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 http://www.archive.org/details/picaroonormercha01lond
 
 THE PICAROON; 
 
 OR, 
 
 THE MERCHANT SMUGGLER, 
 
 A TALE OF THE SEA. 
 
 BY 
 
 TilE AUTHOR OF "MAKANXA.' 
 
 " The cold in clime are cold in blood, 
 Their lore can scarce deserve the name ; 
 But mine was like the lava flood 
 That boils in Etna's breast of flame." 
 
 BvaoN. 
 
 £<rronU iStrition. 
 
 IN THREE VOLUMES. 
 VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON: 
 SAUNDEES AND OTLEY, CONDUIT STEEET. 
 
 18 io.
 
 
 THE PICAROON. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 You would pluck out the heart of iny mystery." 
 
 HAMLET. 
 
 The shades of coming night were fast wrap- 
 ping the gorge of St. Vincent's Rocks, through 
 which the Avon, after laving the shores of 
 Chfton, advances towards the sea, in a veil 
 of vague and dim obscurity : a few faint 
 rays yet lingered on the crags that crown 
 with fantastic pinnacles the gray and rugged 
 bastions of tb.e Devil's Reach, but in the 
 dizzv depth beneath all was dusky and 
 
 VOL. I. B
 
 2 THE PICAROON. 
 
 silent as the grave : — it was high tide, — but, 
 of the proud commercial navy of the neigh- 
 bouring city, not a single sail appeared, while 
 the dying breeze, which still came in sensible 
 breathings from the distant Downs, raised 
 not a ripple on the glassy bosom of the flood; 
 the water too had lost the silvery gleam that 
 shone faintly on its surface only a few 
 moments before, and changing with the fad- 
 uig light, grew dark almost to blackness, 
 when a solitary boat came suddenly in 
 view. 
 
 " Carema, Love ! — these late walkings are 
 not to be advised — the river damps hang 
 heavily on the breath ; our way, too, is lonely ! 
 — come, Love, — we will return. — Ah ! dost thou 
 see that boat ? — Whence, and what is she? — 
 [ will tell thee, that, to the understanding 
 eye, that craft appears a stranger, and one 
 of evil token. Mark, how she shoots to her 
 oars, with leap on leap, as if she felt the 
 pulse of life ! The barks of traffic or of
 
 THE PICAROON. J 
 
 pleasure speed not so swiftly : — No, the 
 mariners that pull with such precision as if 
 their arms were the according springs of some 
 machine, are trained by force and fear, have 
 started at the boatswain *s call, dread blows, 
 and yet dehght to deal them." 
 
 " Hush ! " whispered the young maiden, 
 to whom the old quaker (for such he was) 
 had addressed these somewhat untimely words, 
 for they implied alarm that might be ground- 
 less." 
 
 "Hush, dearest Sir!" — And securing a 
 firmer grasp of her companion's arm, who 
 cautiously remained at a safe distance from 
 the verge of the cliff, Carema leant boldly 
 over the chasm. 
 
 " It sounds again ! — a smothered moan, 
 and clearly from the boat; but surely not 
 uttered by either of the four who row so 
 strongly and so eagerly — and yet how strange, 
 for I cannot see a fifth." 
 
 "Odd enough !" replied the worthy Ephraim
 
 4 THE PICAROON. 
 
 Hagglestone, — " It was certainly a groan ; — 
 and yet, as thou observest, it could not be 
 from either of the crew. Ah ! now that the 
 boat comes nearer, I do opine I know them 
 well ; yea, too well ! That sallow fellow in 
 the stern sheets is the old pilot Mat Marlin, 
 the other three are his comrades, and if men 
 affirm truly, a sorry gang they are, yea, both 
 crew and master. Ever ready in a storm, or 
 in a fog ; — ready, for * themselves' at least, for 
 Mat makes more by wrecks and plunder, 
 than other men by salvage or wages, in the 
 way of honest work. A wild sea-shark, that 
 Marlin. No wonder that I mistook his galley 
 for a man-of-war's boat — Mat plies as keenly 
 for * self-and-profit' as an Algerine/' 
 
 Friend Ephraim had visited climes where 
 a broad brim was no superfluity — had counted 
 * Mother Carey's chickens' — caught a fish in 
 the air ! — believed in mermaids and the flying- 
 Dutchman ; — in fine, in his youthful days 
 Ephraim had made sundry voyages as a super-
 
 THK PICAROON. O 
 
 cargo. He had afterwards been a partner in 
 a West India house, and now that Time had 
 placed his silvery signet on his brow, he had 
 retired on a handsome competency. Yet, still 
 had Ephraim a hankering for all things nau- 
 tical, and loved the scent of tar, beyond the 
 fragrant hay-field or the Sabaean gale. He 
 had, withal, his oddities, and so have many 
 men not called upon to support the pro- 
 prieties of the primitive denomination: — did 
 " something smack, something grow to," as 
 Launcelot Gobo says of his father — yet was 
 he an' excellent old soul in the main ; cheer- 
 ful, domestic, and harmless as a robin ; — 
 overflowing with heartfelt benevolence, and^ 
 withal, curious as a magpie. 
 
