in the vicinity of the point or cape. By this time, 
 the yawl had the extremity of the land abeam, and it soon 
 passed so far into the Bay, as to bring most, if not all, of 
 the pursuers astern. In the darkness, with no other guida 
 than the sounds mentioned, and with so many pursuers, 
 there was some uncertainty, of course, as to the position of 
 all the boats ; but there was little doubt that most of them 
 were now somewhere in the immediate vicinity of Campa- 
 nella. As Raoul gave this point a good berth, and his own 
 progress was noiseless, this was bringing himself and com 
 panions, after their recent dangers, into comparative 
 security. 
 
 More than an hour of steady rowing followed, during 
 which time the yawl was making swift way towards the 
 Marina Grande of Sorrento. After passing Massa, Raoul 
 felt no further uneasiness, and he requested Carlo Giunto- 
 tardi to sheer in towards the land, where less, resistance from 
 the breeze was met with, and where it was also easier to 
 know the precise position. Apprehension of the boats now 
 ceased, though Ithuel fancied, from time to time, that he 
 heard smothered sounds, like those of oars imperfectly muf 
 fled. Raoul laughed at his conceits and apprehensions, and, 
 to confess the truth, he became negligent of his duty, af>ain, 
 in the soothing delight of finding himself, once more, free, in 
 all but heart, in the company of Ghita. In this manner 
 the yawl moved ahead, though with materially diminished 
 speed, until, by the formation of the heights, and the appear 
 ance of the lamps and candles on the piano, Ghita kne\\ 
 
358 LE FETJ-FOfcLET. 
 
 that they were drawing quite near to the indentation of the 
 coast on which is situate the town of Sorrento. 
 
 " As soon as my uncle and myself have landed at the 
 Marina Grande, Raoul," said Ghita, " thou and the Ameri 
 can will be certain to seek thy lugger ; then thou promises! 
 to quit the coast?" 
 
 " Why ask promises of one that thou dost not sufficiently 
 respect to think he will keep them ?" 
 
 " I do not deserve this, Raoul ; between thee and me, no 
 promise has ever been broken." 
 
 " It js not easy to break vows with one who will neither 
 give nor accept them. I cannot boast of keeping such idle 
 laith as this ! Go with me before some priest, Ghita, ask 
 all that man ever has or can swear .to, and then thou shall 
 see how a sailor can be true to his vow." 
 
 " And why before a priest ? Thou know st, Raoul, that, 
 in thine eyes, all the offices of the church are mummery; 
 that nothing is more sacred, with thee, for being sworn to at 
 the altar of God, and with one of his holy ministers for a 
 witness !" 
 
 " Every oath or promise made to thee, Ghita, is sacred, 
 in my eyes. It wanteth not any witness, or any consecrated 
 place, to make it more binding than thy truth and tenderness 
 can insure. Thou art my priest my altar my " 
 
 "Forbear!" exclaimed Ghita, in alarm, lest he should 
 utter the name of that holy Being towards whom her heart 
 was even at that moment swelling with gratitude for iiis own 
 recent escape from death. " Thou know st not the meaning 
 of thine owr? words, and mightst add that which would give 
 me more pain than I can express." 
 
 " Boat, ahoy !" cried a deep, nautical voice, within twenty 
 yards of them, and in-shore ; the hail coming in the sudden, 
 quick demand that distinguishes the call of a man-of-war s- 
 man. 
 
 A pause of half a minute succeeded, for they in the yawl 
 were completely taken by surprise. 
 
 At Icn^ .h Ithuel, who felt the necessity of saying some- 
 thing, if he would not bring the stranger close alongside of 
 them, answered in the customary manner of the Italians. 
 
 Clinch, for it was he, scouring the shore in quest of the 
 ijgger, on his way back to the Proserpine, gave a growl, 
 
LB FEU-FOLLET. 359 
 
 #hen he found that he must speak in a foreign tongue, if he 
 would continue the discourse ; then he mustered all the 
 Italian of which he was master for the occasion. Having 
 cruised long on the station, this was sufficient, however, for 
 his. present purpose. 
 
 " Is that a hoat from Massa or from Capri ?" he inquired 
 
 " Neither, S nore," answered Raoul, afraid to trust Carlo s 
 conscience with the management of such a dialogue. " We 
 come round the cape, from St. Agata, and carry figs to 
 Napoli." 
 
 u St. Agata ! ay, that is the village on the heights ; 1 
 passed a night there, myself, in the house of one Maria 
 Giuntotardi " 
 
 " Who can this be ?" murmured Ghita " my aunt knows 
 no forestieri !" 
 
 " An Inglese, by his thick speech and accent. I hope he 
 will not ask for figs for his supper !" 
 
 Clinch was thinking of other things, at that moment ; and 
 when he continued, it was to follow the train of his own 
 thoughts. 
 
 * Have you seen anything of a barone-looking lugger," 
 he asked, " French-rigged, and French manned, skulking 
 anywhere about this coast?" 
 
 " Si she went north, into the Gulf of Gaeta, just as the 
 sun was setting, and is, no doubt, gone to anchor under the 
 cannon of her countrymen." 
 
 "If she has, she ll find herself in hot water," answered 
 Clinch, in English. "We ve craft enough, up there, to 
 hoist her in and dub her down to a jolly-boat s size, in a 
 single watch. Did you see anything of a frigate, this even 
 ing, near the Point of Campanella? An Inglese, I mean ; a 
 tight six-and-thirty, with three new topsails." 
 
 " Si the light you see, here, just in a range with Capri, 
 is at her gaff; we have seen her the whole afternoon and 
 evening. In fact, she towed us kindly round the cape, until 
 we got fairly into this Bay." 
 
 " Then you are the people for me ! Was there a man 
 hanged on board her or not, about sunset ?" 
 
 This question was put with so much interest, that Raoul 
 cursed his interrogator, in his heart ; imagining that he was 
 
360 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 burning with the wish to learn his own execution. He was 
 also now aware that this was the boat which had left the 
 Proserpine about noon. 
 
 " I can tell you there was not, s nore if that will gladden 
 your heart. A man was all ready to be hanged, wjien 
 Capitaine Cuffe was pleased to order him taken down." 
 
 " Just as three heavy guns were fired up at town was it 
 not so?" Clinch eagerly inquired. 
 
 " Diable ! this man may have been my preserver, after 
 all ! You say true, s nore ; it was just as three guns were 
 fired up at Naples, though I did not know those guns had 
 anything to do with the intended execution. Can you tell 
 me if they had ?" 
 
 " If they had ! Why I touched them off with my own 
 hands ; they were signals made by the admiral to spare 
 poor Raoul Yvard, for a few days, at least. I am rejoiced 
 to hear that all my great efforts to reach the fleet were not 
 in vain. I don t like this hanging, Mr. Italian." 
 
 " S nore, you show a kind heart, and will one day reap 
 the reward of such generous feelings. I wish I knew the 
 name of so humane a gentleman, that I might mention him 
 in my prayers." 
 
 " They 11 never fancy that Captain Rule said that" mut 
 tered Ithuel, grinning. 
 
 " As for my name, friend, it s no great matter. They 
 call me Clinch, which is a good fast word to sail under, too ; 
 but it has no handle to it, other than of a poor devil of a 
 master s-mate ; and that, too, at an age when some men 
 carry broad-pennants." 
 
 This was said bitterly, and in English ; when uttered, the 
 supposed Italian was wished a " buona sera," and the gig 
 proceeded. 
 
 "That is un brave" said Raoul, with emphasis, as they 
 parted. " If ever I meet with Monsieur Cleench, he will 
 learn that I do not forget his good wishes. Peste ! if there 
 were a hundred such men in the British marine, Etooelle, 
 we might love it." 
 
 " They re fiery sarpents, Captain Rule, and not to he 
 trusted, any on em. As for fine words, I might have fan 
 cied myself a cousin of the king s, if I d cnly put my namo 
 
 their shipping articles. This Mr. Clinch is we 1 1 eaough, 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 361 
 
 in the main ; being nis own worst inimy, in the way of the 
 grog pitcher " 
 
 Boat, ahoy !" shouted Clinch again, now about a hundred 
 yards distant, having passed towards the cape. Raoul and 
 Ithuel mechanically ceased rowing, under the impression 
 that the master s-mate had still something to communicate. 
 
 "Boat, ahoy! Answer at once, or you ll hear from 
 me," repeated Clinch. 
 
 " Ay, ay," answered another voice, which, in fact, was 
 Yelverton s ; " Clinch, is that you ?" 
 
 " Ay, ay, sir Mr. Yelverton, is it not 1 I think I know 
 the voice, sir." 
 
 ** You are quite right; but make less noise who was 
 that you hailed, a minute or two since?" 
 
 Clinch began to answer; but, as the two gigs were 
 approaching each other all the time, they were soon so near 
 as to render it unnecessary to speak loud enough to be 
 heard at any distance. All this time, Raoul and Ithuel lay 
 on their oars, almost afraid to stir the water, and listening 
 with an attention that was nearly breathless. They were 
 satisfied that the oars of the English were now muffled ; a 
 sign that they were in earnest in the pursuit, and bent on 
 making a thorough search. The two gigs could not be more 
 than a hundred yards from the yawl, and Ithuel knew that 
 they were the two fastest-rowing boats of the English fleet 
 so fast, indeed, that Cuffe and his lieutenants had made 
 several successful matches with them, against the officers of 
 different vessels. 
 
 " Hist !" said Ghita, whose heart was in her mouth. 
 Oh ! Raoul, they come !" 
 
 Coming, indeed, were they ; and that with vast velocity. 
 So careful, however, was the stroke, that they were within 
 two hundred feet of the yawl, before Raoul and his com 
 panion took the alarm, and plunged their own oars again 
 into the water. Then, indeed, the gigs might be dimly seen; 
 though the shadows of the land deepened the obscurity of 
 night so far, as to render objects at even a less distance 
 quite indistinct. The suddenness and imminency of the 
 danger appeared to arouse all there was of life in Carlo 
 Giuntotardi. He steered, and steered well, being accus 
 tomed to the office, by living so long on the coast ; and he 
 31 
 
362 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 sheered in for the rocks, with the double view of landing, if 
 necessary, and of getting still deeper within the shadows. 
 
 It was soon evident the English gained. Four oars 
 against two were fearful odds ; and it was plainly apparent 
 the yawl must be overtaken. 
 
 " Oh ! uncle, towards the arch and water-cavern of the 
 point," whispered Ghita, whose hands were clasped on her 
 breast, as if to keep down her emotions. " That may yet 
 save him !" 
 
 The yawl was in the act of whirling round the rocks, 
 which form the deep cove, on which the Marina Grande of 
 Sorrento lies. Carlo caught his niece s idea, and he kepi 
 his tiller hard a-port ; telling Raoul and Ithuel, at the same 
 time, to take in their oars, as quick as possible. The men 
 obeyed, supposing it was the intention to land, and take to 
 the heights for shelter. But just as they supposed the boat 
 was about to strike against some perpendicular rocks, and 
 Raoul was muttering his surprise that such a spot should be 
 chosen to land at, it glided through a low natural arch, and 
 entered a little basin, as noiselessly as a bubble floating in a 
 current. The next minute, the two gigs came whirling 
 round the rocks ; one following the shore, close in, to prevent 
 the fugitives from landing, and the other steering more 
 obliquely athwart the bay. In still another minute, they 
 had passed a hundred yards ahead, and the sound of their 
 movements was lost. 
 
 CHAPTER XXY. 
 
 "And chiefly thou, O spirit, that dost prefer, 
 Before all temples, the upright heart and pure, 
 Instruct me ; for thou know st." 
 
 MILTON. 
 
 THE spot in which Carlo Giuntotardi had taken refuge, 
 is well known on the Sorrentine shore, as the water-cavern, 
 at the ruins of Queen Joan s country-house. Cavern it is 
 
LE PEU-POLLET. 363 
 
 not, though the entrance is beneath a low, natural arch ; 
 the basin within being open to the heavens, and the place 
 resembling an artificial excavation, made to shelter boats in ; 
 profiting by the natural passage to obtain an entrance. Let 
 the origin of this little haven be what it may, art could not 
 have devised* a more convenient, or a more perfect refuge 
 than it afforded to our fugitives at a most critical moment. 
 Once through the arch, the boat would have been effectually 
 concealed from her pursuers, under a noon-day sun ; nor 
 would any, who were unacquainted with the peculiarities of 
 the entrance, dream of a boat s lying, as it might be, buried 
 in the rocks of the little promontory. Neither Ghita nor 
 her uncle any longer felt concern ; but, the former an 
 nounced her intention to land here, assuring Raoul that she 
 could easily find her way into the bridle-path which leads to 
 St. Agata. 
 
 The desperate character of the recent chase, aided by his 
 late almost miraculous escape from death, joined to the 
 necessity of parting from his mistress, rendered our hero 
 melancholy, if not moody. He could not ask Ghita to share 
 his dangers any longer ; and yet he felt, if he permitted her 
 now to quit him, the separation might be for ever. Still he 
 made no objection ; but, leaving Ithuel in charge of the boat, 
 he assisted Ghita up the funnel-like sides of the basin, and 
 prepared to accompany her on her way to the road. Carlo 
 preceded the pair ; telling his niece that she would find him 
 at a cottage on the way, that was well known to both. 
 
 The obscurity was not so great as to render the walking 
 very difficult ; and Raoul and Ghita pursued their course 
 slowly along the rocks, each oppressed with the same sen 
 sation of regret at parting, though influenced by nearly 
 opposing views for the future. The girl took the young 
 man s arm without hesitation ; and there was a tenderness 
 in the tones of her voice, as well as in her general manner, 
 that betrayed how nearly her heart was interested in what 
 was passing. Still, principle was over uppermost in her 
 thoughts ; and she determined, now, to speak plainly, and 
 to the purpose. 
 
 " Raoul," she said, after listening to some one of those fer. 
 vent declarations of love that were peculiarly agreeable to one 
 of her affectionate and sincere nature, even when she most felt 
 
364 
 
 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 the necessity of repelling the insinuating suit ; " there must 
 be an end of this. I can never go through, again, the scenes 
 1 have lately witnessed, nor allow you to ran such fearful 
 risks. The sooner we understand each other, and I may- 
 say, the sooner we part, it will be the wiser, and the better 
 for the interests of both. I blame myself, for suffering the 
 intimacy to last so long, and for proceeding so far." 
 
 " And this is said by a fervent-souled Italian girl ! One 
 of eighteen years ; who comes of a region in which it is 
 the boast, that the heart is even warmer than the sun ; of a 
 race, among whom it is hard to find one oui, even a poor 
 one who is not ready to sacrifice home, country, hopes, 
 fortune, nay, life itself, to give happiness to the man who 
 has chosen her from all the rest of her sex." 
 
 " It would seem to me easy to do all this, Raoul. Si I 
 think I could sacrifice everything you have named, to make 
 you happy ! Home I have not, unless the Prince s Towers 
 can thus be called ; country, since the sad event of this week, 
 I feel as if I had altogether lost ; of hopes, I have few in this 
 world, with which your image has not been connected ; but, 
 those which were once so precious to me, are now, I fear, 
 lost ; you know I have no fortune, to tempt me to stay, or 
 you to follow ; as for my life, I fear it will soon be very 
 valueless am sure it will be miserable." 
 
 " Then why not decide at once, dearest Ghita, to throw 
 the weight of your sorrows on the shoulders of one strong 
 enough to bear them? You care not for dress, or gay ap 
 pearances, and can take a bridegroom even with the misera 
 ble aspect of a lazzarone, when you know the heart is right. 
 You will not despise me because I am not decked as I might 
 be for the bridal. Nothing is easier than to find an altar 
 and a priest among these monasteries ; and the hour for 
 saying mass is not very distant. Give me a ri^ht to claim 
 you, and I will appoint a place of rendezvous, bring in the 
 lugger to-morrow night, and carry you off in triumph to our 
 gay Provence ; where you will find hearts gentle as your 
 own, to welcome you with joy, and call you sister." 
 
 Raoul was earnest m his manner, and it was not possible 
 to doubt his sincerity Though an air of self-satisfaction 
 gleamed in his face, when he alluded to his present personal 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 365 
 
 appearance, for he well knew all his advantages in that way, 
 in spile of the dress of a lazzarone. 
 
 " Urge me not, dear Raoul," Ghita answered, though, 
 unconsciously to herself, she pressed closer to his side, and 
 both sadness and love were in the very tones of her voice; 
 " urge me not, dear Raoul ; this can never be. I have 
 already told you the gulf that lies between us ; you will not 
 cross it, to join me, and I cannot cross it, to join you. 
 Nothing but that could separate us ; but that, to my eyes, 
 grows broader and deeper every hour." 
 
 " Ah, Ghita, thou deceivest me, and thyself. Were thy 
 feelings as thou fanciest, no human inducement could lead 
 thee to reject me." 
 
 " It is not a human inducement, Raoul ; it is one above 
 earth, and all it holds." 
 
 " Peste ! These priests are scourges sent to torment men 
 in every shape ! They inflict hard lessons in childhood, 
 teach asperity in youth, and make us superstitious and silly 
 in age. I do not wonder that my brave compatriots drove 
 them from France ; they did nothing but devour like locusts, 
 and deface the beauties of providence." 
 
 " Raoul, thou art speaking of the ministers of God !" 
 Ghita observed meekly, but in sorrow. 
 
 " Pardon me, dearest Ghita ; I have no patience when I 
 remember what a trifle, after all, threatens to tear us asun 
 der. Thou pretendest to love me ?" 
 
 " It is not pretence, Raoul, but a deep, and I fear, a pain 
 ful reality." 
 
 " To think that a girl so frank, with a heart so tender, 
 and a soul so true, will allow any secondary thing to divide 
 her from the man of her choice !" 
 
 " It is not a secondary, but a primary thing, Raoul ; oh ! 
 that I could make thee think so. The question is between 
 thee arid God were it aught else, thou might st indeed pre 
 vail." 
 
 " Why trouble thyself about my religion, at all? Are 
 there not thousands of wives who tell their beads, and repeat 
 their aves, while their husbands think of anything but hea 
 ven 1 Thou and I can overlook this difference ; others 
 overlook them, and keep but one heart between them still, 
 I never would molest thee, Ghita, in thy gentle worship." 
 31 * 
 
366 LE FEU-FOLLET 
 
 "It is not them that I dread, Raoul, but myself;" an 
 swered the girl, with streaming eyes, though she succeeded 
 in suppressing the sobs that struggled for utterance. " A 
 house divided against itself cannot stand, they say ; how 
 could a heart that was filled with thee, find place for the 
 love it ought to bear the author of its being. When the 
 husband lives only for the world, it is hard for the wife to 
 think of heaven as she ought." 
 
 Raoul was deeply touched with the feeling Ghita betrayed, 
 while he was ready to adore her for the confiding sincerity 
 with which she confessed his power over her heart. His 
 answer was given with seductive tenderness of manner, 
 which proved that he was not altogether unworthy of the 
 strange conflict he had created in so gentle a breast. 
 
 " Thy God will never desert thee, Ghita," he said ; "thou 
 hast nothing to fear as my wife, or that of any other man. 
 None but a brute could ever think of molesting thee in thy 
 worship, or in doing aught that thy opinions render neces 
 sary, or proper. I would tear the tongue from my mouth, 
 before reproach, sneer, or argument, should be used to bring 
 thee pain, after I once felt that thou leanedst on me for sup 
 port. All that I have said has come from the wish that 
 thou would st not misunderstand me, in a matter that I 
 know thou think st important." 
 
 "Ah! Raoul, little dost thou understand the hearts of 
 women. If thy power is so great over me to-day, as almost 
 to incline me from the most solemn of all my duties, what 
 would it become when the love of a girl should turn into the 
 absorbing affection of a wife! I find it hard, even now, to 
 reconcile the love I bear to God, with the strong feeling thou 
 hast created in my heart. A year of wedded life would 
 endanger more than I can express to you in words." 
 
 " And, then, the fear of losing thy salvation, is stronger 
 than thy earthly attachments ?" 
 
 " Nay, Raoul, it is not that. I am not selfish, or cowardly 
 as respects myself, I hope ; nor do I think, at all, of any 
 punishment that might follow from a marriage with an un 
 believer ; what I most apprehend is being taught to love my 
 God less than I feel I now do, or than, as the creature of his 
 mercy, I ought." 
 
 " Thou speakest as if man could rival the being whom 
 
LE IEU-FOLLET. 367 
 
 thou worshippest. I have always understood, that the love 
 we bear the Deity, and that we bear each other, are of a 
 very different quality. I can see no necessity for their in- 
 terfering with each other." 
 
 " Nothing can be less alike, Raoul ; yet one may impair, 
 if not destroy the other. Oh ! if thou would st but believe 
 (hat thy Saviour was thy God, if thou could st but be dead 
 to his love, and not active against him, I might hope for 
 better things ; but I dare not pledge all my earthly duties 
 to one who is openly an enemy ot my own great Master and 
 Redeemer." 
 
 " I will not, cannot deceive thee, Ghita that I leave to 
 the priests. Thou know st my opinions, and must take me 
 as I am, or wholly reject me. This I say, though I ieel 
 that disappointment, if you persist in your cruelty, will drive 
 me to some desperate act, by means of which I shall yet 
 taste of the mercies of these English." 
 
 " Say not so, Raoul ; be prudent for the sake of your 
 country " 
 
 " But not for thine, Ghita ?" 
 
 " Yes, Raoul, and for mine also. I wish not to conceal 
 how much happier I shall be in hearing of your welfare and 
 peace of mind. I fear, though an enemy, it will ever give 
 me pleasure to learn that thou art victorious. But, here is 
 the road, yonder the cottage where my uncle waits for me, 
 and we must part. Heaven bless thee, Raoul ; my prayers 
 will be full of thee. Do not do not, risk more to see me, 
 but, if " The heart -of the girl was so full, that emotion 
 choked her. Raoul listened intently for the next word, but 
 he listened in vain. 
 
 " If what, dear Ghita ? Thou wert about to utter some 
 thing that I feel is encouraging." 
 
 " Oh ! how I hope it may be so, my poor Raoul ! I was 
 going to add, if God ever touches thy heart, and thou 
 would st stand before his altar, a believer, with one at thy 
 side who is ready and anxious to devote all to thee, but her 
 love of the Being who created her, and her treasures of 
 future happiness, seek Ghita; thou wilt find her thou 
 would st have." 
 
 Raoul stretched forth his arms to clasp the tender girl to 
 his bosom ; but, fearful of herself, she avoided him, and fled 
 
368 LE FEU-FOLLEl. 
 
 along the path like one terrified with the apprehension of 
 pursuit. The young man paused a moment, half inclined 
 to follow ; then prudence regained its influence, and he be 
 thought him of the necessity of getting to a place of safety 
 while it was yet night. The future was still before him, in 
 hope, and that hope led him to look forward to other occa 
 sions to press his suit. 
 
 Little, however, did Raoul Yvard, much as he prized her, 
 know Ghita Caraccioli. Her nature was full of womanly 
 sensibilities, it is true, and her heart replete with tenderness 
 for him in particular ; but the adoration she paid to God, 
 was of that lasting character which endures to the end. In 
 all she said and felt, she was truth itself; and while no 
 false shame interposed to cause her to conceal her attach- 
 ment, there was a moral armour thrown about her purposes^ 
 that rendered them impregnable to the assaults of the world. 
 
 Our hero found Ithuel sleeping in the boat, in perfect 
 security. The graniteman thoroughly understood his situa 
 tion, and foreseeing a long row before him, he had quietly 
 lain down in the stern-sheet of the yawl, and was taking his 
 rest, as tranquilly as he had ever done in his berth on board" 
 le Feu-Follet. He was even aroused with difficulty, and he 
 resumed the oar with reluctance. Before descending the 
 funnel, Raoul had taken a survey of the water from the 
 rocks above. He listened intently, to catch any sounds that 
 might arise from the English boats. But nothing was visible 
 in the obscurity, while distance, or caution, prevented any 
 thing from being audible. Satisfied that all was safe out 
 side, he determined to row out into the Bay, and, making a 
 circuit to avoid his enemies, push to the westward, in the 
 expectation of finding his lugger in the offing. As there 
 was now a considerable land-breeze, and the yawl was 
 lightened of so much of her freight, there was little doubt 
 of his being able to effect his purpose, so far as getting out 
 of sight was concerned, at least, long ere the return of light. 
 
 " Pardie, Etooelle?" Raoul exclaimed, after he had given 
 the American, jog the third, " you sleep like a friar who is 
 paid for saying masses at midnight. Come, ami ; now is 
 our time to move, for all is clear outside." 
 
 "Well, natur , they say, is a good workman, Captain 
 Rule," answered Ithuel, gaping and rubbing his eyes; "and 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 369 
 
 never did ahe turn off a prettier hiding-place than this. One 
 sleeps so quietly in it ! Heigho ! I suppose the ash must be 
 kept moving, or we may yet miss our passage back to 
 France. Shove her bows round, Captain Rule ; here is the 
 hole, which is almost as hard to find, as it is to thread a 
 needle with, a cable. A good shove, and she will shoot out 
 into the open water." 
 
 Raoul did as desired. Ithuel touching the tiller, the yawl 
 glided through the opening, and felt the long ground-swell 
 of the glorious Bay. The two adventurers looked about 
 them with some concern, as they issued from their- hiding 
 place, but the obscurity was too deep to bring anything in 
 view on the face of the waters. The flashing that occasion 
 ally illuminated the summit of Vesuvius, resembled heat- 
 lightning, and would have plainly indicated the position of 
 that celebrated mountain, had not its dark outlines been 
 visible, exposing a black mass at the head of the Bay. The 
 ragged mountain-tops, behind and above Castel a Mare, 
 were also to be traced, as was the whole range of the 
 nearer coast, though that opposite was only discoverable 
 by the faint glimmerings of a thousand lights, that were 
 appearing and disappearing, like stars eclipsed, on the other 
 side of the broad sheet of placid water. On the Bay itself 
 little could be discerned ; under the near coast, nothing, the 
 shadows of the rocks obscuring its borders with a wide belt 
 of darkness. 
 
 After looking around them quite a minute in silence, the 
 men dropped their oars, and began to pull from under the 
 point, with the intention of making an offing before they set 
 their little luggs. As they came out, the heavy flap of can 
 vass, quite near, startled their ears, and both turned instinc 
 tively to look ahead. There, indeed, was a vessel, standing 
 directly in, threatening even to cross their very track. She 
 was close on a wind, with her larboard tacks aboard, and 
 had evidently just shaken everything, in the expectation of 
 luffing past the point without tacking. Could she succeed 
 in this, it would be in her power to stand on, until com 
 pelled to go about beneath the very cliff s of the town of 
 Sorrento. This was, in truth, her aim; for again she 
 shook all her sails. 
 
 Peste !" muttered Raoul ; "this is a bold pilot he lovea 
 
370 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 the rocks, as if they were his mistress ! We must lie quiet, 
 Etooelle, and let him pass ; else he may trouble us." 
 
 " Twill be the wisest, Captain Rule; though I do not think 
 him an Englishman. Hark ! The ripple under his bow is 
 like that of a knife going through a ripe water-melon." 
 
 " Mon Feu-Follet !" exclaimed Raoul, rising and actually 
 extending his arms, as if to embrace the beloved craft. 
 " Etooelle, they seek us, for we are much behind our 
 time !" 
 
 The stranger drew near fast ; when his outlines became 
 visible, there was no mistaking them. The two enormous 
 luggs, the little jigger, the hull, almost awash, and the whole 
 of the fairy form, came mistily into view, as the swift bird 
 assumes colour and proportion, while it advances out of tho 
 depth of the void. The vessel was but a hundred yards 
 distant ; in another minute, she would be past. 
 
 " Vive la Republique /" said Raoul, distinctly, though he 
 feared to trust his voice with a loud hail. 
 
 Again the canvass flapped, and the trampling of feet was 
 heard on the lugger s deck ; then she came sweeping into 
 the wind, within fifty feet of the yawl. Raoul watched the 
 movement ; and by the time her way was nearly lost, he 
 was alongside, and had caught a rope. At the next instant, 
 he was on board her. 
 
 Raoul trod the deck of his lugger, again, with the pride 
 of a monarch, as he ascends his throne. Certain of her 
 sailing qualities, and confident of his own skill, this gallant 
 seaman was perfectly indifferent to the circumstance that he 
 was environed by powerful enemies. The wind and the 
 hour were propitious, and no sensation of alarm disturbed 
 the exultation of that happy moment. The explanations 
 thnt passed between him and his first-lieutenant, Pintard, 
 were brief but distinct. Le Feu-Follet had kept off the land, 
 with her sails lowered, a trim in which a vessel of her rig 
 and lowness in the water would not be visible more than five 
 or six miles, until sufficient time had elapsed, when she was 
 taken into the Gulf of Salerno, to look for signals from the- 
 heights of St. Agata. Finding none, she went to sea again, 
 as has been stated, sweeping along the coast, in the hope of 
 falling in with intelligence. Although she could not be seen 
 by her enemies, she saw the three cruisers who w*re on the 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 371 
 
 looK-otit, and great uneasiness prevailed on board, concern 
 ing the fa-tes of the absentees. On the afternoon of thai 
 day, the lugger was carried close in with the north-west side 
 of Ischia, which island she rounded at dusk, seemingly 
 intending to anchor at Baioe, a harbour seldom without allied 
 cruisers. As the wind came off the land, however, she kept 
 away, and passing between Procida and Mysenum, she came 
 out into the Bay of Naples, about three hours before meeting 
 with Raoul, with the intention of examining the whole of the 
 opposite coast, in search of the yawl. She had seen the 
 light at the gaff of the Proserpine, and, at first, supposed it 
 might be a signal from the missing boat. With a view to 
 make sure of it, the lugger had been kept away, until the 
 night-glasses announced a ship ; when she was hauled up on 
 a wind, and had made two or three successive half-boards, 
 to weather the point where her captain lay concealed ; the 
 Marina Grande of Sorrento being one of the places of rendez 
 vous mentioned by our hero, in his last instructions. 
 
 There was a scene- of lively congratulation, and of even 
 pleasing emotion, on the deck of the lugger, when Raoul so 
 unexpectedly appeared.* He had every quality to make 
 himself beloved by his men. Brave, adventurous, active, 
 generous and kind-hearted, his qualities rendered him a 
 favourite to a degree that was not common even among the 
 people of that chivalrous nation. The French mariner will 
 oear familiarity better than his great rival and neighbour, 
 the Englishman ; and it was natural with our hero to be 
 frank and free with all ; whether above him or below him in 
 condition. The temperaments to be brought into subjection 
 were not as rude and intractabfe as those of the Anglo-Saxon ; 
 and the off-hand, dashing character of Raoul was admirably 
 adapted to win both the admiration and the affections of his 
 people. They now thronged about him, without hesitation 
 or reserve, each man anxious to make his good wishes 
 known, his felicitations heard. 
 
 "I have kept you playing about the fire, camarades" 
 said Raoul, affected by the proofs of attachment he received; 
 but, we will now take our revenge. There are English 
 boats in chase of me, at this moment, under the land ; we 
 will try to pick up one or two of them, by way of letting 
 them know there is still such a vessel as le Feu-Foltet." 
 
372 L E FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 An exclamation of pleasure followed ; then an old quarter 
 master, who had actually taught his commander his first 
 lessons in seamanship, shoved through the crowd, and put 
 his questions with a sort of authority. 
 
 " Mon capitaine" he said, " have you been near these 
 English?" 
 
 " Ay, Benoit ; somewhat nearer than I could wish. To 
 own the truth, the reason you have not sooner seen me, was, 
 that I was passing my time on board our old friend, La Pro 
 serpine. Her officers and crew would not lose my company, 
 when they had once begun to enjoy it." 
 
 " Peste ! mon cher capitaine were you a prisoner? 
 
 " Something of that sort, Benoit. At least, they had mo 
 on a grating, with a rope round the neck, and were about 
 to make me swing off, as a spy, when a happy gun or two, 
 from Nelson, up above tkere, at the town, ordered them to 
 let me go below. As I had no taste for such amusements, 
 and wanted to see mon cher Feu-Follet, Etooelle and I got 
 into the yawl, and left them; intending to return and be 
 hanged, when we can find nothing better to do." 
 
 This account required an explanation, which Raoul gave 
 in a very few words, and then the crew were directed to go 
 to their stations, in order that the lugger might be properly 
 worked. The next minute the sails were filled, on the lar 
 board-tack, as before, and le Feu-Follet again drew ahead, 
 standing in for the cliffs. 
 
 " There is a light in motion, near Capri, mon capitaine," 
 observed the first-lieutenant ; " I suppose it to be on board 
 some enemy. They are plenty as gulls, about this bay." 
 
 "You are very right, Monsieur. Tis la Prosperinej 
 she shows the light for her boats.- She is too far to leeward 
 t3 meddle with us, however, and we are pretty certain 
 there is nothing between her and the ships off the town, 
 that can do us any harm. Are all our lights concealed ? 
 Let them be well looked to, monsieur." 
 
 "All safe, mon capitaine. Le Feu-Follet never shows her 
 lantern, until she wishes to lead an enemy into the mire !" 
 
 " Raoul laughed, and pronounced the word " feora" in 
 the emphatic manner peculiar to a Frenchman. Then, as 
 the lugger was drawing swiftly in towards the rocks, he 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET 373 
 
 went on the forecastle himself, to keep a proper look-out 
 ahead ; Ithuel, as usual, standing at his side. 
 
 The piano, or plain, of Sorrento terminates, on the side 
 of the bay, in perpendicular cliffs of tufa, that vary from one 
 to near two hundred feet in height. Those near the tcvvn 
 are among the highest, and are lined with villas, convents, 
 and other dwellings, of which the foundations are frequently 
 placed upon shelves of rock, fifty feet below the adjacent 
 streets. Raoul had been often here, during the short reign of 
 the Rufo faction, and was familiar with most of the coast. 
 He knew that his little lugger might brush against the very 
 rocks, in most places, and was satisfied that if he fell in 
 with the Prosperine s boats at all, it must be quite near the 
 land. As the night wind blew directly down the bay, sigh 
 ing across the campagna between Vesuvius and Castel a 
 Mare, it became necessary to tack off-shore, as soon as le 
 Feu-Follet got close to the cliffs, where the obscurity was 
 greatest, and her proportions and rig were not discernible 
 at any distance. While in the very act of going round, and 
 before the head-sheets were drawn, Raoul was startled by a 
 sudden hail. 
 
 "Felucca, ahoy!" cried one, in English, from a boat 
 that was close on the lugger s bow. 
 
 " Halloo !" answered Ithuel, raising an arm, for all near 
 him to be quiet. 
 
 " What craft s that ?" resumed he in the boat. 
 
 " A felucca sent down by the admiral, to look for the 
 Proserpine not finding her at Capri, we are turning up to 
 the anchorage of the fleet again." 
 
 " Hold on a moment, sir, if you please ; I 11 come on 
 board you. Perhaps, I can help you out of your difficulty ; 
 for I happen to know something of that ship." 
 
 "Ay, ay bear a hand, if you please ; for we want to 
 make the most of this wind while it stands." 
 
 It is singular how easily we are deceived, when the mind 
 commences by taking a wrong direction. Such was now 
 the fact, with him in the boat, for he had imbibed tho 
 notion that he could trace the outlines of a felucca, o. 
 which so many navigate those waters, and the idea that it was 
 the very lugger he had been seeking, never crossed his mind. 
 32 
 
374 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 Acting under the delusion, he was soon alongside, and on 
 k he deck of his enemy. 
 
 " Do you know this gentleman, Etooelle ?" demanded 
 Raoul, who had gone to the gangway to receive his visiter." 
 
 " It is Mr. Clinch, the master s-mate of the accursed Pro 
 serpine ; he who spoke us in the yawl, off the point yon 
 der." 
 
 " How !" exclaimed Clinch, his alarm being sufficiently 
 apparent in his voice ; " have I fallen into the hands of 
 Frenchmen ?" 
 
 " You have, Monsieur," answered Raoul, courteously, "but 
 not into the hands of enemies. This is le Feu-Follet, and 
 I am Raoul Yvard." 
 
 " Then all hope for Jane is gone, for ever ! I have pass 
 ed a happy day, though a busy one, for I did begin to think 
 there was some chance for me. A man cannot see Nelson 
 without pulling up, and wishing to be something like him , 
 but, a prison is no place for promotion." 
 
 " Let us go into my cabin, Monsieur. There we can con 
 verse more at our ease ; and we shall have a light." 
 
 Clinch was in despair ; it mattered not to him, whither 
 he was taken. In the cabin he sat the picture of a helpless 
 man, and a bottle of brandy happening to stand on the table, 
 he eyed it with something like the ferocity with which the 
 hungry wolf may be supposed to gaze at the lamb ere he 
 leaps the fold. 
 
 "Is this the gentleman you mean, Etooelle?" demanded 
 Raoul, when the cabin-lamp shone on the prisoner s face ; 
 " he who was so much rejoiced to hear that his enemy was 
 not hanged ?" 
 
 " Tis the same, Captain Rule ; in the main, he is a good- 
 natured officer one that does more harm to himself than 
 to any one else. They said, in the ship, that he went up to 
 Naples to do you some good turn or other." 
 
 * Bon ! You have been long in your boat, Mr. Clinch 
 we will give you a warm supper and a glass of wine 
 after which, you are at liberty to seek your frigate, and to re 
 turn to your own flag." 
 
 Clinch stared as if he did not, or could not, believe what 
 he heard then the truth flashed on his mind, and he burst 
 into tears. Throughout that day his feelings had been in 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 375 
 
 extremes, hope once more opening a long vista of happiness 
 for the future, through the renewed confidence and advice of his 
 captain. Thus far he had done well, and it was by striving 
 to do still better that he had fallen into the hands of the enemy. 
 For a single moment the beautiful fabric which revived hopes 
 had been industriously weaving throughout the day, was 
 torn into tatters. The kindness of Raoul s manner, how 
 ever, his words, and the explanations of Ithuel, removed a 
 mountain from his breast, and he became quite unmanned. 
 There is none so debased as not to retain glimmerings of 
 the bright spirit that is associated with the grosser particles 
 of their material nature. Clinch had in him the living con 
 sciousness that he was capable of better things, and he en> 
 dured moments of deep anguish, as the image of the patient, 
 self-devoting, and constant Jane rose before his mind s eye 
 to reproach him with his weaknesses. 
 
 It is true that she never made these reproaches in terms ; 
 so far from that, she would not even believe the slanders of 
 those she mistook for his enemies ; but Clinch could not 
 always quiet the spirit within him, and he often felt degrad 
 ed as he remembered with how much more firmness Jane 
 supported the load of hope deferred, than he did himself. 
 The recent interview with Cuffe had aroused all that was 
 left of ambition and self-respect, and he had left the ship 
 that morning with a full and manly determination to reform, 
 and to make one continued and persevering effort to obtain 
 a commission, and with it Jane. Then followed capture 
 and the moment of deep despair. But Raoul s generosity 
 removed the load, and again the prospect brightened. 
 
376 LE FEU-FOLLET 
 
 CHAPTEK XXYL 
 
 * Oh ! many a dream was in the ship 
 An hour before her death ; 
 And sight of home, with sighs disturb d 
 The sleeper s long-drawn breath." 
 
 WILSON. 
 
 RAOUL soon decided on his course. While he was con 
 soling Clinch, orders had been sent to Pintard to look for 
 the other gig; but a few minutes search, under the cliffs, 
 satisfied those on deck that she was not to be found ; and the 
 fact was so reported below. Nor could all IthuePs ingenuity 
 extract from the captured boat s crew, any available infor 
 mation on the subject. There was an esprit de corps among 
 the Proserpines, as between their own ship and le Feu-Follet, 
 which would have withstood, on an occasion like this, both 
 threats and bribes ; and he of the Granite state was compelled 
 to give the matter up as hopeless ; though, in so doing, he 
 did not fail to ascribe the refusal to betray their shipmates, 
 on the part of these men, to English obstinacy, rather than 
 to any creditable feeling. The disposition to impute the 
 worst, to those he hated, however, was not peculiar to Ithuel 
 or his country ; it being pretty certain he would have fared 
 no better on board the English frigate, under circumstances 
 at all analogous. 
 
 Satisfied, at length, that the other boat had escaped him, 
 and feeling the necessity of getting out of the Bay while it 
 was still dark, Raoul reluctantly gave the order to bear up, 
 and put the lugger dead before the wind, wing-and-wing. 
 By the time this was done, the light craft had turned so far 
 to windward, as to be under the noble rocks that separate the 
 piano of Sorrento from the shores of Vico ; a bold promon 
 tory, that buttresses the sea, with a wall of near or quite a 
 thousand feet in perpendicular height. Here she felt the 
 full force of the land-wind; and when her helm was put up, 
 and her sheets eased off, a bird turning on the wing would 
 not have come round more gracefully, and scarcely with 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 377 
 
 greater velocity. The course now lay from point to point, 
 in order to avoid being becalmed within the indentations of 
 the coast. This carried the lugger athwart the cove of Sor 
 rento, rather than into it, and, of course, left Yelverton, who 
 had landed at the smaller marina, quite out of the line of her 
 course. 
 
 So swift was the progress of the little craft, that within 
 iifteen minutes after bearing up, Raoul and Ithuel, who again 
 occupied their stations on the forecastle, saw the head-land 
 where they had so lately been concealed, and ordered the 
 helm a-port. in order to sheer out and give it a berth. Then 
 rock was passed after rock, cove after cove, and village after 
 village, until the entrance between Capri and Campaneiia; 
 was again reached. In sweeping down the shore, in this 
 manner, the intention was to pick up any boat that might hap 
 pen to be in the lugger s track; for, while Raoul was disposed 
 to let his prisoner go, lie had a strong desire to seize any other 
 officers of the frigate that might fall in his way. The search 
 was ineffectual, however ; and when the lugger came out 
 into the open sea, all expectation of further success, of this 
 nature, was reluctantly abandoned. 
 
 As le Feu-Follet was now in dangerous proximity to three 
 cruisers of the enemy, the moment was one that called for 
 decision. Fortunately, the positions of tile English vessels 
 were known to Raoul, a circumstance that lessened the 
 danger, certainly; but it would not do to continue long 
 within a league of their anchorage, with the risk of the land 
 breezes failing. As yet the darkness, and the shadows of 
 the land, concealed the privateer, and her commander deter 
 mined, if not literally to make hay while the sun shone, 
 at least to profit by its absence. With this view, then, he 
 ordered the lugger hove-to, the boat of Clinch hauled to the 
 lee gangway, and the prisoners to be all brought on deck ; 
 the common men, in the waist, and the rnaster s-rnate, aft. 
 
 " Here I must lose the pleasure of your company, Mon 
 sieur Clinch," said Raoul, with a cou/tesy that may almost 
 be termed national. " We are quite as near votre belle 
 Proserpine as is safe, and / long for noire belle France. 
 The wind is fair to take us off the coast, and two hours will 
 carry us out of sight, even were it noon-day. You will have 
 the complaisance to make my duty to Monsieur Cuffe oui- 
 32* 
 
378 LE FEU-POLLET. 
 
 par die ! and to ces braves Italiens, who are so much ze 
 amis of Sir Smees ! Touchez-la" 
 
 Raoul laughed, for his heart was light, and sundry droll 
 conceits danced through his brain. As for Clinch, the whole 
 was Greek to him, with the exception that he understood it 
 was the intention of the French to take their vessel off the 
 coast, a circumstance that he was not sorry to learn, though 
 he would have given so much, a few hours earlier, to have 
 known where to find her. Raoul s generosity had worked 
 a revolution in his feelings, however, and nothing was far 
 ther from his wishes, now, than to be employed against the 
 celebrated privateersman. Still, he had a duty to perform 
 to the service of which he was a member, another to Jane, 
 and a last to himself. 
 
 "Captain Yvard," said the master s-mate, taking the 
 Dther s offered hand, " I shall never forget this kindness on 
 your part ; it comes at a most fortunate moment for me. 
 My happiness in this world, and perhaps in the world to 
 come," an ejaculation of" bah !" involuntarily escaped the 
 listener " depended on my being at liberty. I hold it to 
 be fair, however, to tell you the whole truth. I must do all 
 I can to capture or destroy this very lugger, as well as any 
 other of the king s enemies, as soon as I am my own master 
 again." 
 
 " Bon ! I like your frankness, Monsieur Clinch, as 
 much as I like your humanity. I always look for a brave 
 enemy when un Anglais comes against me ; if you are ever 
 in the number, I shall expect nothing worse." 
 
 " It will be my duty, Captain Yvard, to report to Captain 
 Cuffe, where I found the Folly, where I left her, and where 
 I think she is steering ! Even your armament, crew, and 
 all such little particulars, I shall be questioned on ; I must 
 answer honestly." 
 
 " Mon cher, you are * honest fellow, as you Anglais say. 
 I wish it was noon-day, that you might better see our deck 
 Le Feu Follet is not ugly, that she should wish to wear a 
 veil. Tell everything, Clinch, mon brave ; if Monsieur 
 Cuffe wish to send another party against our lugger, come 
 in the first boat en personne. We shall always be happy to 
 see Monsieur Clinch. As for where we steer, you see our 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 379 
 
 head is toward la belle France ; and there is plenty of room 
 for a long chase. Adieu, mon ami au revoir." 
 
 Clinch now shook hands, heartily, with all the officers ; 
 again expressed his sense of the liberality with which ho 
 was treated, and this, too, with emotion ; then he followed 
 his people into the boat, and pulled away from the lugger s 
 side, holding his course toward the light which was still 
 burning on board the Proserpine. At the same time le Feu- 
 Follet filled, and soon disappeared from his eyes, in the 
 darkness, running off, wing-and-wing, and steering west, as 
 if really making the best of her way towards the Straits of 
 Bonifacio, on her road to France. 
 
 But, in fact, Raoul had no such intention. His cruise 
 was not up, and his present position, surrounded as he was 
 with enemies, was full of attraction to one of his temperament. 
 Only the day before he appeared in the disguise of a lazza- 
 rone, he had captured, manned, and sent to Marseilles a 
 valuable store-ship ; and he knew that another was hourly 
 expected in the bay. This was an excuse to his people for 
 remaining where they were. But the excitement of con 
 stantly running the gauntlet, the pleasure of demonstrating 
 the superior sailing of his lugger, the opportunities for dis 
 tinction, and every other professional motive, was trifling, as 
 compared with the tie which bound him to, the feeling that 
 unceasingly attracted him towards Ghita. With his love, 
 also, there began to mingle a sensation approaching to 
 despair. While Ghita was so gentle, and even tender, with 
 him, he had ever found her consistent, and singularly firm 
 in her principles. In their recent dialogues, some that we 
 have forborne to relate on account of their peculiar charac 
 ter, Ghita had expressed her reluctance to trust her fate with 
 one whose God was not her God, with a distinctness and 
 force that left no doubt of the seriousness of her views, or 
 of her ability to sustain them in acts. What rendered her 
 resolution more impressive, was the ingenuous manner 
 with which she never hesitated to admit Raoul s power over 
 her affections, leaving no pretext for the common-place sup 
 position that the girl was acting. The conversation of that 
 night, weighed heavily on the heart of the lover, and he could 
 not summon sufficient resolution to part perhaps for 
 months with such an apparent breach between him and 
 his hopes. 
 
380 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 As soon as it was known, therefore, that the lugger was 
 far enough at sea, to be out of sight from the boat of Clinch, 
 she came by the wind on the larboard tack, again, heading 
 up towards the celebrated ruins of Pcestum, on the eastern 
 shore of the Bay of Salerno. To one accustomed to the 
 sea, there would not have seemed sufficient wind to urge 
 even that light craft along, at the rate with which she glided 
 through the water. But the land breeze was charged with 
 the damps of midnight; the canvass was thickened from the 
 same cause ; and the propelling power had nearly double its 
 apparent force. In an hour after hauling up, le Feu-Follet 
 tacked, quite eight miles .distant from the spot where she 
 altered her direction, and far enough to windward to lay her 
 course in, directly for the cliffs beneath the village of St. 
 Agata ; or the present residence of Ghita. In proceeding 
 thus, Raoul had a double intention before him. English 
 ships were constantly passing between Sicily, Malta, and 
 Naples ; and, as those bound north would naturally draw in 
 with the land at this point, his position might enable him to 
 strike a sudden blow, with the return of day, should any 
 suitable vessel be in the offing next morning. Then he hoped 
 for a signal from Ghita, at least and such things were very 
 dear to his heart ; or, possibly, anxiety and affection might 
 bring her down to the water-side, when another interview 
 would be possible. This was the \veakness of passion ; and 
 Raoul submitted to its power, like feebler-minded and less 
 resolute men ; the hero becoming little better than the vulgar 
 herd, under its influence. 
 
 The two or three last days and nights had been hours of 
 extreme anxiety and care to the officers and crew of the 
 lugger, as well as to their commander, and all on board 
 began to feel the necessity of sleep. As for Ithuel, he had 
 been in his hammock an hour ; and Raoul now thought 
 seriously of following his example. Giving his instructions 
 to the young lieutenant who was in charge of the deck, our 
 hero went below, and, in a few minutes, he was also lost to 
 present hopes and fears. 
 
 Everything seemed propitious to the lugger, and the inten 
 tions of her commander. The wind went down, gradually, 
 until there was little more than air enough to keep steerage- 
 way on the vessel, while the ripple on the water disappeared, 
 
 
LE FEU-POLLET. 381 
 
 leaving nothing behind it but the long, heavy, ground-swell, 
 that always stirs the bosom of the ocean, like the heaving 
 respiration of some gigantic animal. The morning grew 
 darker, but the surface of the gulf was glassy and tranquil, 
 leaving no immediate motive for watchfulness, or care. 
 
 These ore the lethargic moments of a seaman s life. Days 
 of toil bring nights of drowsiness ; and the repose of nature 
 presents a constant temptation to imitate her example. The 
 reaction of excitement destroys the disposition to indulge in 
 the song, the jest, or the tale ; and the mind, like the body, 
 is disposed to rest from its labours. Even the murmuring 
 wash of the water, as it rises and falls against the vessel s 
 sides, sounds like a lullaby, and sleep seems to be the one 
 great blessing of existence. Under such circumstances, 
 therefore, it is not surprising that the watch on the deck of 
 the lugger, indulged this necessary want. It is permitted to 
 the common men to doze at such moments, while a few are 
 on the alert ; but, even duty, in the absence of necessity, 
 feels its task to be irksome, and difficult of performance. 
 Look-out after look-out lowered his head ; the young man 
 who was seated on the arm-chest aft began to lose his con 
 sciousness of present things, in dreamy recollections of Pro 
 vence, his home, and the girl of his youthful admiration. 
 The seaman at the helm alone kept his eyes open, and all 
 his faculties on the alert. This is a station in which vigi 
 lance is ever required ; and it sometimes happens, in vessels 
 where the rigid discipline of a regular service does not exist, 
 that others rely so much on the circumstance, that they for 
 get their own duties, in depending on the due discharge of 
 his, by the man at the wheel. 
 
 Such, to a certain degree, was now the fact on board le 
 Feu-Follet. One of the best seamen in the lugger was at 
 the helm, and each individual felt satisfied that no shift of 
 wind could occur, no change of sails become necessary, that 
 Antoine would not be there to admonish them of the circum 
 stance. One day was so much like another, too, in that 
 tranquil season of the year, and in that luxurious sea, that 
 all on board knew the regular mutations that the hours pro 
 duced. The southerly air in the morning ; the zephyr in 
 the afternoon ; and the land wind at night, were as much 
 matters of course, as the rising and setting of the sun. No 
 
382 LE PEU-FOLLET. 
 
 one felt apprehension, while alt submitted to the influence 
 of a want of rest, and of the drowsiness of the climate. 
 
 Not so with Antoine. His hairs were grey. Sleep was 
 no longer so necessary to him. He had much pride of 
 calling, too; was long experienced, and possessed senses 
 sharpened and rendered critical by practice, and many dan 
 gers. Time and again, did he turn his eyes towards Cam- 
 panel la, to ascertain if any signs of the enemy were in sight ; 
 the obscurity prevented anything from being visible, but the 
 dark outline of the high and rock-bound coast. Then he 
 glanced his eyes over the deck, and felt how completely 
 everything depended on his own vigilance and faithfulness. 
 The look at the sails and to windward brought no cause for 
 uneasiness, however, and presuming on his isolation, he 
 began to sing, in suppressed tones, an air of the Troubadours ; 
 one that he had learned in childhood, in his native langue 
 du midi. Thus passed the minutes, until Antoine saw the 
 first glimmerings of morning, peeping out of the darkness, 
 that came above the mountain-tops, that lay in. the vicinity 
 of Eboli. Antoine felt solitary ; he was not sorry to greet 
 these symptoms of a return to the animation and communion 
 of a new day. 
 
 " Hist ! mon lieutenant!" whispered the old mariner, un 
 willing to expose the drowsiness of his young superior to the 
 gaze of the common men ; " mon lieutenant tis I, Antoine." 
 
 " Eh ! bah ! Oh, Antoine est-ce-que toi 1 Bon what 
 would you have, mon ami." 
 
 " I hear the surf, I think, mon lievtenant. Listen is not 
 that the water striking on the rocks of the shore ?" 
 
 " Jamais ! You see the land is a mile from us ; this coast 
 has no shoals. The captain told us to stand close in, before 
 we hove-to, or called him. Pardie ! Antoine, how the 
 little witch has travelled in my watch ! Here we are, within 
 a musket s range from the heights, yet there has been -no 
 wind. ? 
 
 " Pardon, won lieutenant I do not like that sound of 
 the surf; it is too near for tho shore. Will you have the 
 kindnoss to step on the forecastle and look ahead, monsieur? 
 the light is beginning to be of use." 
 
 The young man yawned, stretched his arms, and walked 
 forward ; the first to indulge himself, the first, also, to relieve 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 383 
 
 the uneasiness of an old shipmate, whose experience ho 
 respected. Still his step was not as quick as common, and 
 it was near a minute ere he reached the bows, or before he 
 gained the knight-heads. But his form was no sooner visible 
 there, than he waved his arms frantically, and shouted in a 
 voice that reached the recesses of the vessel 
 
 " Hard up hard up with the helm, Antoine ease off 
 the sheets, mes enfans /" 
 
 Le Feu-Follet rose on a heavy ground-swell, at thai 
 moment ; in the next she settled down with a shock resem 
 bling that which we experience when we leap and alight 
 sooner than was expected ; there she lay cradled in a bed of- 
 rocks, as immoveable as one of the stones around her ; 
 stones that had mocked the billows of the Mediterranean, 
 within the known annals of man, more than three thousand 
 years. In a word, the lugger had struck on one of those 
 celebrated islets, under the heights of St. Agata, known as 
 the Islands of the Sirens, and which are believed to have 
 been commemorated by the oldest of all the. living profane 
 writers, Homer himself. The blow was hardly given, before 
 Raoul appeared on deck. The vessel gave up all that had 
 life in her, and she was, at once, a scene of alarm, activity, 
 and exertion. 
 
 It is at such a moment as this, that the most useful quali 
 ties of a naval captain render themselves apparent. Of all 
 around him, Raoul was the calmest, the most collected, and 
 the best qualified to issue the orders that had become neces 
 sary. He made no exclamations uttered not a word of 
 reproach cast not even a glance of disapprobation on any 
 near him. The mischief was done ; the one thing needful 
 was to repair it, if possible, leaving to the future the cares 
 of discipline and the distribution of rewards and punishments. 
 
 " She is as fast anchored as a cathedral, mon lieutenant," 
 he quietly observed to the very officer through whose remiss- 
 ness the accident had occurred ; " I see no use in these sails. 
 Take them in, at once; they may set her further on the 
 rocks, should she happen to lift." 
 
 The young man obeyed ; every nerve in his body agitated 
 by the sense of delinquency. Then he walked aft, cast one 
 look around him at the desperate condition of the lugger, 
 and, with the impetuosity of character that belongs to his 
 
G84 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 country, he plunged into the sea, from which his body never 
 re-appeared. The melancholy suicide was immediately re 
 ported to Raoul. 
 
 " Bon was the answer. " Had he done it an hour ear 
 Her, le Feu-Follet would not have been set up on these rocks, 
 like a vessel in a ship-yard mais, mes enfans, courage ! 
 We ll yet see if our beautiful lugger cannot be saved." 
 
 If there were stoicism and bitterness in this answer, there 
 was not deliberate cruelty. Raoul loved his lugger, next to 
 Ghita, before all things on earth, and, in his eyes, the fault 
 of wrecking her in a calm, was to be classed among the 
 unpardonable sins. Still, it was by no means a rare occur 
 rence. Ships, like men, are often cast away by an excess 
 of confidence ; and our own coast, one of the safest in the 
 known world for the prudent mariner to approach, on ac 
 count of the regularity of its soundings, has many a tale to 
 tell of disasters similar to this, which have occurred, simply 
 because no signs of danger were apparent. Our hero would 
 not have excused himself for such negligence, and that which 
 self-love will not induce us to pardon, will hardly be con 
 ceded to philanthropy. 
 
 The pumps were sounded, and it was ascertained that the 
 lugger had come down so easily into her bed, and lay there 
 with so little straining of her seams, that she continued tight 
 as a bottle. This left all the hope which circumstances 
 would allow, of still saving the vessel. Raoul neglected no 
 useful precaution. By this time the light was strong enough 
 to enable him to see a felucca coming slowly down from 
 Salerno, before the wind, or all that was still left of the night 
 air, and he despatched Ithuel with an armed boat to seize 
 her, and bring her alongside of the rocks. He took this 
 course with the double purpose of using the prize, if prac 
 ticable, in getting his own vessel off, or, in the last resort, 
 of making his own escape, and that of his people, in her 
 to France. He did not condescend to explain his motives, 
 however; nor did anyone presume to inquire into them. 
 Raoul was now strictly a commander, .acting in a desperate 
 emergency. Fie even succeeded in suppressing the consti 
 tutional volubility of his countrymen, and in substituting for 
 it the deep, attentive silence of thorough discipline; one of 
 the great causes of his own unusual success in maritime 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 385 
 
 enterprises. To the want of this very silence and attention 
 may be ascribed so many of those naval disasters which 
 have undeniably befallen a people of singular enterprise and 
 courage. Those who wish them well, will be glad to learn 
 that the evil has been, in a great measure, repaired. 
 
 As soon as the boat was sent to seize the felucca, the 
 yawl was put into the water, and Raoul, himself, began to 
 sound around the lugger. The rocks of the Sirens, as the 
 islets are called to this day, are sufficiently elevated above 
 the surface of the sea to be visible at some distance ; though, 
 lying in a line with the coast, it would not have been easy 
 for the look-outs of le Feu-Follet to discern them at the hour 
 when she struck, ever had they been on the alert. The 
 increasing light, however, enabled the French fully to as 
 certain their position, and to learn the extent of the evil. 
 The lugger had been lifted into a crevice between two of the 
 rocks, by a ground-swell heavier than common ; and though 
 there was deep water all round her, it would be impossible 
 to get her afloat again without lightening. So long as the 
 wind did not blow, and the sea did not rise, she was safe 
 enough; but a swell that should force the hull to rise and 
 fall, would inevitably cause her to bilge. These facts were 
 learned in five minutes after the yawl was in the water, and 
 much did Raoul rejoice at having so promptly sent Ithuel in 
 quest of the felucca. The rocks were next reconnoitred, in 
 order to ascertain what facilities they offered to favour the 
 discharging of the vessel s stores. Some of them were high 
 enough to protect articles from the wash of the water, but it is 
 at all times difficult to lie alongside of rocks that are ex 
 posed to the open sea ; the heaving and setting of the ele 
 ment, even in cairns, causing the elevation of its sur&tee so 
 much to vary. On the present occasion, however, the 
 French found less swell than common, and that it was pos^ 
 yible to get their stores ashore at two or three different 
 points. 
 
 Raoul now directed the work to commence in earnest. 
 The lugger carried four boats; viz a launch, a cutter, the 
 yowl, and a jolly-boat. The second had been sent after the 
 felucca, with a strong crew in her; but the three others 
 were employed in discharging stores. Raoul perceived at 
 mice that the moment was not one for half-way measures, 
 33 
 
386 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 and that large sacrifices must be made, to save the hull of 
 the vessel. This, and the safety of his crew, were the two 
 great objects he kept before him. Ail his measures were 
 directed to that end. The water was started, in the lug 
 ger s hold, by staving the casks, and the pumps were set in 
 motion, as soon as possible. Provisions, of all sorts, were 
 cast into the sea, for le Feu-Follet had recently supplied 
 Herself, from a prize, and was a little deeper than her best 
 Jrim allowed. In short, everything that could be spared, was 
 thrown overboard, barely a sufficiency of food and water 
 being retained, to last the people, until they could reach 
 Corcica ; whither it was their captain s intention to proceed, 
 the moment he got his vessel afloat. 
 
 The Mediterranean has no regular tides, though the water 
 rises and falls materially, at irregular intervals ; either the 
 effect of gales, or of the influence of the adjacent seas. This 
 circumstance prevented the calamity of having gone ashore, 
 at high water, while it also prevented the mariners from 
 profiting by any flood. It left them, as they had been placed 
 by the accident, itself, mainly dependent on their own exer-, 
 tions. 
 
 Under such circumstances, then, our hero set about the 
 discharge of his responsible duties. An hour of active toil, 
 well directed, and perseveringly continued, wrought a material 
 change. The vessel was small, while the number of hands 
 was relatively large. At the end of the time mentioned, the 
 officer charged with the duty, reported that the hull moved 
 under the power of the heaving sea, and that it might soon 
 be expected to strike, with a force to endanger its planks 
 and ribs. This was the sign to cease discharging, and to 
 complete the preparations that had been making:, for heav 
 ing the lugger off; it being unsafe to delay that process, 
 after the weight was sufficiently lessened, to allow it. The 
 launch had carried out an anchor, and was already return 
 ing towards the rocks, paying out cable, as it came in. 
 But the depth of the water rendered this an anxious service, 
 since there was the danger of dragging the ground-tackle 
 home, as it is termed, on account of the angle at which it 
 lay. 
 
 At this moment, with the exception of the difficulty last 
 named, everything seemed propitious. The wind had gono 
 
LE FE FOLLET. 387 
 
 down entirely, the southerly air having lasted but a short 
 time, and no other succeeding it. The sea was, certainly, 
 not more disturbed than it had been all the morning, which 
 was at its minimum of motion, while the day promised to 
 b e cairn and clear. Nothing was in sight but the felucca, 
 and she was not only in Ithucl s possession, but she had 
 drawn within half-a-milc of the rocks, and was sweeping 
 still nearer at each instant. In ten minutes she must come 
 alongside. Raoul had ascertained that there was water 
 enough, where le Feu-Follet lay, to permit a vessel like his 
 prize, to touch her; and many things lay on deck, in readi 
 ness to be transferred to this tender, previously to beginning 
 to heave. The rocks, too, were well garnished with casks, 
 cordage, shot, ballast, and such other articles as could be 
 come at the armament and amunition excepted. These 
 last our hero always treated with religious care, for, in all 
 he did, there was a latent determination resolutely to defend 
 himself. But, there were no signs of any such necessity s 
 being likely to occur, and the officers began to flatter them 
 selves, with their ability to get their lugger afloat, nnd in 
 sailing trim, before the usual afternoon s breeze should set 
 in. In waiting, therefore, for the arrival of the felucca, 
 and, in order that the work might meet with no interrup 
 tion, when the men once began to heave, the people were 
 ordered to get their breakfasts. 
 
 This pause in the proceedings gave Raoul an opportunity 
 to look about him, and to reflect. Twenty times did he 
 turn his eyes, anxiously, towards the heights of St. Agata, 
 where there existed subjects equally of attraction and appre 
 hension. It is scarcely necessary to say that the first was 
 GhiUi; while the last arose from the fear that some curious 
 eye might recognise the lugger, and report her condition to 
 the enemies known to be lying at Capri; only a league or 
 two on the other side of the hills. But all was seemingly 
 tranquil there, at that early hour; and the lugger making 
 very little show when her canvass was not spread, there was 
 reason to hope that the accident was as yet unseen. The 
 uppionch of the felucca would probably betray it; though 
 the precaution had been taken to order Ithuel to show no 
 of national character. 
 
388 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 Raoul Yvard was a very different man, at this moment 
 of leisure and idleness, from what he had been a few hours 
 earlier. Then he trod the deck of his little cruiser with some 
 such feelings as the man who exults in his strength, and 
 rejoices in his youth. Now he felt as all are apt to feel 
 who are rebuked by misfortunes and disease. Nevertheless, 
 his character had lost none of its high chivalry; and even 
 there, as he sat on the taffrail of the stranded Feu-Follet, he 
 meditated carrying some stout Englishman by surprise and 
 boarding, in the event of his not succeeding in getting off 
 the lugger. The felucca would greatly aid such an enter 
 prise ; and his crew was strong enough, as well as suffi 
 ciently trained, to promise success. 
 
 Pn such an expedient, even, was he ruminating, as Ithuel, 
 in obedience to an order given through the trumpet, brought 
 his prize alongside, and secured her to the lugger. The men 
 who had accompanied the American were now dismissed to 
 their morning s meal, while Raoul invited their leader to 
 share his frugal repast, where he sat. As the two broke 
 their fasts, questions were put and answered, concerning what 
 had occurred, during the hour or two the parties had been 
 separated. Raoul s tale was soon told ; but the other learned 
 with concern, that the crew of the felucca had taken to their 
 boat, and escaped to the landing of the Scaricatqjo, on find 
 ing that the capture of their vessel was inevitable. This 
 proved that the character of the wreck was known, and left 
 but little hope that their situation would not be reported to 
 the English, in the course of the morning. 
 
LE FEU-FOLLBT. 389 
 
 CHAPTER XXYII. 
 
 " Cut now lead on ; 
 
 In me is no delay ; with thee to go, 
 Is to stay here ; with thee here to stay, 
 Is to go hence unwilling; thou to me 
 Art all things under heav n, all places thou." 
 
 MILTON. 
 
 THE intelligence communicated by Ithuel essentially 
 altered Raoul s views of his actual situation. An active man 
 might go from the Marinella, at the foot of the Scaricatojo, 
 or Uie place where the crew of the felucca had landed, to 
 the Marina Grande of Sorrento, in an hour. At the latter 
 beach, boats were always to be found, and two hours 
 more would carry the messenger, by water, to the ships off 
 Capri, even in a calm. The first of these important hours 
 had now elapsed some time; and he could not doubt that 
 vigorous arms were already employed in pulling across the 
 few leagues of water that separated the island from the shores 
 of Sorrento. The day was calm, it is true ; and it would be 
 impossible to move the ships ; but two frigates and a heavy 
 sloop-of-war, might send such a force against him in boats, 
 as, in his present situation, would render resistance next to 
 hopeless. 
 
 Raoul ceased eating, and, standing on the taffrail, he cast 
 anxious looks .around him. His sturdy followers, ignorant 
 of all the dangers by which they were environed, were con 
 suming their morning s meal, with the characteristic indif 
 ference to danger that marks the ordinary conduct of sea 
 men. Even Ithuel, usually so sensitive on the subject of 
 English power, and who had really so much to apprehend, 
 should he again fall into the hands of the Proserpincs, was 
 masticating his food, with the keen relish of a man who had 
 been hard at work the whole morning. All appeared uncon 
 scious of their critical condition; and to Raoul it seemed as 
 if the entire responsibility rested on his own shoulders. 
 Fortunately, he was not a man to shrink from his present 
 duties ; and he occupied the only leisure moment that would 
 33* 
 
390 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 he likely to offer that day, in deliberating on his resources, 
 and in maturing his plans. 
 
 The armament still remained in the lugger, but it was 
 doubtful if she would float without removing it; and, admit 
 ting this necessity, the question arose of, what was to bo 
 clone with it, in order to render it. available, in the event of 
 an attack. Two, or even four of the light guns might be 
 worked on the decks of the felucca; and here he determined 
 they should be immediately placed, with a proper supply of 
 cartridges and shot. Twenty men thrown into that light 
 craft, which Ithuel reported as sailing and sweeping well, 
 might prove of the last importance. Then one of the islets 
 had a ruin on it, of what was believed to be an ancient 
 temple. It is true, these ruins were insignificant, and 
 scarcely visible at any distance ; but, on a close examina 
 tion, and by using some of the displaced stones with judg 
 ment, it was possible to entrench a party behind them, and 
 make a stout resistance against light missiles ; or such as 
 boats would most probably use. Raoul got into the yawl, 
 and sculled himself to this spot, examining the capabilities 
 with care and judgment. After this, his mode of proceeding 
 was matured to his own satisfaction. 
 
 The usual time had been consumed, and the hands were 
 " turned to ;" each officer receiving the orders necessary to 
 the discharge of the duty confided to his particular superin 
 tendence. As Ithuel had captured the felucca, Raoul felt it 
 right to intrust him with the command of the prize. He was 
 directed to take on board the armament and ammunition 
 necessary to a defence, to mount the guns in the best manner 
 he could, and to make all the other fighting preparations; 
 while another gang struck into the felucca s hold, such arti 
 cles from the lugger, as it was desirable to save. 
 
 Another party, under the first-lieutenant, landed the re 
 mainder of the light carronades, pieces of twelve pounds 
 only, with the proper stores, and commenced the arrange 
 ments to place them in battery among the ruins. A small 
 supply of food and water was also transferred to this islet. 
 
 While these dispositions were in progress, Raoul himself, 
 assisted by his sailing-master, prepared to heave the lugger 
 off the rocks. To this, at present the most important duty, 
 our hero gave his personal inspection ; for it required skill 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 391 
 
 judgment, and caution. The physical force of the crew 
 was reserved to aid m the attempt. At length everything 
 was ready, and the instant had arrived when the momen 
 tous trial was to be made. The lugger had now been ashore 
 quite four hours, and the sun had been up fully three. By 
 this time, Raoul calculated that the English, at Capri, knew 
 of his misfortune, and little leisure remained in which to do 
 a vast deal of work. The hands were all summoned to the 
 bars, therefore, and the toil of heaving commenced. 
 
 As soon as the cable got the strain, Raoui felt satisfied 
 that the anchor would hold. Fortunately, a fluke had taken 
 a rock, a circumstance that could be known only by the 
 result ; but, so long as the iron held together, there was no 
 danger of that material agent s failing them. The last part 
 of the process of lightening was now performed as rapidly 
 as possible, and then came the trial-heave at the bars. 
 Every effort was fruitless, however, inch being gained after 
 inch, until it seemed as if the hemp of the cable were ex 
 tending its minutest fibres, without the hull s moving any 
 more than the rocks on which it lay. Even the boys were 
 called to the bars; but the united force of all hands, the 
 officers included, produced no change. There was an in 
 stant when Raoul fancied his best course would be to set fire 
 to the hulk, get on board the felucca, and sweep off to the 
 southward, in season to avoid the expected visit from the 
 English. He even called his officers together, and laid the 
 proposition before them. But the project was too feebly 
 urged, and it met with too little response in the breasts of 
 his auditors to be successful. The idea of abandoning that 
 beautiful and faultless little craft, was too painful, while 
 the remotest hope of preserving it remained. 
 
 Raoul had measured his hours with the accuracy of a 
 prudent general. It was now almost time for the English 
 boats to appear, and he began to hope that the Neapolftana 
 had made the great mistake of sending their information to 
 the fleet off Naples, rather than carrying it to the ships at 
 Capri. Should it prove so, he had still the day before him, 
 and might retire under cover of the night. At all events, 
 the lugger could not be abandoned without an enemy in 
 sight, and the people were again called to the bars for a re 
 newed effort. As water might be obtained at a hundred 
 
302 LE FEU-FOLI*ET. 
 
 points on the coast, and the distance to Corsica was so smallj 
 the last gallon had been started and pumped out, during the 
 recent pause. 
 
 Our hero felt that this was the final effort. The hold 
 of le Feu-Follet was literally empty, and all her spare spars 
 were floating among the rocks. If she could not be started 
 now, he did not possess the means to get her off. The an 
 chor held ; the cable, though stretched to the utmost, stood, 
 and every creature, but himself, was at the bars. The 
 ground-swell had been lessening all the morning, and little 
 aid was now to be had from the rising of the water. Still 
 that little must be obtained ; without it, the task seemed hop" 
 less. 
 
 " Get ready, men," cried Raoul, as he paced the taffrail ; 
 " and heave at the word. We will wait for a swell, theo 
 strain every nerve till something part. Pas encore, mes 
 enfans pas encore! Stand by! Yonder comes a fellow 
 who will lift us heave a strain heave harder heave, 
 body and soul ! heave, altogether !" 
 
 The men obeyed. First they hove a gentle strain ; then 
 the effort was increased, and, obedient to the order, just as 
 the ground-swell rolled under the lugger s bottom, they 
 threw out their utmost strength, and the hull started for the 
 first tim^. This was encouraging, though the movement 
 diri not exceed six inches. It was a decided movement, and 
 was made in the right direction. This success nerved the 
 people to an increased effort. It was probable that, at the 
 next strain, they would throw a tenth more impetus into 
 their muscles. Of all this, Raoul was aware, and he deter- 
 mined not to let the feeling flag. 
 
 " Encore, mes enfans /" he said. " Heave, and get ready ! 
 Be watchful now s your time ! Heave, and rip the planks 
 off the lugger s bottom heave, men, heave !" 
 
 This time, the effort answered to the emergency ; the 
 swell rolled in, the men threw out their strength, a surge 
 was felt, it was followed up by a strain, and le Feu-Follet 
 shot off her bed into deep water, rolling, for want of ballast. 
 nearly to her hammock-cloths. She soon lay directly over 
 her anchor. 
 
 Here was success ! Triumphant success ; and that, at a 
 moment when the most sanguine had begun to dnspair. 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 3 >3 
 
 The men embraced each other, showing a hundred mani 
 festations of extravagant joy. The tears came to RaouPs 
 eyes ; but he had no opportunity of concealing them, every 
 officer he had pressing around him to exchange felicitations. 
 The scene was one of happy disorder. It had lasted two 
 or three minutes, when Ithuel, always cold and calculating, 
 edged his way through the throng to his commander s side, 
 and pointed significantly in the direction of Campanella. 
 There, indeed, was visible, a division of the expected boats. 
 It was pulling towards them, having that moment doubled 
 the cape ! 
 
 IthuePs gesture was too significant to escape attention, 
 and every eye followed its direction. The sight was of a 
 nature not to be mistaken. It at once changed the current 
 of feeling in all who beheld it. There was no longer a 
 doubt concerning the manner in which the news of the 
 accident had travelled, or of its effect on the English at Capri. 
 In point of fact, the padrone of the captured felucca, with a 
 sole eye to the recovery of his vessel, had ascended the 
 Scaricatojo, after landing at the Marinella, at its foot, fast 
 as legs could carry him ; had rather run, than glided, along 
 the narrow lanes of the piano and the hill-side to the beach 
 of Sorrento ; had thrown himself into a boat, manned by 
 four lusty Sorrentine watermen and Europe does not con- 
 tain lustier or bolder ; had gone on board the Terpsichore, 
 and laid his case before Sir Frederick Dashwood, ignorant 
 of the person of the real commanding officer among the 
 three ships. The young baronet, though neither very wise, 
 nor very much experienced in his profession, was exceed 
 ingly well disposed to seek distinction. It immediately 
 occurred to his mind, that the present was a fitting opportu 
 nity to gain laurels. He was second in rank, present ; and, 
 in virtue of that claim, he fancied that the first could do no 
 more than send him in command of the expedition, which 
 he righly foresaw Cuffe would order against the French. 
 But there arose a difficulty. As soon as Sir Frederick 
 reported the nature of the intelligence he had received to 
 his senior captain, and his own wish to be employed on the 
 occasion, the rights of Winchester interposed to raise a 
 question. Cuffe was prompt enough in issuing an order for 
 each ship to man and arm two boats, making six in -ill, and 
 
304 LE FEU-POLLEl 
 
 ^n giving the necessary details, but he lost some precious 
 time in deciding as to who was to command. This was 
 the cause of delay, and had given rise to certain hopes in 
 Raoul, that facts were subsequently to destroy. In the end, 
 Sir Frederick prevailed ; his rank giving him a decided ad 
 vantage; and the division of boats that was now approaching 
 was under his orders. 
 
 Raoul saw he had rather more than an hour to spare. 
 To fight the felucca, unsupported, against so many enemies, 
 and that in a cairn, was quite out of the question. That 
 small, low craft might destroy a few of her assailants, but 
 she would inevitably be carried at the first onset. There 
 was not time to get the ballast and other equipments into 
 the lugger, so as to render her capable of a proper resist 
 ance ; nor did even she offer the same advantages for a 
 defence, unless in quick motion, as the ruins. It was deter 
 mined, therefore, to make the best disposition of the two 
 vessels that circumstances would allow, while the main 
 dependence should be placed on the solid defences of stone. 
 With this end, Ithuel was directed to haul his felucca to a 
 proper berth ; the first-lieutenant was ordered to get as 
 much on board le Feu-Follet as possible, in readiness to 
 profit by events; while Raoul himself, selecting thirty of 
 his best men, commenced preparing the guns on the rocks 
 for active service. 
 
 A single half-hour wrought a material change in the 
 state of things. Ithuel had succeeded in hauling the felucca 
 into a berth among the islets, where she could not easily be 
 approached by boats, and where her carronades might be 
 rendered exceedingly useful. Much of the ballast, was again 
 on board the lugger, nnd a few of her stores, sufficient to ren 
 der her tolerably stiff, in the event of a breeze springing 1 up ; 
 and Raoul had directed the two inside guns of the felucca 
 to be sent on board her and mounted, that she might assist 
 in the defence with a flanking fire. The great difficulty 
 which exists in managing a force at anchor, is the opportu 
 nity that is given the assailant of choosing his point of 
 attack, and by bringing several of the vessels in a line, 
 cause them to intercept each other s fire. In order to pre- 
 vent this, as much as in his power, Raoul placed his two 
 floating-batteries out of line, though it was impossible to 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 395 
 
 make such a disposition of them as would not leave each 
 exposed, on one point of attack, in a degree greater than 
 any other. Nevertheless, the arrangement was so made, 
 that either a vessel or the ruins might aid each craft respec 
 tively against the assault on her weakest point. 
 
 When his own guns were ready, and the two vessels 
 moored, Raoul visited both the lugger and felucca, to 
 inspect their preparations, and to say a cheerful word to 
 their men. He found most things to his mind ; where they 
 were not, he ordered changes to be made. With the lieu 
 tenant, his conversation was brief, for that officer was one 
 who possessed much experience in this very sort of warfare, 
 and could be relied on. With Ithuel, he was more commu 
 nicative ; not that he distrusted the citizen of the Granite 
 state, but that he knew him to be a man of unusual 
 resources, could the proper spirit be aroused within him. 
 
 " Bien, Etooelle," he said, when the inspection was 
 ended, " much will depend on the use you make of these 
 two guns." 
 
 " I know that, as well as you do yourself, Captain Rule," 
 answered the other, biting off at least two inches from half a 
 yard of pig-tail; "and, what s more, I know that I fight 
 with a rope round my neck. The spiteful devils will hardly 
 overlook all that s passed ; and though it will be dead ag in 
 all law, they 11 work out their eends on us both, if we don t 
 work out our eends on them. To my mind, the last will be 
 the most agreeable, as well as the most just." 
 
 " Bon ! Do not throw away your shot, Etooelle." 
 
 1 1 why, Captain Rule, I m nat rally economical. That 
 would be wasteful, and waste I set down for a sin. The 
 only place I calculate on throwing the shot, is into the face 
 and eyes of the English. For my part, I wish Nelson, him 
 self, was in one of them boats I wish the man no harm 
 but I do wish he was in one of them very boats." 
 
 " And, Etooelle, I do not. It is bad enough as it is, entre 
 nous ; and Nelson is very welcome to stay on board his 
 Foudroyant ; wild ! The enemy is in council ; we shall 
 soon hear from them. Adieu, mon ami ; remember our two 
 Republiques /" 
 
 Raoul squeezed Ithuel s hand, and entered his boat. The 
 distance to the ruin was trifling, but it was necessary to 
 
390 LE FEU-FOLbET. 
 
 make a small circuit in order to reach it. While doing this, 
 the young mariner discovered a boat pulling from the direc 
 tion of the marinella, at the foot of the Scaricatojo, which 
 had got so near, unseen, as, at first, to startle him by its 
 proximity. A second look, however, satisfied him that no 
 cause of apprehension existed, in that quarter. His eye 
 could not be deceived. The boat contained Ghita and her 
 uncle ; the latter rowing, and the former seated in the stern, 
 with her head bowed to her knees, apparently in tears. 
 Raoul was alone, sculling the light yawl with a single hand, 
 and he exerted himself to meet these unexpected, and, in the 
 circumstances, unwelcome visiters, as far as possible from 
 the rocks. Presently the two boats lay side by side. 
 
 " What means this, Ghita !" the young man exclaimed j 
 " do you not see the English, yonder ; at this moment 
 making their preparations to attack us. In a few minutes 
 we shall be in the midst of a battle, and thou here !" 
 
 " I see it all, now, Raoul," was the answer, " though we 
 did not on quitting the shore ; but we would not turn back, 
 having once come upon the Bay. I was the first in St. Agata 
 to discover the evil that had befallen thee ; from that moment 
 I have never ceased to entreat my uncle, until he has con 
 sented to come hither." 
 
 " With what motive, Ghita?" asked Raoul, with sparkling 
 eyes " at length thou relentest wilt become my wife ! In 
 my adversity, thou rememberest thou art a woman !" 
 
 " Not exactly that, dear Raoul ; but I cannot desert thee, 
 altogether, in this strait. The same objection exists now, I 
 fear, that has ever existed to our union ; but that is no reason 
 [ should not aid thee. We have many friends along the 
 heights, here, who will consent to conceal thee ; and I have 
 come to carry thee and the American to the shore, until an 
 opportunity offer to get thee to thine own France." 
 
 " What ! desert ces braves, Ghita, at a moment like this ! 
 Not to possess thy hand, dearest girl, could I be guilty ot 
 an act so base." 
 
 " Thy situation is not theirs. The condemnation to death 
 hangs over thee, Raoul ; shouldstthou again fall into English 
 hands, there will be no mercy for thee." 
 
 " Assez-. this is no moment for argument. The English 
 are in motion, and there is barely time for thee to get to a 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 397 
 
 safe distance, ere they begin to fire. Heaven bless thee, 
 Ghita ! This care of thine draws my heart to thee closer 
 than ever; but we must now separate. Signor Giuntotardi, 
 pull more towards Amain". I see that the English mean to 
 attack us from the side of the land pull more towards 
 Amalfi." 
 
 " Thou tellest us this in vain, Raoul," Ghita quietly, but 
 firmly answered. " We have not come here on an un 
 meaning errand if thou refusest to go with us, we will 
 remain with thee. These prayers, that thou so despisest, 
 may not prove useless." 
 
 " Ghita ! this can never be. We are without cover 
 almost without defences our vessel is unfit to receive thee, 
 and this affair will be very different from that off Elba. 
 Thou would st not willingly distract my mind with care for 
 thee, at such a moment !" 
 
 " We will remain, Raoul. There may come a moment, 
 when thou wilt be glad to have the prayers of believers. 
 God leadeth us hither, either to take thee away, or to 
 remain, and look to thy eternal welfare, amid the din of war." 
 
 Raoul gazed at the beautiful enthusiast, with an intensity 
 of love and admiration, that even her truthful simplicity had 
 never before excited. Her mild eyes were kindling with 
 holy ardour, her cheeks were flushed, and something like the 
 radiance of heaven seemed to beam upon her countenance. 
 The young man felt that time pressed ; he saw no hope of 
 overcoming her resolution, in season to escape the ap 
 proaching boats ; and it might be, that the two would be 
 safer in some nook of the ruins, than in attempting to return 
 to the shore. Then, that never-dying, but latent, wish to 
 have Ghita with him, aided his hasty reasoning and he de 
 cided to permit the girl, and her uncle, to come upon the 
 islet, that he was to defend in person. 
 
 Some signs of impatience had begun to manifest them 
 selves among his people, ere Raoul made up his mind to 
 the course he would follow. But, when he landed, support 
 ing Ghita, that chivalry of character, and homage to the 
 sex, which distinguishes the southern Frenchman, changed 
 the current of feeling, and their two acquaintances were 
 received with acclamation. The acts of self-devotion seemed 
 heroic, and that is always enough to draw applause among 
 34 
 
898 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 a people so keenly alive to glory. Still, the time to make 
 the necessary dispositions was short. Fortunately, the 
 surgeon had taken his post on this islet, as the probable scene 
 of the warmest conflict, and he had contrived to make his 
 preparations to receive the hurt, in a cavity of the rock, 
 behind a portion of the ruin, where the person would be 
 reasonably safe. Raoul saw the advantages of this pcsi- 
 tion, and he led Ghita and her uncle to it, without pausing 
 to deliberate. Here he tenderly embraced the girl, a liberty 
 Ghita could not repel at such a moment ; then he tore him 
 self away, to attend to duties which had now become 
 urgently pressing. 
 
 In point of fact, Sir Frederick Dashwood had made his 
 dispositions, and was advancing to the assault, being already 
 within the range of grape. For the obvious reason of pre 
 venting the French from attempting to escape to the shore, 
 he chose to approach from that side himself, an arrange- 
 ment that best suited Raoul ; who, foreseeing the probability 
 of the course, had made his own preparations with an eye 
 to such an event: 
 
 Of boats, there were eight in sight, though only seven 
 were drawing near, and were in line. Six had strong 
 crews, were armed, and were evidently fitted for action. 
 Of these, three had light boat-guns in their bows, while the 
 other three carried small-arms-men, only. The seventh 
 boat was the Terpsichore s gig, with its usual crew, armed ; 
 though it was used by the commanding officer himself, as a 
 sort of cheval de bataille, in the stricter meaning of the term. 
 In other words, Sir Frederick Dashwood pulled through the 
 line in it, to give his orders, and encourage his people. 
 The eighth boat, which kept aloof, quite out of the range of 
 grape, was a shore-craft, belonging to Capri, in which 
 Andrea Barrofaldi, and Vito Viti had come, expressly, to 
 witness the capture, or destruction, of their old enemy. 
 When Raoul was taken in the Bay of Naples, these two 
 worthies fancied that their mission was ended that they 
 might return, with credit, to Porto Ferrajo, and again hold 
 up their heads, with dignity and self-complacency, among 
 the functionaries of the island. But, the recent escape, and 
 the manner in which they had been connected with it, 
 entirely altered the state of things. A new load of re- 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 399 
 
 sponsibility rested on their shoulders ; fresh opprobrium 
 was to be met, and put down ; and the last acquisition of 
 ridicule, promised to throw the first proofs of their simpli 
 city and dullness entirely into the shade. Had not Griffin 
 and his associates been implicated in the affair, it is prob 
 able the vice-governatore and the podesta would have been 
 still more obnoxious to censure ; but, as things were, the 
 sly looks, open jests, and oblique innuendoes of all they met 
 in the ship, had determined the honest magistrates, to retire 
 to their proper pursuits, on terra-firma, at the earliest 
 occasion. In the mean time, to escape persecution, and 
 to obtain a modicum of the glory that was now to be earned, 
 they had hired a boat, and accompanied the expedition, in 
 the character of amateurs. It formed no part of their plan, 
 however, to share in the combat ; a view of its incidents 
 being quite as much, as Vito Viti strongly maintained, when 
 his friend made a suggestion to the contrary, as was neces 
 sary to vindicate their conduct and courage, in the judgment 
 of every Elban. 
 
 " Cospetto !" he exclaimed, in the warmth of opposition 
 " Signor Andrea, your propositions are more in the spirit of 
 an unreflecting boy, than in that of a discreet vice-governa 
 tore. If we take swords and muskets in the boat, as you 
 appear to wish, the devil rnay tempt us to use them ; and 
 what does either of us know of such things? The pen is a 
 more befitting weapon for a magistrate, than a keen-edged 
 sword, or a foul-smelling piece of fire-arms. I am amazed 
 that your native sensibilities do not teach you this. There 
 is an indecency in men s mistaking their duties, and, of all 
 things on earth, heaven protect me from falling into such an 
 error ! A false position is despicable." 
 
 "Thou art warm, friend Vito, and that without occasion. 
 For my part, I think men should be prepared for any emer 
 gency that may happen. History is full of examples in 
 which civilians and scholars, ay, even churchmen, have 
 distinguished themselves by feats of arms, cm proper occa 
 sions ; and I confess to a philosophical curiosity to ascertain 
 the sensations with which men seek and expose life." 
 
 " That s your besetting weakness, Signor Andrea, and 
 the emergency drives me so far to lose sight of the respect 
 that a podesta owes to a vicc-governatore, as to feel cor* 
 
400 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 strained to tell you as much. Philosophy plays the very 
 devil with your judgment. With about half of what you 
 possess, the Grand Duke couldn t boast of a more sensible 
 subject. As for history, I don t believe anything that s in 
 it; more especially since the nations of the north have be 
 gun to write it. Italy once had histories ; but where are 
 they now 1 For my parr, I never heard of a man s fighting 
 who was not regularly bred to arms; unless it might be 
 some fellow who had reason to wish he had never been 
 born." 
 
 " I can name you several men of letters, in particular, 
 whose fame as soldiers is only eclipsed by that earned by 
 their more peaceful labours, honest Vito Michael Angelo 
 Buonaretti, for instance, to say nothing of various warlike 
 popes, cardinals, and bishops. But we can discuss this 
 matter after the battle is over. Thou seest the English are 
 already quitting their ships, and we shall be in the rear of 
 the combatants." 
 
 " So much the better, Corpo di Bacco ! who ever heard 
 of an army that carries its brains in its head, like a human 
 being? No no Signer Andrea; I have provided myself 
 with a string of beads, which I intend to count over, with 
 aves and paters, while the firing lasts, like a good Catholic; 
 if you are so hot, and bent on making one in this battle, you 
 may proclaim in a loud voice one of the speeches of the 
 ancient consuls and generals, such as you will find them, in 
 any of the old books." 
 
 Vito Viti prevailed. The vice-governatore was obliged 
 .o leave the arms behind him, and this, too, without making 
 any great difference in the result of the day s fighting, inas 
 much as the boatmen employed, in addition to asking a triple 
 price for their time and labour, obstinately refused to go 
 nearer to the French than half a league. Distant as this 
 was, however, Raoul, while reconnoitring the enemy with a 
 glass, detected the presence of the two Elbans. He laughed 
 outright at the discovery, notwithstanding the many serious 
 reflections that naturally pressed upon his mind at such a 
 moment. 
 
 But this was not the time to indulge in merriment, and 
 the countenance of our hero almost immediately resumed 
 its look of care. Now, that he felt ce/rain of the manner in 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 401 
 
 which the English intended to assail him, he had new orders 
 to give to all his subordinates. As has been said, the 
 principal point was to make the different fiuns support each 
 other; in order to do this effectually, it became necessary to 
 spring the lugger s broadside round more obliquely towards 
 the felucca; which accomplished, Raoul deemed his arrange 
 ments complete. 
 
 Then followed the pause which ordinarily prevails between 
 preparation and the battle. This, in a vessel, is always a 
 period of profound and solemn stillness. So important to 
 concert, order, and intelligent obedience, in the narrow 
 compass, and amid the active evolutions of a ship, does 
 silence become at such moments, that one of the first duties 
 of discipline is to inculcate its absolute necessity ; and a 
 thousand men shall be seen standing in their batteries, ready 
 to serve the fierce engines of war, without a sound arising 
 among them all, of sufficient force to still the washing of the 
 gentlest waves. It is true, the French were not now strictly 
 arrayed for a naval action ; but they carried into the present 
 conflict, the habits and discipline of the peculiar branch of 
 service to which they belonged. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 "His back against a rock he bore, 
 
 And firmly placed his foot before: 
 *Come one, corm; all ! this rock shall fly 
 
 From its firm base as soon as I ! " 
 
 Lady of the Lake. 
 
 OUR battle will be told with greater clearness, if the read- 
 er is furnished with an outline of its order. As has been 
 more than once intimated already, Sir Frederick Dashwood 
 had made all his preparations to commence the assault from 
 the side of the land, the object being to prevent a retreat to 
 the shore. Raoul had foreseen the probability of this, and, 
 with a special view to prevent the two vessels from being 
 34* 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 easily boarded, he had caused both to be placed in such po 
 sitions as left low barriers of rocks between them and that 
 quarter of the bay. These rocks were portions that were 
 not visible at any distance, being just awash, as it is termed, 
 or on a level with the surface of the water ; offering the 
 same sort of protection against an attack in boats, that ditches 
 afford in cases of assaults on terra-firma. This was a ma- 
 ferial advantage to the expected defence, and our hero showed 
 his discrimination in adopting it. On board the felucca, 
 which was named The Holy Michael, was Ithuel with fifteen 
 men, and two twelve-pound carronades, with a proper supply 
 of small-arms and ammunition. The Granite-man was the 
 only officer, though he had with him three or four of the 
 lugger s best men. 
 
 Le Feu-Follet was confided to the care of Jules Pintard, 
 her first-lieutenant, who had under his immediate orders 
 some five-and-twenty of the crew, to work four more of the 
 carronades. The lugger had a part only of her ballast, in, 
 and something like a third of her stores. The remainder 
 of both stiH lay on the adjacent rocks, in waiting- for the 
 result of the day. She was thought, however, to be suffi 
 ciently steady for any service that might be expected of her 
 \vhile moored, and might even have carried whole sail, in 
 light winds, with perfect safety. All four of her guns were 
 brought over on one side, in readiness to use in battery in 
 the same direction. By this arrangement the French essen 
 tially increased their means of defence, bringing all their 
 artillery into use at the same time; an expedient that could 
 not have been adopted had they been fought in broadside. 
 
 Raoul had planted among the ruins the remaining four 
 guns. With the aid of a few planks, the breechings, tackles, 
 and other appliances of a vessel, this had been easily effect 
 ed ; and, on reviewing his work, he had great confidence in 
 the permanency of his pieces. The ruins themselves were 
 no great matter; at a little distance they were scarcely per 
 ceptible ; though, aided by the formation of the natural rock, 
 and by removing some of the stones to more favourable po 
 sitions, they answered the purpose of the seamen sufficiently 
 well. The carronades were placed en-barbette; but a fall 
 ing of the surface of the rock enabled the men to cover 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 403 
 
 even their heads, by stepping back a few feet. The dangei 
 would be much the greatest to those whose duty it would be 
 to reload. 
 
 The surgeon. Carlo Giuntotardi, and Ghita, were estab 
 lished in a cavity of the rocks, perfectly protected against 
 missiles, so long as the enemy continued on the side next 
 the land, and yet within fifty feet of the battery. Here the 
 former made the usual bloody-looking if not bloody-minded 
 preparations for applying tourniquets and for amputating, all 
 unheeded, however, by his two companions, both of whom 
 were lost to. the scene around them, in devout prayer. 
 
 Just as these several dispositions were completed, Ithuel, 
 ^vho ever kept an eye to windward, called out to Raoul, and* 
 inquired if it might not be well to run the yards up to the 
 mast-heads, as they would be more out of the way in their 
 place aloft than littering the decks. There was no possible 
 objection to the measure, it bein<r a dead calm, and both the 
 lugger and the felucca swayed their yards into their places, 
 the sails being bent, and hanging in the brails. This is the 
 ordinary state of craft of the latter rig, though not always 
 that of luggers; and the Granite-man, "rnindfu-1 that his own 
 gear was down, in consequence of having been lowered by 
 her former owners previously to the capture, bethought him 
 of the expediency of getting everything ready for a run. 
 He wished the lugger to be in an equal state of preparation, 
 it being plain enough that two to be pursued, would embar- 
 rrss the English, in a chase, twice as much as one. This 
 was the reason of his suggestion ; and he felt happier for see 
 ing it attended to. 
 
 On the other side, all preliminary difficulties had been 
 disposed of. Captain Sir Frederick Dash wood was in com 
 mand, and lieutenants Winchester and Griffin, after a few- 
 open protestations, certain grimaces, and divers secret curses, 
 were fain to submit. The discussion, however, had produced 
 one result, not altogether unfavourable to the Proserpincs. 
 CufFe sent four of her boats against the enemy, while he 
 restricted the Terpsichore to two, including her gig, and the 
 Ringdove to two. Each ship sent her launch, as^ a matter 
 of course, with a twelve-pound boat-gun on its grating. 
 Griffin was in that of the Proserpine; .Mr. Stothard, the 
 second of the other frigate, was in the Terpsichore s ; and 
 
404 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 McBean, as of right, commanded the Ringdove s. Griffin 
 was in the first cutter of his own ship, and Clinch had 
 charge of the second. The third was headed by Strand, 
 whose call was to have precedence on the occasion. The 
 other boats had subordinates, from their respective ships. 
 All were in good heart ; and, while all expected a severe 
 struggle for her, knowing the desperate character of their 
 enemy, every man in the boats felt confident that the lugger 
 was finally to fall into British hands. Still, a grave consi 
 deration of the possible consequences to the actors, mingled 
 with the exultation of the more reflecting men among the 
 assailants. 
 
 Sir Frederick Dash wood, who ought to have felt the moral 
 responsibility of his command, of all the higher officers pre 
 sent, was the most indifferent to consequences. Constitu 
 tionally brave, personal considerations had little influence on 
 him ; habitually confident of English prowess, he expected 
 victory and credit as a matter of course; and, favoured by 
 birth, fortune and parliamentary interest, he gave himself 
 no trouble as to the possibility of a failure, certain (though 
 not avowing that certainty even to himself,) that any little 
 mishap would be covered by the broad mantle of the accident, 
 that had so early raised him to the rank he held. 
 
 In making his dispositions for the fight, however, Sir Frede 
 rick had not disdained the counsels of men older and more 
 experienced than himself. Cuffe had given him much good 
 advice, before they parted, and Winchester and Strand had 
 been particularly recommended to him as seamen whose 
 suggestions might turn out to be useful. 
 
 "I send a master s-mate named Clinch, in charge of one 
 of our boats, too, Dashwood," added the senior captain, as 
 he concluded his remarks: " who is one of the most experi 
 enced seamen in the Proserpine. He has seen much boat- 
 service, and has always behaved himself well. A vile prac 
 tice of drinking has kept the poor fellow under; Tfljl he is 
 now determined to make an effort, and I beg you will put 
 him forward to-day, that he may have a cnance. Jack 
 Clinch has the right sort of stuff in him, if opportunities offer 
 to bring it out." 
 
 " I flatter myself, Cuffe, that all hands will meet with 
 opportunity enough," answered Sir Frederick, in his drawl- 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 405 
 
 ing way ; " for, I intend to put em all in together, like a 
 thorough pack coming in at the death. I ve seen Lord 
 Echo s harriers so close, at the end of a long chase, that you 
 might have covered the whole with this ship s main-course 5 
 and I intend it shall be so with our boats, to-day. By the 
 way, Cuffc, that would be a pretty figure for a despatch, and 
 would make Bronte smile ha ! wouldn t it?" 
 
 " D n the figure, the harriers, and the despatch, too, 
 
 Dashwood ; first win the day, before you begin to write 
 poetry about it. Bronte, as you call Nelson, has lightning 
 in him, as well as thunder, and there isn t an admiral in the 
 service, who cares less for blood and private rank than him 
 self. The way to make him smile, is to do a thing neatly 
 and well. For God s sake, now, be careful of the men ; 
 we are short-handed, as it is, and can t afford such another 
 scrape, as that off Porto Ferrajo." 
 
 " Never fear for us, Cuffe; you ll never miss the men I 
 shall expend." 
 
 Every captain had a word to say to his officers ; but none 
 other worth recording, with the exception of what passed 
 between Lyon and his first-lieutenant. 
 
 " Ye 11 remember, Airchy, that a ship can have a repu 
 tation for economy, as well as a man.- There s several of 
 our own countrymen about the Admiralty just now ; and 
 next to courage and enterprise, they view the expenditures 
 with the keenest eyes. I ve known an admiral reach a red 
 ribbon just on that one quality ; his accounts showing 
 cheaper ships and cheaper squadrons than any in the sair- 
 vice. Ye II all do your duties, for the honour o Scotland ; 
 but there s six or seven Leith and Glasgow lads in the boats, 
 that it may be as well not to let murder themselves, out of 
 a need. I ve put the whole of the last draft from the river 
 guard-ship, into the boats, and with them there s no great 
 occasion to be tender. They re the sweepings of the 
 Thames and Wapping ; and quite half of them would have 
 boen at Botany Bay before this, had they not been sent 
 here." 
 
 " Does the law about being in sight, apply to* the boats, 
 or to the ships, the day, Captain Lyon?" 
 
 " To the boats, man ; or who the de il do you think would 
 
 irve in them ! It s u pitiful affair, altogether, as it has 
 
406 LE FEU-POLLET. 
 
 turned out ; the honour being little more than the profit, 1 
 opine; and yet twill never do to let old Scotia lag astuirn, 
 in a hand-to-hand battle. Ye II remember, we have a name 
 for coming to the claymore; and so do yer best, every 
 mithcr s son o ye." 
 
 McBean grunted an assent, and went about his work as 
 methodically as if it were a sum in algebra. The second- 
 lieutenant of the Terpsichore was a young Irishman, with a 
 sweet, musical voice ; and, as the boats leit the ships, he was 
 with difficulty kept in the line, straining to move ahead, with 
 his face on a grin, and his cheers stimulating the men to 
 undue, or unreasonable efforts. Such is an outline of the 
 English materials on this occasion ; both parties being now 
 ready for the struggle. If we add that it was already past 
 two, and that all hands began to feel some anxiety on the 
 score of the wind, which might soon be expected, the pre 
 liminary picture is sufficiently sketched. 
 
 Sir Frederick Dashwood had formed his line about a mile 
 within the rocks, with one launch in the centre, and one on 
 each extremity. That in the centre was commanded by 
 O Leary, his own second-lieutenant ; that on the left of his 
 force by McBean, and the one on its right by Winchester. 
 O Leary was flanked by Griffin and Clinch, in the Proser 
 pine s cutters, while the intervals were filled by the remaining 
 boats. The captain kept moving about in his own gig, giving 
 his directions, somewhat confusedly, beyond a question ; yet 
 with a cheerfulness and indifference of air that aided in keep 
 ing alive the general gaite de c&ur. When all was ready, 
 he gave the signal to advance, pulling, for the first half miie, 
 chivalrously in advance of the line, with his own gig. 
 
 Raoul had noted the smallest movement of the enemy 
 with a glass, and with grave attention. Nothing escaped 
 his jealous watchfulness ; and he saw that Sir Frederick had 
 made a capital error in the outset. Had he strengthened 
 his centre, by putting all his carronades in the same battery, 
 as it might be, the chances for success would have been 
 doubled ; but, by dividing them, he so far weakened their 
 effect, as *o render it certain no one of the three French bat 
 teries could be wholly crippled by their fire. This, of 
 course, left the difficult task to the English of pushing up to 
 
LE PEU-FOLLET. 407 
 
 their hand-to-hand work, under the embarrassment of receiv- 
 ng constant discharges of grape and canister. 
 
 The few minutes that intervened between the order to 
 advance, and the moment when the boats got within a quar 
 ter of a mile of the rock, were passed in a profound quiet, 
 neither side making any noise, though Raoul had no small 
 difficulty in restraining the constitutional impatience of his 
 own men to begin. A boat presents so small an object, 
 however, to artillerists as little skilled as seamen generally 
 ara, who depend more on general calculations than on the 
 direct or scientific aim, the latter being usually defeated 
 by the motion of their vessels, that he was unwilling to throw 
 away even his canister. A Frenchman himself, however, he 
 could refrain no longer, and he pointed a carronade, firing it 
 with his own hand. This was the commencement of the 
 strife. All the other guns in the ruin followed, and the 
 lugger kept time, as it might be by note. The English rose, 
 gave three cheers, and each launch discharged her gun. At 
 the same instant, the two men who held the matches in the 
 felucca, applied them briskly to the vents of their respective 
 pieces. To their surprise, neither exploded, and, on examina 
 tion, it was discovered that the priming had vanished. To 
 own the truth, he of the Granite state had slily brushed his 
 hand over the guns, and robbed them of this great essential 
 of their force. He held the priming-horns in his own hands, 
 and resolutely refused to allow them to pass into those of 
 any other person. 
 
 It was fortunate Ithuel was known to be such a deter 
 mined hater of the English, else might his life have been the 
 forfeit of this seeming act of treachery. But he meditated 
 no such dereliction of duty. Perfectly aware of the impos 
 sibility of preventing his men from firing, did they possess 
 the means, this deliberate and calculating personage had 
 resorted to this expedient to reserve his own effort, until, in 
 his judgment, it might prove the most available. His men 
 murmured, but, too much excited to deliberate, they poured 
 in a discharge of musketry, as the only means of annoying 
 the enemy then left them. Even Raoul glanced aside, a 
 little wondering at not hearing the felucca s carronades, but 
 perceiving her people busy with their fire-arms, he believed 
 all right. 
 
408 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 The first, discharge, in such an affair, is usually the most 
 destructive. On the present occasion, the firing was not 
 without serious effects. The English, much the most ex 
 posed, suffered in proportion. Four men were hurt in Win 
 chester s boat; two in Griffin s; six or eight men in the 
 other launches and cutters, and one of Sir Frederick s gig- 
 men was shot through the heart; a circumstance which 
 induced that officer to drop alongside of a cutter, and ex 
 change the dead body for a living man. 
 
 On the rocks, but one. man was injured. A round-shot 
 had hit a stone, shivered it in fragments, and struck down a 
 valuable seaman, just as he was advancing, with a gallant 
 mien, to spunge one of the guns. 
 
 "Poor Josef!" said Raoul, as he witnessed the man s 
 fall ; "carry him to the surgeon, mes braces." 
 
 " Mon Capitaine Josef is dead." 
 
 This decided the matter, arid the body was laid aside, 
 while another stepped forward and spunged the gun. At 
 that moment Raoul found leisure to walk a yard, or two 
 towards the rear, in order to ascertain if the cover of Ghita 
 were sufficient. The girl was on her knees, lost to ail 
 around her, though, could he have read her heart, he would 
 have found it divided between entreaties to the Deity and 
 love for himself. 
 
 The lugger sustained no harm. O Leary had overshot 
 her, in his desire to make his missiles reach. Not even a 
 canister had lodged in her spars, or torn her sails. The 
 usual luck appeared to attend her, and the people on board 
 fought with renewed confidence and zeal. Not so with the 
 felucca, however. Here the fire of the English had been 
 the most destructive. The wary and calculating McBeari 
 had given his attention to this portion of the French defences, 
 and the consequences partook of the sagacity and discretion 
 of the man. A charge of canister had swept across the 
 felucca s decks, more than decimating Ithuel s small force; 
 for it actually killed one, and wounded three of his party. 
 
 But, the din once commenced, there was no leisure to 
 pause. The fire was kept up with animation, on both sides, 
 and men fell rapidly. The boats cheered and pressed ahead, 
 the water becoming covered with a wide sheet of smoke. 
 
 In moments like this, the safest course for the assailants 
 
LE FETJ-FOLLET. 409 
 
 is to push on. This the English did, firing and cheering at 
 every fathom they advanced, but suffering also. The con 
 stant discharge of the carronades, and the total absence of 
 wind, soon caused a body of smoke to collect in front of the 
 rock, while the English brought on with them another, trail 
 ing along the water, the effect of their own fire. The two 
 shrouds soon united, and then there was a minute when the 
 boats could only be seen with indistinctness. This was 
 Ithuel s moment. Perceiving that the ten or twelve men 
 who remained to him were engrossed with their muskets, he 
 pointed the two carronades himself, and primed them from 
 the horns which he had never quitted. For the felucca he 
 felt no present concern. Winchester, and all the boats in 
 the centre of the English line, were most in advance, the fire 
 of the ruins urging them to the greatest exertion. Then 
 McBean, beside being more distant, could not cross the rock 
 in front of the felucca, without making a circuit, and he must, 
 as yet, be ignorant of the "existence of the impediment. 
 Ithuel was cool and calculating by nature, as well as by 
 habit ; but this immunity from present risk, probably in 
 creased the immediate possession of qualities so important in 
 battle. His carronades were loaded to their muzzles, with 
 bags of bullets, and he beckoned to the best seaman of his 
 party to take one of the matches, while he used the other 
 himself, each holding a monkey s-tail in one hand, in readi 
 ness to train the light gun, as circumstances required. The 
 pieces had been depressed by Jthuel himself, in the midst of 
 the fray, and nothing remained but to wait the moment for 
 using them. 
 
 This moment was now near. The object of the English 
 was to land on the principal islet, and to carry the ruin by 
 storm. In order to do this, all the boats of their centre 
 converged in their courses to the same point, and the smoke 
 being driven off, by each concussion of the guns, a dark 
 cluster of the enemy diverged from the ragged outline of the 
 vapour, within fifty yards of the intended point of landing. 
 Ithuel and his companion were ready. Together they 
 sighted, and together they fired. This unexpected discharge 
 from a quarter that had been so comparatively silent, sur 
 prised both friends and foes, and it drove a fresh mantle of 
 35 
 
410 LB FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 smoke momentarily athwart the rock and the open space in 
 its front. 
 
 A cry arose from the dense shroud of battle, that differed 
 from the shouts of success and courage. Physical agony 
 had extorted shrieks from the stoutest hearts, and even the 
 French in the ruins paused to look for the next act of the 
 desperate drama. Raoul seized the opportunity to prepare 
 for the expected hand-to-hand struggle ; but it was unneces 
 sary. The cessation in the firing was common in both 
 parties, and it gave the vapour a minute in which to lift 
 the curtain from the water. 
 
 When the late obstacle was raised high enough to admit 
 of a view, the result became evident. All the English boats 
 but one had scattered, and were pulling swiftly, in different 
 directions, from the scene of slaughter. By taking this 
 course they diverted and divided the fire of their enemies ; 
 an expedient of which it would have been happier had they 
 bethought them earlier. The remaining boat was a cutter 
 of the Terpsichore. It had received the weight of canister 
 from Ithuel s own gun, and of sixteen men it had contained 
 when it left the frigate s side, but two escaped. These fel 
 lows had thrown themselves into the sea, and were picked 
 up by passing boats. The cutter itself came drifting slowly 
 in towards the rock, announcing the nature of its fearful 
 cargo, by the groans and cries that arose from out its bosom. 
 Raoul stopped the fire, equally from humanity and policy, 
 after a few discharges at the retreating boats ; and the first 
 act of the battle closed. 
 
 The breathing time gave both parties a desirable oppor 
 tunity for ascertaining in what positions they were left. In 
 the whole, the French had lost the services of eleven men ; 
 all, with the exception of Ithuel s four, in the ruin. The 
 loss of the English amounted to thirty-three, including seve 
 ral officers. The master s-mate, who had commanded the 
 crippled cutter, lay over its stern, flat on his back, with no 
 less than five musket-balls through his chest. His passage 
 into another state of existence had been sudden as the flight 
 of the electric spark. Of his late companions several were 
 dead also, though most were still enduring the pain of frac 
 tured bones and bruised nerves. The boat itself slowly 
 touched the rocks, raising fresh cries among the wounded. 
 
LEFEC-FOLLET. 411 
 
 by the agony they endured from the shocks of rising and 
 falling under the ground-swell. 
 
 Raoul was too deliberate, and too much collected, not to 
 feel his advantage. Anxious to keep his means of further 
 defence in the best condition, he directed all the guns to 
 cease, and the damages to be repaired. Then he went with 
 a pirty towards the boat that had fallen into his hands. 
 To encumber himself with prisoners of any sort, in his 
 actual situation, would have been a capital mistake; but to 
 do this with wounded men, would have been an act of folly. 
 The boat had tourniquets and other similar appliances in it, 
 and he directed some of the French to use them on those 
 that wanted them most. He also supplied the parched lips 
 of the sufferers with water, when, conceiving that his duty 
 was performed, he gave an order to haul the boat on one 
 side, and to shove it forcibly out of the line of any coming 
 conflict. 
 
 "Halloo, Captain Rule!" called out Ithuel, "you are 
 wrong there. Let the boat lie where it is, and it will an 
 swer a better turn than another breastwork. The English 
 will scarcely fire through their own wounded." 
 
 The look that Raoul cast towards his auxiliary was fierce, 
 even indignant ; but, disregarding the advice, he motioned 
 for his own men to obey the order he had already given 
 them. Then, as if mindful of Ithuel s importance, his late 
 timely succour, and the necessity of not offending him, he 
 walked to the side of the islet nearest to the felucca, and 
 spoke courteously and cheerfully to him whose advice he 
 had just treated with indifference, if not with disdain. This 
 was not hypocrisy, but a prudent adaptation of his means to 
 his circumstances. 
 
 " Tlon brave Etooelle" he said, " your bags of bullets 
 were welcome friends, and they arrived at the right 
 moment." 
 
 " Why, Captain Rule, in the Granite country we are 
 never wasteful of our means. You can always wait for the 
 white of Englishmen s eyes, in these affairs. They re 
 
 spiteful d Is, on the whull, and seem to be near-sighted 
 
 to a man. They came so clus at Bunker Hill, our folks " 
 
 " Bon " repeated Raoul, feeling no wish to hear a thrice- 
 told tale gone through again, Bunker Hill invariably placing 
 
412 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 Ithuel on a great horse in the way of bragging ; for he not 
 only imagined that great victory a New-England triumph, 
 as in fact it was, but he was much disposed to encourage 
 the opinion that it was in a great measure " granite." 
 "Bon" interrupted Raoul " Bunkair was good; muis, 
 les Rochess aux Sirens is bettair. If you have more de 
 ccs balles, load encore" 
 
 "What think you of this, Captain Rule?" asked the 
 other, pointing up at a little vane that began to flutter at the 
 head of one of his masts. "Here is the west wind, and an 
 opportunity oilers to be off. Let us take wit, and run !" 
 
 Raoul started, and gazed at the heavens, the vane, and 
 the surface of the sea ; the latter beginning to show a 
 slightly ruffled surface. Then his eye wandered towards 
 Ghita. The girl had risen from her knees, and her eyes 
 followed his every movement. When they met his, with a 
 sweet, imploring smile, she pointed upward, as if beseech 
 ing him to pay the debt of gratitude he owed to that dread 
 Being who had, as yet, borne him unharmed through the 
 fray. He understood her meaning, kissed his hand in 
 affecrionate gallantry, and turned towards Ithuel, to pursue 
 the discourse. 
 
 " It is too soon," he said. " We are impregnable here, 
 and the wind is still too light. An hour hence, and we will 
 all go together." 
 
 Ithuel grumbled ; but his commander heeded it not. The 
 judgment of the latter had decided right. The boats were 
 rallying within musket-shot, indifferent to the danger, and 
 it was evident the attack was to be renewed. To have 
 attempted to escape at such an instant, would have been 
 throwing away the great advantage of the ruins, and might 
 have endangered all, without benefiting any one. 
 
 In point of fact, Sir Frederick Dash wood had become 
 keenly alive to a sense of the disgrace he was likely to 
 incur, in the event of the ship s getting round, and robbing 
 him of the credit of capturing the lugger. The usually 
 apnrhetic nature of this young man was thoroughly aroused, 
 and, like all who are difficult to excite, he became respectable 
 when his energies were awakened. The boats were already 
 collected ; all the disabled were put into one of them, and 
 ordered off to the ships; and with those that remained 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 413 
 
 arrangements were made to renew the attempt. It was for- 
 tunate that Cufle had sent an expedition so strong-handed ; 
 for, notwithstanding the loss, the three launches and the 
 cutters could still muster double the number of the French. 
 . This time, Sir Frederick was willing to listen to counsel. 
 Winchester, McBcan, Griffin, and Strand, united in advising 
 that the boats should separate^ and make their assaults from 
 different points. This would prevent the possibility of a 
 recurrence of so concentrated a disaster as that which had 
 already befallen them. To the Scotchman, was assigned 
 the felucca; the Terpsichore s launch was to assail the 
 lugger; while the two cutters, and the heavier boat of the 
 Proserpine, were to dash in at the ruins. Sir Frederick still 
 remained in his own gig, to push for the point that might 
 seem to require his presence. 
 
 McBean was the first to fire on this occasion. He threw 
 a round-shot from his carronade into the felucca, aimed by 
 himself, and directed with care. It fell upon one of IthueFs 
 carronades, broke into a dozen pieces, knocked down no less 
 than three men, besides injuring others less severely, and 
 actually drove the gun it struck off its slide into the feluc 
 ca s hold. This was a rough commencement, and the re 
 sult being seen by all hands, it greatly encouraged the as 
 sailants. Three hearty English cheers followed, and Ithuel 
 was so far disconcerted as to fire the remaining gun, loaded 
 as before, with bullets, at least two minutes too soon. The 
 sea was thrown into a foam, but not a man in the boats was 
 hurt. Thenjhe fire became general ; gun after gun explod 
 ing ; the rattling of small-arms filling up the paus.es. The 
 boats came on with steady, strong pulls of the oar, and this 
 too with an impunity that often happens, though difiicull 
 to be explained. Several shot fell among the rums, knock- 
 ing the stones about, and for a minute or two nil the injury 
 was on one side. But Pintard and Ithuel felt the security 
 conferred by the rocks in their front, and each endeavoured 
 to give one effective discharge. Ithuel succeeded the best. 
 He repaid McBcan in his own coin, sending a grist of bullets 
 into the bows of his launch, which admonished that prudent 
 officer of the necessity of sheering towards the islet of the 
 ruins. Pintard s assailant was brought up by the barrier in 
 front, and turned aside aho. Then, in the midst of a cioud 
 35* 
 
414 LE FEU-POLLET. 
 
 of smoke, shouts, curses, cries, shrieks, orders, and the roar 
 of guns, all the English precipitated themselves in a body 
 on lh<- principal post, and became the masters of tiie batter} 
 in the twinkling of an eye. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 "Thus doth the ever-changing course of tlu<j/r 
 Run a perpetual circle, ever turning; 
 And that same day, that highest glory b/irg-j. 
 Brings us to the point of back-returning." 
 
 DiNlEL. 
 
 IN scenes like that just related, it is not easy to coOvcl 
 details. All that was ever known beyond the impeU jus 
 manner of the assault, in which the ruins were carried, was 
 in the dire result. Half the French on tne islet were wel 
 tering in their blood, and the surface of me rocks waa well 
 sprinkled with enemies who had not been more lotvanate. 
 It had been a desperate onset, in vvhien mortificdirou in 
 creased natural intrepidity, which had been nobly /esisted, 
 but in which numbers had necessarily prevailed. Among 
 the English slain was Sir Frederick Dash wood himself; he 
 lay about a yard from his own gig, with a bah directly 
 through his head. Griffin was seriously hurt, but Clinch 
 was untouched, on the low rampart, waving an English Jack 
 after having hauled down a similar emblem of the French. 
 His boat had first touched the rock, her crew had first reach 
 ed the ruin, and of all in her, he, himself, had taken the 
 load. Desperately had he contended for Jane and a com 
 mission, and, this time, Providence appeared to smile on his 
 efforts. As for Raoul, he lay in front of his own rampart, 
 having rushed forward to meet the party of Clinch, and had 
 actually crossed swords with his late prisoner, when a mus 
 ket-ball, fired by the hands of McBean, traversed his body. 
 
 " Courage, mes braves ! en avant /" he was heard to 
 ehout, as he leaped the low wall, to repel the invaders and 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 415 
 
 when he lay on the hard rock, his voice was still strong 
 enough to make itself heard, crying " Lieutenant nom de 
 Dleu bauve mon Feu-Follet /" 
 
 It is probable that Pintard would not have stirred, even at 
 this order, had not the English ships been seen, at that in 
 stant, coming round Campanella, with a leading westerly 
 wind. The flap of canvass was audible near by, too, and 
 turning, he saw the Michael falling off, under her foresail, 
 and already gathering steerage-way. Not a soul was visi 
 ble on her decks, Ithuel, who steered, lying so close, as to 
 be hid by her waist-cloths. The hawsers of the lugger were 
 cut, and le Feu-Follet started back like an affrighted steed. 
 It was only to let go the brails and her foresail fell. Light, 
 and feeling the breeze, which now came in strong puffs, sho 
 shot out of the little bay and wore short round on her keel. 
 Two or three of the English boats attempted to follow, but 
 it was idle. Winchester, who now commanded, recalled 
 them, saying, that it remained for the ships to perform their 
 task. The day had been too bloody, indeed, to think of 
 more than securing the present success, and of attending to 
 the hurt. 
 
 Leaving the party on the islets for a moment, we will fol 
 low the two vessels in their attempt to escape. Pintard and 
 his companions abandoned Raoul with heavy hearts, but 
 they plainly saw him prostrated on the rocks, and by the 
 hand placed on his side, understood the desperate nature of 
 his wound. Like him, they felt some such interest as one 
 entertains for a beloved mistress in the fate of the lugger, 
 and the words " sauve mon Feu-Follet /" were ringing in 
 their ears. 
 
 As soon as the lugger got round, she set her after-sail, and 
 then she began to glide through the v/ater, with the usual 
 knife-like parting of the element under her bows. The 
 course she steered led her directly out of the bay, seeming 
 to lead across the fore-foots of the English ships. Ithuel 
 did not imitate this manoeuvre. He kept more away in the 
 line for Psestum, rightly enough believing that in the greedy 
 desire to overtake the lugger, his own movement would pass 
 unheeded. The owner of this craft was still on board the 
 Terpsichore ; but every remonstrance, and all the requests 
 he made, that his own vessel might be followed and cap- 
 
416 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 ured, were utterly unheeded by the lieutenant now in com- 
 mand. To him, as to all others in authority, there seemed 
 to be but one thing desirable, and that was to secure the lug 
 ger. Of course none yet knew of the fatal character of the 
 struggle on the rocks, or of the death of the English leader, 
 though the nature of the result was sufficiently understood 
 by seeing the English Jack flying among the ruins, and the 
 two vessels under way, endeavouring to escape. 
 
 The season was now so far advanced as to render the old 
 stability of the breezes a little uncertain. The zephyr had 
 come early, and it had come fresh ; but there were symp 
 toms of a sirocco, about the barometer, and in the atmo 
 sphere. This rendered all in the ships eager to secure their 
 prize before a shift of wind should come. Now that there 
 were three fast vessels in chase, none doubted of the final 
 result ; and Cuffe paced the quarter-deck of the Proserpine, 
 rubbing his hands with delight, as he regarded all the pro 
 pitious signs of the times. 
 
 The Ringdove was ordered, by signal, to haul up south- 
 south-west, or close on a wind, with a view to make such an 
 offing as would prevent the possibility of the lugger s getting 
 outside of the ships, and gaining the wind of them ; an 
 achievement Cuffe thought she might very well be enabled 
 to accomplish, could she once fairly come by the wind under 
 circumstances that would prevent any of his vessels from 
 bringing her under their guns. The Terpsichore was directed 
 to run well into the bay, to see that a similar artifice was 
 not practised in that direction ; while the Proserpine shaped 
 her own course at the angle that would intercept the chase, 
 should the latter continue to stand on. 
 
 It was an easy thing for the French to set all their canvass, 
 the hamper of a lugger being so simple. This was soon 
 done ; and Pintard watched the result, with intense interest, 
 well knowing that everything now depended on heels, and 
 ignorant what might be the effect of her present trim on the 
 sailing of his beautiful craft. Luckily, some attention had 
 been paid to her lines, in striking in the ballast again ; and 
 it was soon found that the vessel was likely to behave well. 
 Pintard thought, her so light as to be tender ; b . t, not daring 
 to haul up high enough to prove her, in that way, it remained 
 ft matter of opinion only. It was enough for him that she 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 417 
 
 lay so far to the west of south as to promise to clear thft 
 point of Piane, and that she skimmed along the water at a 
 rate that bade fair to distance all three of her pursuers. 
 Anxious to get an offing, however, which would allow him 
 to alter his course at night in more directions than one, he 
 kept luffing, as the wind favoured, so as sensibly to edge off 
 the land. 
 
 As the two chases commenced their flight quite a mile- to 
 the southward of the ships, having that much the start ot 
 them on account of the position of the rocks, it rendered them 
 both tolerably free from all danger of shot, at the beginning, 
 of the race. The course steered by Ithuel, soon placed him 
 beyond their reach, altogether ; and Cuffe knew that little 
 would be gained, while much might be lost, in making any 
 attempt of this sort on the lugger. Consequently, not a gun 
 was h red ; but the result was thrown fairly on the canvass, 
 and on the sailing of the respective vessels. 
 
 Such was the state of things at the beginning of this chase. 
 The wind freshened fast, and soon blew a strong breeze ; 
 one that drove the ships ahead, under clouds of studding- 
 sails and stay-sails, the latter being much used at that period, 
 at the rate of quite ten knots the hour. But neither gained 
 on le Feu-Follet. The course was by no means favourable 
 to her, the wind being well on her quarter; still, she rather 
 gained, than was gained on. All four vessels went oft" 
 rapidly to the southward, as a matter of course; nor was it 
 long before they were to leeward of the felucca, which had 
 both shortened sail, and hauled up to the eastward, as soon 
 us Ilhuel felt satisfied he was not to be followed. After a 
 sufficient time had elapsed, the Holy Michael tacked, and 
 came out of the bay, crossing the wake of the Terpsichore, 
 just beyond gun-shot. Of course, this manoeuvre was seen 
 from the frigate; and the padrone of the felucca tore his 
 hair, threw himself on the quarter-deck, and played many 
 other desperate antics, in the indulgence of his despair, or to 
 excite sympathy : but all in vain ; the lieutenant was obsti 
 nate ; refusing to alter tack or sheet to chase a miserable 
 felucca, with so glorious an object in full view before him, as 
 the celebrated lugger of Raoul Yvard. As a matter of course, 
 Ithuel passed out to sea unmolested ; and, it may as well be 
 said here, that, in due time, he reached Marseilles in safety 
 
418 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 where the felucca was sold, and the Granite-seaman disap 
 peared for a season. There will be occasion to speak of 
 him only once again, in this legend. 
 
 The trial of speed must soon have satisfied Pinfard that 
 he had little to apprehend from his pursuers, even with the 
 breeze there was. But circumstances favoured the lugger. 
 The wind hauled materially to the northward, and beibre 
 the sun set, it enabled the French to run off wing-and-wing, 
 still edging from the land. It now began to blow so heavily 
 as to compel the ships to reduce their light canvass. Some 
 time before the night set in, both frigates and the sloop were 
 under main-top-gallant-sails only, with top-mast and lower 
 studding-sails on each side. Le Feu-Follet made no change. 
 Her jigser had been taken in, as soon as she kept dead 
 away, and then she dashed ahead, under her two enormous 
 luggs, confident in their powers of endurance. The night 
 was not very dark ; but it promised to carry her beyond the 
 vision of her pursuers, even before eight bells, did the present 
 difference in sailing continue. 
 
 A stern chase is proverbially a long chase. For one fast 
 vessel to outsail another a single mile in an hour, is a great 
 superiority ; and even in such circumstances, many hours 
 must elapse ere one loses sight of the other, by day. The 
 three English ships held way together surprisingly, the Pro 
 serpine leading a little ; while le Feu-Follet might possibly 
 have found herself, at the end of a six hours chase, some 
 four miles in advance of her, three of which she had gained 
 since keeping off, wing-and-wing. The lightness of the little 
 craft essentially aided her. The canvass had less weight to 
 drag after it ; and Pintard observed that the hull seemed to 
 skim the waves, as soon as the sharp stem had divided them, 
 and the water took the bearings of the vessel. Hour after 
 hour did he sit on the bowsprit, watching her progress; a 
 crest of foam scarce appearing ahead, before it was glittering 
 under the lugger s bottom. Occasionally, a pursuing sea 
 cast the stern upward, as if about to throw it in advance of 
 the bows ; but le Feu-Follet was too much accustomed to 
 this treatment to be disturbed, and she ever rose on the bil 
 low, like a bubble, and then the glancing arrow scarce sur 
 passed the speed with which she hastened forward, as if to 
 recover lost time. 
 
LE FEL-FOLLET. 419 
 
 Cuffe did not quit the deck until the bell struck two, in 
 the middle watch. This made it one o clock. Yclverlon 
 and the master kept the watches between them, but the cap 
 tain was always near with his advice and orders. 
 
 " That craft seems faster when she gets her sails wing- 
 and-wing than she is even close-hauled, it seems to me, 
 Yelverton," observed Cuffe, after taking a long .ook at the 
 chase with a night-glass ; " I begin to be afraid we shall 
 lose her. Neither of the other ships does anything to help 
 us. Here we are all three, dead in her wake, following 
 each other like so many old maids going to church of a 
 Sunday morning." 
 
 " It would have been better, Captain Cuffe, had the Ring 
 dove kept more to the westward, and the frigate further east. 
 Fast as the lugger is with her wings spread, she s faster with 
 them jammed up on a wind. I expect every moment to find 
 her sheering off to the westward, and gradually getting us in 
 her wake on a wind. I fear we should find that worse work 
 than even this, sir." 
 
 * I would not lose her now, for a thousand pounds ! I do 
 not see what the d I Dashwood was about, that he did not 
 secure her, when he got possession of the rocks. I shall 
 rattle him down a little, as soon as we meet." 
 
 Cuffe would have been shocked had he known that the 
 body of Sir Frederick Dashwood was, just at that moment, 
 going through the melancholy process of being carried on 
 board a two-decker, up at Naples, the captain of which was 
 his kinsman. But he did not know it, nor did he learn his 
 death, for more than a week; or after the body had been 
 interred. 
 
 " Take the glass, Yelverton, and look at her. To me she 
 grows very dim she must be leaving us, fast. Be care 
 ful to note if there are any signs of an intention to sheer to 
 the westward." 
 
 " That can hardly be done without jibing her forward lugg 
 hang me, Captain Cuffe, if I can see her at all. Ah. 1 
 here she is, dead ahead as before, but as dim as a ghost. ] 
 can barely make out her canvass she is still wing-and- 
 wing, d n her, looking more like the spectre of a craft, than 
 a real thing. I lost her in that yaw, sir I wish you would 
 try, Captain Cuffe do my best, I cannot find her again." 
 
420 I* E FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 CufTe did try, but without success. Once, indeed, he fan 
 cied he saw her but further examination satisfied him it was 
 a mistake. So long had he been gazing at the same object, 
 that it was easy for the illusion to pass before his mind s 
 eye, of imagining a dim outline of the little lugger flying 
 away, like the scud of the heavens, wing-and-wing, ever 
 aeeming to elude his observation. That night he dreamed 
 of her, and there were haply five minutes, during which his 
 wandering thoughts actually pourtrayed the process of tak 
 ing possession, and of manning the prize. 
 
 Previously to this, however, signals were made to the 
 other ships, ordering them to alter their courses, with a view 
 to meet anticipated changes in that of le Feu-Follet. Lyon 
 was sent to the westward, the Terpsichore a little easterly, 
 while the Proserpine herself ventured so far as to steer south 
 west, after two o clock. But a sudden and violent shift of 
 wind came an hour before day. It was the expected nay. 
 the announced sirocco, and it brought the lugger to windward 
 beyond all dispute. The south breeze came strong from 
 the first puff; and, while it did not amount to a gale until the 
 afternoon of the next day, it blew heavily, in squalls, after 
 the first hour. 
 
 When the day dawned, the three ships were out of sight 
 of each other. The Proserpine, which we shall accompany, 
 as our old acquaintance, and an actor in what is to succeed, 
 was under double-reefed topsails, with her head up as high as 
 west-south-west, labouring along through the troughs of the 
 seas left by the late Tramontana. The weather was thick, 
 rain and drizzle coming in the squalls, and there were 
 moments when the water could not be seen a cable s-length 
 from the ship ; at no time was the usual horizon fairly visi 
 ble. In this manner the frigate struggled ahead, Cuffe 
 unwilling to abandon all hopes of success, and yet seeing 
 little prospect of its accomplishment. The look-outs were 
 aloft, as usual, but it was as much for form as for any great 
 use they were likely to be, since it was seldom a man 
 could see further from the cross-trees than he could from 
 the deck. 
 
 The officers, as well as the men, had breakfasted. A 
 species of sullen discontent pervaded the ship, and the recent 
 kind feelings towards Raoul Yvard had nearly vanished in 
 
LE FEU-POLLET. 421 
 
 disappointment. Some began to grumble about the chancea 
 of the other ships falling in wiih the lugger, while others 
 swore " that it mattered not who saw her ; catch her none 
 could, who had not an illicit understanding with the Father 
 of Lies. She was well named the Jack-o -Lantern ; for 
 Jack-o -Lintern she was, and Jack-o -Lantern would she 
 ever prove to be. As well might a false fire be followed in 
 a meadow, as such a craft at sea. They might think them 
 selves fortunate, if the officers and people sent against her 
 in the boats ever got back to their own wholesome ship 
 again." 
 
 In the midst of such prognostics and complaints, the cap 
 tain of the fore-top shouted the words * sail ho ! The usual 
 inquiry and answer followed, and the officers got a glimpse 
 of the object. The stranger was distant half a league, and 
 he was seen very indistinctly on account of the haze ; but 
 seen he was. 
 
 " Tis a xebec," growled the master, who was one of the 
 grumblers of the day "a fellow with his hold crammed 
 with a wine that would cover the handsomest woman s face 
 in Lunnun with wrinkles." 
 
 " By Jupiter Ammon !" Cuffe. exclaimed, " tis the le Feu- 
 Folly, or I do not know an old acquaintance. Quarter 
 master hand me the glass not that, the shorter glass is the 
 best." 
 
 " Long or short, you It never make that out," muttered 
 the master. " The Folly has more folly about her than 1 
 give her credit for, if we get another look at her this sum 
 mer." 
 
 " What do you make of him, Captain Cuffe ?" Yelverton 
 eagerly demanded. 
 
 " Just what I told you, sir tis the lugger and I can 
 not be mistaken. Ay, by Jove, she is coming down before 
 it, wing-and-wing, again ! That s her play, just now, it would 
 seem, and she does not appear to have got enough of it yet." 
 
 An attentive look satisfied Yelverton that his commander 
 was right. Even the master had to confess his error, though 
 he did it ungraciously and with reluctance. It was the lug 
 ger, of a certainty, though so dimly seen as to render it 
 difficult, at moments, to trace her outlines at all. She was 
 running in a line that would carry her astern of the frigate 
 36 
 
422 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 about a mile, and she was rather more than thrice that dis 
 tance to windward. 
 
 " She cannot see us," said Cuffe, thoughtfully. " Beyond 
 a doubt she thinks us to windward, and is endeavouring to 
 get out of our neighbourhood. We must get round, gentle 
 men, and now is a favourable moment. Tack ship, at once, 
 Mr. Yelverton I think she 11 do it." 
 
 The experiment was made, and it succeeded. The Pro 
 serpine worked beautifully, and Yelverton knew how to 
 humour her to a nicety. In five minutes the ship was round, 
 with everything trimmed on the other tack ; close-reefed 
 mizen, and double-reefed fore and main-top-sails a reefed 
 main-sail, with other sails to suit. As she was kept a rap 
 full, or a little off, indeed, to prevent the lugger from slip 
 ping past, she might have gone from five to six knots. 
 
 The next five minutes were intensely interesting to the 
 people of the Proserpine. The weather became thicker, and 
 all traces of le Feu-Follet were lost. Still, when last 
 seen, she was wing-and-wing, flying rather than sailing, 
 down towards their own track. By Cuffe s calculation, the 
 two vessels would nearly meet in less than a quarter of an 
 hour, should neither alter her course. Several guns were 
 got ready, in preparation for such a rencontre. 
 
 " Let the weather hold thick a few minutes longer, and 
 we have her !" cried Cuffe. " Mr. Yelverton, you must go 
 down and see to those guns yourself. Plump it right into 
 her, if you re ordered to fire. The fellow has no hamper, 
 and stripping him must be a matter of pure accident. Make 
 it too hot for him on deck, and he ll have to give up, Raoul 
 Yvard, or the d 1 !" 
 
 " There she is, sir !" shouted a midshipman from a cat 
 head for everybody who dared had crowded forward to get 
 an early look at the chase. 
 
 There she was, sure enough, wing-and-wing, as before. 
 The dullness of the lugger s look-outs have never been ex 
 plained, as a matter of course; but it was supposed, when 
 all the circumstances came to be known, that most of her 
 people were asleep, to recover from the recent extraordinary 
 fatigue, and a night in which all hands had been kept on 
 deck, in readiness to make sail ; the vessel having but some 
 thirty souls in- her. At length the frigate was seen, the 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 423 
 
 weather lighting, and it was not an instant too soon. The 
 two vessels, at that critical instant, were about half a mile 
 apart, le Feu-Follet bearing directly off the Proserpine s 
 weather-bow. In the twinkling of an eye, the former jibed ; 
 then she was seen coming to the wind, losing sufficient 
 ground in doing so, to bring her just in a range with the 
 ^yo weather chase-guns. CufFe instantly gave the order to 
 open a fire. 
 
 "VVhat the d 1 has got into her?" exclaimed the 
 captain," she topples like a mock mandarin, she used to 
 be as stiff as a church ! What can it mean, sir ?" 
 
 The master did not know, but we may say that the lugger 
 was too light for so much canvass in such heavy weather, 
 and there was not time to shorten sail. She lurched heavily 
 under the sea that was now getting dp, and, a squall striking 
 her, her lee guns were completely buried. Just at this 
 moment the Proserpine belched forth her flame and smoke. 
 The shot could not be followed, and no one knew where 
 they struck. Four had been fired, when a squall succeeded 
 that shut in the chase, and, of course, the firing was sus 
 pended. So severe was this momentary effort of the African 
 gales, hot, drowsy, and deadening as they are, that the Pro- 
 serpine started her mizzen-top-sail sheets, and clewed up her 
 main-course, to save the spar. But, the tack was instantly 
 boarded again, and the top-sail set. A gleam of sunshine 
 succeeded, but the lugger had disappeared ! 
 
 ^The sun did not remain visible, and that faintly, but a 
 minute ; still, the eye could range several miles, for thrice 
 that period. After this the horizon became more limited, 
 but no squall occurred for a quarter of an hour. When the 
 lugger was missed, the Proserpine was heading up within 
 half a point of the spot at which she was supposed to be. In 
 a short time she drove past this point, perhaps a hundred 
 fathoms to leeward of it. Here she tacked, and stretching 
 off a sufficient distance to the southward and westward, came 
 round again, and heading up east-south-east, was thought to 
 sweep along over the empty track. Not a sign of themiss- 
 ing vessel was discovered. The sea had swallowed all, 
 lugger, people, and hamper. It was supposed that, owing 
 to the fact that so many light articles had been left on 
 the rockt, nothing remained to float. All had accompanied 
 
424 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 Ic Feu-Follet to the bottom. Of boats there were none, 
 these being at the islet of the ruins, and, if any seaman 
 swam off in the desperate attempt to save his life in the 
 midst of the cauldron of waters, he did not succeed, or was 
 overlooked by the English in their search. The latter, in 
 deed, may have miscalculated their distances, and not have 
 passed within a cable s-length of the place where the vic 
 tims, if any such there were, still struggled for existence. 
 
 CufFe, and all around him, were forcibly struck with so 
 unlooked-for and so dire a calamity. The loss of a vessel, 
 under such circumstances, produces an effect like a sud 
 den death among companions. It is a fate all may meet 
 with, and it induces reflection and sadness. Still, the Eng 
 lish did not give up the hope of rescuing some unfortunate 
 wretch, clinging to a spar, or supporting himself by super 
 natural efforts, for several hours. At noon, however, the 
 ship squared away, and ran for Naples, before the wind, 
 being drawn aside from her course by another chase, in 
 which she succeeded better, capturing a sloop-of-war, which 
 she carried in, several days later. 
 
 The first act of Cuffe, on anchoring in the fleet, was to go 
 on board the Foudroyant, and report himself and his pro 
 ceedings to the rear-admiral. Nelson had heard nothing 
 of the result, beyond what had occurred at the islets, and 
 the separation of the ships. 
 
 " Well, Cuffe," he said, reaching out his remaining hand, 
 kindly, to his old Agammenon, as the other entered the 
 cabin " the fellow has got off, after all! It has been a 
 bad business, altogether, but we must make the best of it. 
 Where do you fancy the lugger to be?" 
 
 Cuffe explained what had happened, and put into the 
 admiral s hand an official letter, explaining his recent suc 
 cess. With the last, Nelson was pleased at the first, sur 
 prised. After a long, thoughtful pause, he went into the 
 after-cabin, and returned, throwing a small, jack-like, flag 
 on the floor. 
 
 " As Lyon was cruising about," he said, " and his sloop 
 was pitching her cat-heads under, this thing was washed 
 upon a spare anchor, where it stuck. It s a queer flag. 
 Can it have had any connection .with the lugger?" 
 
 Cuffe looked, and he immediately recognized the little 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 425 
 
 ala e ala jack, that the Italians had described to him, in 
 their many conversations. It was the only vestige that was 
 ever found of the Wing-and-VVing. 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 " How beautiful is sorrow, when tis drcst 
 By virgin innocence ! It makes 
 Felicity in others, seem delbrmcd." 
 
 DAVENANT. 
 
 WE must return to the rocks, and the melancholy 
 scene they offered. Our purposes will be answered, however, 
 by advancing the time into the evening, omitting many 
 things that the reader can imagine, without our relating 
 them. 
 
 It is scarcely necessary to say, that Andrea Barrofaldi, 
 and Vito Viti, took no part in the bloody transactions we 
 have related. When all was over, however, they drew near 
 to the rocks, and, sitting in their boat, contemplating the 
 sad spectacle presented within the narrow compass of the 
 islet of the ruins, the following short dialogue occurred 
 between them : 
 
 " Vicc-governatore," demanded the podesta, pointing to 
 the place where Sir Frederick lay, a motionless corpse, 
 Raoul bleeding, and others were writhing under their 
 wounds " do you call this reality, or is it a part of that 
 damnable doctrine, which is enough to set the whole earth 
 by the ears, and to turn men into tigers and hawks ?" 
 
 " I lear, neighbour Vito, this will only prove too true. I 
 sec the bodies of Sir Dashwood and Sir Smees ; and God 
 knows how many more have this day departed for the world 
 of spirits." 
 
 " Leaving behind them only a world of shadows," mut- 
 
 tered Vito Viti, even that melancholy spectacle failing to 
 
 draw his thoughts altogether from a discussion that had now 
 
 lasted near four-and-twenty hours. But the moment was 
 
 36 * 
 
426 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 not propitious to argument, and the two Italians landed. 
 This was within half-an-hour after the struggle had ceased; 
 and our intentions are to advance the time to the moment 
 mentioned in the opening of this Chapter. 
 
 We must give here, however, a rapid sketch of the pro 
 ceedings that narrowed down the view to that we intend 
 shortly to lay before the reader. As soon as there was 
 leisure, Winchester made a survey of the field of battle. He 
 found many of his own men slain, and more wounded. Of 
 the French on the islet, quite h&lf were hurt ; but the mortal 
 wound received by their leader, was the blow that all 
 lamented. The surgeon soon pronounced Raoul s case to 
 be hopeless ,* and this declaration .was heard with regret even 
 by generous enemies. The defence had been desperate; 
 it would have succeeded, had it been within the scope 
 of possibility for so few courageous men to repel double 
 their numbers of those who were equally brave. Both sides 
 had fought for honour ; and, when this is the case, victory 
 generally awaits the strongest. 
 
 As soon as it was perceived that all the ships were likely 
 to be led far to leeward, in chase, the English officers felt 
 the necessity of acting for themselves. The medical men 
 had been busy from the first, and in the course of a couple 
 of hours, all had been done for the wounded that present 
 circumstances would allow. The amputations were few, 
 and each vessel having sent a surgeon, these were all made, 
 while the other appliances had been successfully used in such 
 cases as would be benefited by them. The day was draw 
 ing near a close, and the distance from the fleet was so great 
 as to call for exertion. 
 
 As soon, therefore, as the uninjured men were refreshed, 
 and the wounded cared for, the latter were put into the 
 launches, in the best manner they might be, and the cutters 
 took them in tow. One had no sooner received its melan 
 choly freight, than it left the islets, on its way to the hospital- 
 ship of the fleet. The others succeeded, in turn ; the unhurt 
 French willingly offering to assist in the performance of this 
 pious duty. At length, but three boats remained. One was 
 Sir Frederick s gig, which Winchester had kept for his own 
 particular use ; another was the yawl of Andrea Barrofaldi ; 
 and the third, the little craft in which Carlo Giuntotardi had 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 427 
 
 
 
 come from the shore. Of the French, no one remained but 
 the surgeon of the lugger, Raoul s steward and personal 
 attendant, and Raoul himself. If to these be added the two 
 Italians, and their oarsmen, Carlo and his niece, with Win- 
 Chester and his boat s crew, we enumerate all who now 
 remained at the rocks. 
 
 By this time the sun had sunk below the adjacent hills, 
 and it was necessary to decide on some course. Winchester 
 consulted the surgeon as to the expediency of removing his 
 patient. Could it be done, it had better be done soon. 
 
 " Mons. lieutenant" answered this personage a little drily, 
 " mon brave capitaine has but a short time to live. He has 
 entreated to be left here, on the scene of his glory, and in 
 the company of that female whom he so well loved mais 
 you are the victors" shrugging his shoulders " and you 
 will do your own pleasure." 
 
 Winchester coloured and bit his lips. The idea of tortu 
 ring Raoul, either in body or mind, was the last intention 
 of one so humane, but he felt indignant at the implied sus 
 picion. Commanding himself, notwithstanding, he bowed 
 courteously, and intimated that he would remain himself, 
 with his prisoner, until all were over. The Frenchman was 
 surprised, and when" he read the sympathy of the other in 
 the expression of his countenance, he felt regret for his own 
 distrust, and still more at having expressed it. 
 
 " Mais, Monsieur" he answered, " night will soon come 
 you may have to pass it on the rocks." 
 
 " And if we do, doctor, it is no more than we seamen are 
 used to. Boat-service is common duty with us. I have 
 only to wrap myself in my cloak, to enjoy a seaman s com 
 fort." 
 
 This settled the matter, and no more was said. The sur 
 geon, a man accustomed to the exercise of such resources, 
 soon managed to make his dispositions for the final scene. 
 In clearing the lugger, a hundred light articles had been 
 thrown on the islet on which she had touched, and among 
 others were several rude mattresses of the seamen. Two 
 or three of these were procured, placed on the smoothest 
 surface of the rock, and a bed formed for Raoul. The medi- 
 cal man, and the seamen, would have erected a tent with a 
 sail, but this the wounded man forbade. 
 
428 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 i> 
 
 " Let me breathe the free air," he said " I shall use but 
 little of it ; let that little be free." 
 
 It was use ess to oppose such a wish, nor was ihcre any 
 motive for it. The air was pure, and little need be appre 
 hended from the night, in behalf of Ghita, surrounded as 
 they were by the pure waters of the ocean. Even when the 
 Tramontana came, although it was cool, its coolness was 
 not unpleasant, the adjacent hill sheltering the islets from 
 its immediate influence. 
 
 The English seamen collected some fuel from the spare 
 spars of the lugger, and lighted a fire on the rock where 
 they had been ibund. Food of all sorts was abundant, and 
 several casks of water had been struck out whole, as provision 
 against a siege. Here they made coffee, and cooked enough 
 food for the wants of all the party. The distance prevented 
 their disturbing those who remained near Raoul, while the 
 light of the fire, which was kept in a cheerful blaze, cast a 
 picturesque glow upon the group around the dying man, as 
 soon as the night had fairly set in. It superseded, too, the 
 necessity of any lamps or torches. 
 
 We pass over all the first outpourings of Ghita s anguish, 
 when she learned the wound of Raoul, her many and fer 
 vent prayers, and the scenes that took place during the time 
 that the islet was still crowded with the combatants. More 
 quiet hours succeeded when these last were gone ; and as 
 the night advanced, something like the fixed tranquillity of 
 settled despair followed the first emotions. When ten o clock 
 arrived, we reach the moment at which we wish to raise the 
 curtain once more, in order to present the principal actors 
 in the scene. 
 
 Raoul lay on the summit of the islet, where his eye could 
 range over the mild waters that washed the rock, and his 
 ear listen to the murmuring of his own element. The Tra- 
 montana, as usual, had driven all perceptible vapour from the 
 atmosphere, and the vault of heaven, in its cerulean blue, 
 and spangled with thousands of stars, stretched itself above 
 him, a glorious harbinger for the future, to one who died in 
 hope. The care of Ghita and the attendants had collected 
 around the spot, so many little comforts as to give it the air 
 of a room suddenly divested of sides and ceiling, but habi 
 table and useful. Winchester, fatigued with his day s work, 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 429 
 
 and mindful of the wish that Raoul might so naturally feel 
 to be alone with Ghita, had lain down on a matt ress*/ lea v. 
 ing orders to be called should anything occur; while the 
 .surgeon, conscious that he could do no more, had imitated 
 his example, making a similar request. As for Carlo Giun- 
 totardi, he seldom slept ; he was at his prayers in the ruins. 
 Andrea and the podesla paced the rock to keep themselves 
 warm, slightly regretting the sudden burst of humanity 
 which had induced them to remain. 
 
 Raoul and Ghita were alone. The former lay on his 
 back, his head bolstered, and his face upturned towards the 
 vault of heaven. The pain was over, and life was ebbing 
 fast. Still, the mind was unshackled, and thought busy as 
 ever. His heart was still full of Ghita; though his extra 
 ordinary situation, and more especially, the glorious view 
 before his eyes, blended certain pictures of the future, with 
 his feelings, that were as novel as he found them powerful. 
 
 With the girl it was different. As a woman, she had felt 
 the force of this sudden blow in a manner that she found 
 difficult to bear. Still, she blessed God, that what had 
 occurred, happened in her presence, as it might be ; leaving 
 her the means of acting, and the efficacy of prayer. To say 
 that she did not yet feel the liveliest love for Raoul, all that 
 tenderness which constitutes so large a portion of woman s 
 nature, would be untrue; but, her mind was now made up 
 to the worst, and her thoughts were of another state of 
 being. 
 
 A long pause had occurred, in which Raoul remained 
 steadfastly gazing at the starry canopy above. 
 
 " It is remarkable, Ghita," he said, at length, " that I 
 Raoul Yvard the corsair the man of wars and tempests 
 fierce combats and hair-breadth escapes should be dying 
 here, on this rock, with nil those stars looking down upon 
 me, as it might be, from your heaven, seeming to smile upon 
 me !" 
 
 " Why not your heaven, as well as mine, Rnoul ?" Ghita 
 answered, Iremulously. " It is as vast as He who dwells in 
 it whose throne it is and can contain all who love him. 
 and seek his mercy." 
 
 " Dost thou think one like me would be received into nis 
 presence, Ghita ?" 
 
430 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 "Do not doubt it free from all error and weakness 
 Himsftlf, his Holy Spirit delights in the penitent and the sor 
 rowful. Oh! dearest, dearest Raoul, if thou would^st but 
 pray!" 
 
 A gleam, like that of triumph, glowed on the face of the 
 wounded man ; and Ghita, in the intensity of her expecta 
 tion, rose, and stood over him, her own features filled with a 
 momentary hope. 
 
 " Mon Feu-Follet !" exclaimed Raoul, letting the tongue 
 reveal the transient thought which brought the gleam of 
 triumph to his countenance. " Thou, at least, hast escaped ! 
 These English will not count thee among their victims, and 
 glut their eyes on thy charming proportions !" 
 
 Ghita felt a chill at her heart. She fell back on her seat, 
 and continued watching her lover s countenance, wilh a 
 feeling of despair, though inextinguishable tenderness was 
 still crowding around her soul. Raoul heard the move 
 ment; and turning his head, he gazed at the girl, for quite 
 a minute, with a portion of that intense admiration that used 
 to gleam from his eyes in happier moments. 
 
 " It is better as it is, Ghita," he said, " than that I should 
 live without thee. Fate has been kind, in thus ending my 
 misery." 
 
 " Oh ! Raoul ! there is no fate, but the holy will of God. 
 Deceive not thyself, at this awful moment ; but bow down 
 thy proud spirit, in humility, and turn to Him for succour !" 
 
 "Poor Ghita ! Well, thine is not the onlv innocent mind 
 by millions, that hath been trammelled bj priests; and, I 
 suppose, what hath commenced with the beginning, will last 
 till the end." 
 
 " The beginning and the end, are both God, Raoul. Since 
 the commencement of time, hath he established laws which 
 have brought about the trials of thy life the sadness of 
 this very hour." 
 
 " And dost thou think he will pardon all thy care of one 
 so unworthy ?" 
 
 Ghita bowed her head to the mattress over which she 
 leaned, and buried her face in her hands. When the minute 
 of prayer, that succeeded, was over, and her face was again 
 raised with the flush of feeling tempered by innocence on it, 
 Raoul was lying on his back, his eyes riveted, again, on the 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 431 
 
 vault of heaven. His professional pursuits had led him 
 farther into the study of astronomy than comported with his 
 general education ; and, addicted to speculation, its facts 
 had often seized upon his fancy, though they had failed to 
 touch his heart. Hitherto, indeed, he had fallen into the 
 common error of limited research, and found a confirmation 
 of his suspicions, in the assumed grasp of his own reason. 
 The dread moment that was so near, could not fail of its 
 influence, however ; and that unknown future ovei which he 
 hung, as it might be, suspended by a hair, inevitably led 
 his mind into an inquiry after the unknown God. 
 
 " Dost thou know, Ghita," he asked, " that the learned 
 of France tell us that all yonder bright stars are worlds, 
 peopled most probably like this of our own, and to which 
 the earth appears but as a star itself, and that, too, of no 
 great magnitude?" 
 
 " And what is this, Raoul, to the power and majesty of 
 Him who created the universe ? Ah ! think not of the things 
 of his hand, but of Him who made them !" 
 
 " Hast thou ever heard, my poor Ghita, that the mind of 
 man hath been able to invent instruments to trace the move- 
 ments of all these worlds, and hath power, even, to calculate 
 their wanderings with accuracy, for ages to come?" 
 
 " And dost thou know, my poor Raoul, what this mind 
 of man is?" 
 
 "A part of his nature the highest quality; that which 
 maketh him the lord of earth." 
 
 " His highest quality and that which maketh him lord 
 of earth, in one sense, truly ; but, after all, a mere fragment 
 a spot on the width of the heavens of the spirit of God 
 himself. It is, in this sense, that he hath been made in the 
 image of his creator." 
 
 " Thou think st then, Ghita, that man is God, after all." 
 
 " Raoul ! Raoul ! if thou would st not see me die with 
 thee, interpret not my words in this manner !" 
 
 " Would it, then, be so hard to quit life in my company, 
 Ghita ?" To me it would seem supreme felicity were oui 
 places to be changed." 
 
 " To go whither ? Hast thou bethought thee of this, mv 
 beloved?" 
 
 Raoul answered not for some time. His eyes were fast* 
 
432 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 cned on a bright star, and a tumult of thought began to 
 crowd upon his brain. There are moments in tho li e of 
 every man, when the mental vision obtains clearer views cf 
 remote conclusions, equally in connection with the past and 
 the future, as there are days, when an atmosphere purer 
 than common, more readily gives up its objects to the physi 
 cal organs, leaving the mind momentarily the master, 
 almost without control. One of these gleams of truih passed 
 over the faculties of the dying man, and it could not be alto 
 gether without its fruits. RaouTs soul was agitated by novel 
 sensations. 
 
 " Do thy priests fancy that they who have known and 
 loved each other in this life," he asked, "will know and 
 love each other, in that which they fancy is to come?" 
 
 " The life that is to come, Raoul, is one all love, or one 
 all hatred. That we may know each other, I try to hope; 
 nor, do I see any reason for disbelieving it. My uncle is 
 of opinion it must be so." 
 
 " Thy uncle, Ghita? What, Carlo Giuntotardi he who 
 seerneth never to think of things around him doth a mind 
 like his dwdl on thoughts as remote and sublime as this?" 
 
 " Little dost thou know, or understand him, Raoul. His 
 mind seldom ceases to dwell on thoughts like these; this is 
 the reason why earth, and all it contains, seem so indif 
 ferent." 
 
 Raoul made no answer, but appearing to suffer under the 
 pain of his wound, the feelings of woman so far prevailed 
 over Ghita s tender nature, that she had not the heart to 
 press even his salvation on him, at such a moment. She 
 offered him soothing drinks, and nursed him with unabated 
 care; and when there seemed to be a cessation to his suffer 
 ings, she again passed minutes on her knees, her whole soul 
 absorbed in his future welfare. An hour passed in this 
 mpinner, all on, or near the rock sleeping, overcome by 
 fatigue, but Ghita and the dying mnn. 
 
 " That star haunts me, Ghita !" Raoul at Icng .h muttered. 
 "If it be really a world, some all-powerful hand must have 
 created it. Chance never made a world, more th?.n chance 
 n.ade a ship. Thought mind intelligence" must have 
 governed at the formation of one, as well as of the other." 
 
 For months Ghita had not known an instant as happy as 
 
LE PEU-FOLLET. 433 
 
 that. It appeared as if the mind of Raoul were about to 
 extricate itself from the shallow philosophy so much in 
 fashion, and which had hitherto deadened a nature so kind, 
 an intellect ordinarily so clear. Could his thoughts but once 
 take the right direction, she had strong confidence in the 
 distinctness of their views, but most of all in the goodness 
 of the Deity. 
 
 " Raoul," she whispered, " God is there, as he is with us, 
 on this rock. His spirit is everywhere. Bless him ! bless 
 him in thy soul, my beloved, and be for ever happy !" 
 
 Raoul answered not. His face was upturned, and his eye 
 still remained riveted on that particular star. Ghita would 
 not disturb him, but taking his hand in hers, she once more 
 knelt, and resumed her prayers. Minute passed after min 
 ute, and neither seemed disposed to speak. At length Ghita 
 became woman again, and bethought her of her patient s 
 bodily wants. It was time to administer the liquids of the 
 surgeon, and she advanced to hold them to his lips. The 
 eye was still fastened on the star, but the lips did not meet 
 her with the customary smile of love. They were compressed, 
 as when the body was about to mingle in the strife of a bat 
 tle, a sort of stern resolution being settled on them. Raoul 
 Yvard was dead. 
 
 The discovery of the truth was a fearful moment to Ghita. 
 Not a living being near her had the consciousness of her 
 situation; all being bound in the sleep of the weary. The 
 first feeling was that which belonged to her sex. She threw 
 nerself on the body, and embraced it wildly, giving way to 
 those pent-up emotions, of which her lover, in his moody 
 humours, was wont to accuse her of not possessing. She 
 kissed the forehead, the cheeks, the pallid, stern lips of the 
 dead ; and, for a time, there was the danger that her own 
 spirit might pass away in the paroxysm of her grief. But, 
 it was morally impossible for Ghita to remain long under 
 the influence of despair. Her gentle spirit had communed 
 too long and too closely with her Heavenly Father, not to 
 resort to his support in all the critical moments of life. She 
 prayed, foi the tenth time, that night, and arose from her 
 liners calm, if not absolutely resigned. 
 
 The situation of Ghita was now as wildly picturesque as 
 it was moving to her inmost spirit. All around her still sleptj 
 
434 LE FEU-FOLLET. 
 
 and that, to the eye, as profoundly as he who was only to 
 rise again, when the sea and the land gave up their dead. 
 The excitement and exertions of the past day produced 
 their reaction, and seldom did sleep exercise a more pro- 
 found influence. The fire was still burning bright, on the 
 islet of the gig-men, casting its rays fairly atwhart the 
 ruins, the different sleepers in them, and the immoveable 
 body of the dead. At moments, gusts of the Trarnontana, 
 which was now blowing fresh, descended so low as to fan the 
 flames, when the glare that succeeded seemed to give a start 
 ling reality to all that surrounded the place. 
 
 Still, the girl was too highly sustained, to be moved with 
 anything but her loss, and her restless inquietude for the 
 departed spirit. She saw that even her uncle slept, leaving 
 her truly alone with Raoul. Once a feeling of desertion 
 came over her, and she was inclined to arouse some of the 
 sleepers. She did approach the spot where the surgeon 
 lay, and her hand was raised to stir him, when a flash of 
 light shot atwhart the pallid countenance of Raoul, and she 
 perceived that his eyes were still open. Drawing near, she 
 bent over the body, gazing long and wistfully into those 
 windows of the soul, that had so often beamed on her in 
 manly tenderness, and she felt, like a miser with his hoarded 
 gold, unwilling to share it with any other. 
 
 Throughout the livelong night did Ghita watch by the 
 body of her well-beloved, now hanging over it with a ten 
 derness no change could extinguish, now besieging hea 
 ven with her prayers. Not one awoke, to interfere with 
 the strange happiness she felt in those pious offices, or to 
 wound her sensibilities, by the surprise or the sneers of the 
 vulgar. Ere the day came, she closed the eyes of Raoul 
 with her own hands, covered his body with a French 
 ensign, that lay upon the rock, and sat, patient and resigned, 
 awaiting the moment when some of the others might be 
 ready to aid her in performing the last pious offices in be- 
 half of the dead. As a Romanist, she found a holy conso 
 lation in that beautiful portion of her church s creed, that 
 admits of unceasing petition for the souls of tlje departed, 
 even to the latest hour of earthly things. 
 
 Winchester was the first to stir. Starting up, he 
 appeared to be astonished at the situation in which he found 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET 
 
 435 
 
 himself; but a glance around told the whole truth. Ad 
 vancing towards Ghita, he was about to inquire after the 
 welfare of Raoul, when, struck by the expression of her 
 seraphic countenance, he turned to the body, and read the 
 truth in the appropriate pall. It was no time for self- 
 upbraidings, or for reproaches to others ; but arousing the 
 sleepers, in a subdued and respectful manner, he gave to the 
 place the quiet and seeming sanctity of a chapel. 
 
 Carlo Giuntotardi, soon after, begged the dead body from 
 the conquerors. There was no motive for denying the 
 request, and it was placed in a boat, and towed to the shore, 
 accompanied by all who had remained. The heavy sirocco 
 that soon succeeded, drove the waves atwhartthe islet of the 
 ruins, effectually erasing 1 its stains of blood, and sweeping 
 every trace of le Feu-Follet, and of the recent events, into 
 the sea. 
 
 At the foot of Che Scaricatojo, the seamen constructed a 
 rude bier, and thus they bore the dead up that wild, and yet 
 lovely precipice, persevering in their good work until they 
 leached the cottago of Carlo Giuntotardi s sister. A little 
 procession accompanied the body frdrn the first ; and, Ghita 
 being universally known and respected among the simple 
 inhabitants of those heights, when it entered the street of 
 St. Agata, it had grown into a line that included a hundred 
 believers. 
 
 The convent, the empty buildings of which still crown 
 the summit of one of the adjacent hills, was then in exist 
 ence as a religious community ; and the influence of Carlo 
 Giuntotardi was sufficient to procure its offices in behalf 
 of the dead. For three days and nights did the body of 
 Raoul Yvard, the unbeliever, lie in the chapel of that holy 
 fraternity, his soul receiving the benefit of masses ; and then 
 it was committed to holy ground, to await the summons of 
 the last trump. 
 
 There is a strange disposition in the human breast to 
 withhold praise from a man when living, that is freely 
 accorded to him when dead. Although we believe that 
 envy, and its attendant evil, detraction, are peculiarly demo- 
 rratic vices, meaning thereby that democracy is the most 
 fertile field in which these human failings luxuriate, yet is 
 there much reason to think that our parent nation is pre- 
 
436 LE FEU-FOLLET, 
 
 eminent in the exhibition of the peculiarity first mentioned. 
 That which subsequently awaited Napoleon, after his im 
 prisonment and death, was now exhibited in the case of 
 Raoui Yvard, on a scale suited to his condition and renown. 
 From being detested in the English fleet, he got to be 
 honoured and extolled. Now that he was dead and harm- 
 less, his seamanship could be praised, his chivalry emulated, 
 his courage glorified. Winchester, McBean, O Leary, and 
 Clinch, attended his funeral, quite as a matter of course. 
 They had proved themselves worthy to be there; but many 
 others insisted on being of the party. Some came to get a 
 last look of so celebrated an adventurer, even in his coffin ; 
 others to say they had been present; and not a few to catch 
 a glimpse of the girl whose romantic, but innocent passion, 
 had got to be the subject of much discourse in the ships. 
 The result was such a procession, and such funeral honours, 
 as threw the quiet little hamlet of St. Agata into commo 
 tion. All noted the particulars, and all were pleased but 
 Ghita. On her, these tardy compliments failed of their 
 effect, her soul being engrossed with the great care of 
 petitioning heaven in behalf of the deceased. 
 
 Andrea Barrofaldi and Vito Viti, too, figured on this 
 occasion ; the latter taking care to let all who would listen, 
 understand how closely he had been connected with " Sir 
 Smees ;" no longer viewed as an impostor, but honoured as 
 a hero. He even created a little difficulty in claiming a 
 precedency for the toga over arms on the occasion; well 
 knowing that if the vice-governatore got a conspicuous 
 place in the ceremony, that the podesta could not fail to be 
 near at hand. The matter was settled entirely to Andrea s 
 satisfaction, if not to that of his friend. 
 
 To confess the truth, Nelson was not sorry for what had 
 occurred. When he learned the desperate nature of Raoul s 
 defence, and heard some traits of his liberal conduct on 
 various occasions t he felt a generous regret at his death , 
 but he thought even this preferable to escape. When CufFe 
 got in, and brought the report of the lugger s fate, though he 
 would have preferred her capture, the common sentiment 
 settled down into a feeling that both lugger and commander 
 had fared as well as a privateer and her people usually 
 merited. 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 437 
 
 As a matter of course, those concerned in the capture, 
 and who survived the affair, reaped some advantages from 
 their success. England seldom fails in the duty of confer 
 ring rewards, more especially in her marine. When Cook 
 returned from his renowned voyages, it was not to meet 
 with persecution and neglect, but credit and justice. Nelson 
 knew how to appreciate that spirit and enterprise, which 
 were so often exercised by himself. As for Sir Frederick 
 Dashwood, little could be done besides giving his name an 
 honourable place on the list of those who had fallen in battle. 
 His heir wore mourning, seemed filled with sorrow, and 
 inwardly rejoiced at being a baronet with some thousands a 
 year. Lyon got his ship, and, from that moment, he ceased 
 to consider the chase and all connected with le Feu-Follet 
 an unprofitable thing. Airchy followed him to the Terpsi 
 chore, with visions of prize-money before his eyes, which 
 were tolerably realized in the course of the succeeding five 
 years. 
 
 Winchester was promoted into the Ringdove, and Griffin 
 became first of the Proserpine. This, of course, made Yel- 
 verton second, and left one vacancy. Thus far the orders 
 had been made out, when Cuffe dined with the Admiral, by 
 invitation, tete-a-tete. 
 
 * One of my objects in having you here to-day, Cuffe," 
 observed Nelson, as they sat together over their wine, the 
 cabin cleared, " was to say something about the vacant berth 
 in your gun-room, and the other was to beg a master s- 
 mate of you, in behalf of Berry. You remember that some 
 of your people were received on board here, before you got 
 in, the other day?" 
 
 " I do, my lord ; and I meant to make my acknowledg 
 ments for the favour. The poor fellows had a warm time 
 of it at the rocks, and deserved comfortable berths after it 
 was over." 
 
 " I believe we gave them as much at least, I know few 
 suffer in this ship. Well, there was a mate among them, 
 who is a little advanced, and who is likely to stick where he 
 ts, by what I learn. We want just such a man for the hold, 
 and I have promised my Captain to speak to you about him. 
 Don t let him go if there s any reason for wishing to retain 
 37 * 
 
438 LE PEU-FOLLET 
 
 him ; but we have three seamen ready to exchange against 
 him ; good fellows too, they tell me." 
 
 Cufte picked some nuts, and appeared a little at a loss for 
 a reply. Nelson saw this, and he fancied the other reluc 
 tant to give up his mate. 
 
 " Well, I see how it is," he said, smiling. " We must do 
 without him, and you will keep your Mr. Clinch. A thorough 
 officer in a ship s hold is an advantage not to be thrown 
 away ; and I suppose, if Hotham had asked such a thing of 
 old Agamemnon, he might have whistled for the favour. 
 The deuce is in it, if we do not get as good a mate some 
 where !" 
 
 " It s not that, my lord you re welcome to the man, 
 though a better, in his station, cannot be had. But, I was 
 in hopes his recent good conduct, and his long services, might 
 give him a lift into the vacant gun-room berth." 
 
 The Admiral appeared surprised, while he did not seem 
 to be exactly pleased. 
 
 " It has a hard look, I grant you, CufFe, to keep a poor 
 devil ten or fifteen years in the same station, and this, too, 
 after he has served long enough for a commission. I was 
 a captain ten years younger than this Mr. Clinch must be 
 to-day, and it does seem hard; and yet I doubt not it is just. 
 I have rarely known a midshipman or a mate passed over, in 
 this way, that there was not some great fault at the bottom. 
 We must think of the service, as well as of generosity." 
 
 " I confess all this, my lord and yet I did hope poor 
 Clinch s delinquencies would at length be forgotten." 
 
 " If there are any particular reasons for it, I should like 
 to hear them." 
 
 Cuffe now related all that had passed between himself and 
 the master s-mate ; taking care to give Jane a due place in 
 his history. Nelson began to twitch the stump of his arm, 
 and by the time the story was told, Clinch s promotion was 
 settled. An order was sent forthwith, to the secretary, to 
 make out the orders, and Cuffe carried them back with him 
 to the Proserpine that night, when he returned to his own 
 ship. 
 
 All Nelson s promotions were confirmed by the Admiralty, 
 pretty much as a matter of course. Among others was that 
 of Clinch, who now became the junior lieutenant of the Pro- 
 
LE FEU-FOLLET. 439 
 
 serpine. This elevation awakened new feelings within him. 
 He dressed better ; refrained from the bottle ; paid more 
 attention to his mind ; improved in manners, by keeping 
 better company ; and, in the course of the next twelvemonth, 
 had made rapid advances towards respectability. At the 
 end of that time, the ship was sent home ; and Jane, in hei 
 imagination at least, received the reward of all her virtuous 
 constancy, by becoming his wife. Nor did Cuffe cease his 
 friendly offices, here. He succeeded in getting Clinch put 
 in command of a cutter ; in which he captured a privateer, 
 after a warm action, within a month. This success pro 
 cured him a gun-brig, and with her he was still more for- 
 turate ; actually cutting out, with her boats, a French sloop- 
 of-war, that was not half manned, it is true, but which was 
 still considered a handsome prize. For this affair he got 
 the sloop ; thus demonstrating the caprice of fortune, by 
 whose means he found himself a commander in less than 
 three years after he had been a mate. Here he stuck, how 
 ever, for a long time, until he got another sloop in fair fight, 
 when he was posted. From that moment we have lost sight 
 of him. 
 
 Cuffe being sent into the Gulf of Genoa, shortly after, 
 seized the opportunity to restore the vice-governatore and 
 his friend to their native island. The fame of their deeds 
 had preceded them, exaggerated, as a matter of course, by 
 the tongue of rumour. It was understood that the two El bans 
 were actually in the fight, in which Raoul Yvard fell ; and, 
 there being no one to deny it, many even believed that Vito 
 Viti, in particular, had killed the corsair with his own 
 hand. A discreet forbearance on the part of the podesta 
 always kept the matter so completely involved in mystery 
 that we question if any traveller who should visit the island, 
 even at this day, would be able to learn more than we now 
 tell the reader. In a word, the podesta, for ever after, passed 
 for a hero, through one of those mysterious processes by 
 which men sometimes reach fame ; quite as much, perhaps, 
 to their own astonishment, as to the surprise of everybody 
 else. 
 
 As for Ithuel, he did not appear in America for many 
 years. When he did return, he came back with several 
 thousand dollars ; how obtained no one knew, nor did he 
 
440 LE PEU-POLLBT. 
 
 Choose to enter into particulars. He now married a widow, 
 and settled in life. In due time he " experienced religion," 
 and, at this moment, is an active abolitionist, a patron of the 
 temperance cause, tee-totally, and a general terror to evil 
 doers, under the appellation of Deacon Bolt. 
 
 It was very, different with the meek, pious and single- 
 minded Ghita ; though one was e en a Roman Catholic, 
 and the other a Protestant, and that, too, of the Puritan 
 school. Our heroine had little of this world left to live for. 
 She continued, however, to reside with her uncle, until his 
 days were numbered ; and then she retired to a convent, 
 not so much to comply with any religious superstitions, as 
 to be able to pass her time, uninterrupted, in repeating 
 prayers for the soul of Raoul. To her latest hour, and she 
 lived until quite recently, did this pure-minded creature 
 devote herself to what she believed to be the eternal welfare 
 of the man who had so interwoven himself with her virgin 
 affections, as to threaten, at one time, to disturb the just 
 ascendency of the dread Being who had created her. 
 
 THE END. 
 
UNIVERSITY OF CALIP^ORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE 
 STAMPED BELOW 
 
 FEB 10 1919 
 
 
 30)n-6, 14 
 
Cooper, J. F. 
 
 TTnvAl s . ( /ing- and- 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CAIylFORNIA LIBRARY