 That same curiosity, by the bye, (in 
 man or woman,) is a fructifying endowment : 
 when duly employed, the very touchstone 
 of wisdom ; what had been my Lord Bacon, 
 or the great Napoleon without it ? 
 
 Ephraim was kind, and curious, and both
 
 b THE PICAROON. 
 
 qualities were now awakened. The cry of 
 suffering humanity had never thrilled on 
 his ear in vain, and the mystery in which 
 it was now involved rendered him doubly 
 eager in the work of investigation. The 
 cottage of the pilot lay within a short 
 range of the homeward path, and late as it 
 was, the quaker resolved to make it in his 
 way. 
 
 The apprehension which Hagglestone had 
 hinted to his ward, had a more serious 
 foundation than was avowed. The evening 
 damps were indeed rising, and it was grow- 
 ing late ; but more than these, robberies, 
 attended with violence, had recently occurred 
 in the Leigh Woods; and on this very spot 
 they had already loitered all too idly, while 
 Carema indulged the fond enthusiasm of 
 her girlish fancies. 
 
 She had watched the sun declining be- 
 yond the empurpled mountains of the Cam- 
 brian coast, and listened to the drowsy
 
 THE PICAROON. / 
 
 charm of insects numberless, that filled the 
 evening air with Hfe and love ; and while 
 these undistinguished sounds stole on the 
 ear, soft and dreamy as the distant bur- 
 then of a fairy's song, she had gazed her- 
 self into a sweet forgetfulness, enamoured 
 of the changing light, as, flashing with a 
 crimson or a golden glow, it played at 
 random among the moss-grown trunks of 
 the gnarled and stunted oaks, — the thunder- 
 rifled crags, and hollow dells, that render 
 desolation beautiful in that wild solitude. 
 
 With such fond musings the misgivings 
 of fear and danger had no alliance, and at 
 the first glimpse of Mat Marlin, even the 
 prudent Hagglestone felt quite himself again. 
 True, Mat was a sad dog, but, however just 
 the unsavoury odour of his name among the 
 land folk, the freemasonry of the ocean had 
 made the quaker and the pilot friends to a 
 certain negative extent, and the latter was 
 conscious that no man in Christendom would
 
 8 THE PICAROON. 
 
 sooner wink at liis petty peccadillos against 
 the excise than Ephraim Hagglestone, though 
 the conduct of the worthy quaker in all 
 things personal balanced nicely as the card 
 to equity and law. 
 
 The approach to Marlin's home was by a 
 deep lane, overhung with old dwarf timber, 
 and all encumbered with eglantine and ivy : 
 one of those Arcadian privacies of Nature, 
 where the very sunbeams seem to grow 
 bashful, as they peep palely through tangled 
 labyrinths of foliage, interwoven with endless 
 canopies of semitransparent leaves, fresh in 
 dewy greenness, and pranked with clustering 
 flowers. In such a nook, the evening hour 
 breathes a luscious incense ; the violet-be- 
 sprinkled banks sink with a velvet softness 
 beneath our sauntering tread, and half-for- 
 gotten dreams of love and youth steal over 
 us, even as a charm. We muse of Sherwood's 
 jolly Outlaw, and his sylvan Queen ; of 
 old Isaac Walton, so poetically moral, and
 
 THi: PICAROON. y 
 
 quaintly gay, with the story of the coy little 
 milkmaid too, who sang so sweetly, and 
 smiled through her blushes beneath the 
 stranger's lips. 
 
 Yes, woodland dells, and sheltered sha- 
 dowy lanes, by ^ daylight,' might surfeit a 
 poet with delicious phantasies, but in night, 
 and darkness, in spite of glowworms or 
 nightingales to boot, they are rather a"i)t to 
 balk our philosophy ; and the one in ques- 
 tion, as the evening shadows grew every 
 moment darker, seemed a ready den for cut- 
 throats. 
 
 Carema had all the gaiety that health, and 
 the cheerful thoughts of youthful innocence, 
 inspire, and yet, as they wandered onward, 
 and the grotesque masses of foliage frowned 
 darker and darker through the increasing 
 glooms of night, and straggling trails of 
 gray mist began to creep around with a 
 hovering motion over the more damp and 
 
 b2
 
 10 Tin: PICAROON. 
 
 hollow portions of the way, there were, per- 
 chance, some little shrinkings of feminine 
 timidity, as she clung to the arm of her 
 companion. Ephraim too, it may be whis- 
 pered, had his qualms, and at every advan- 
 cing step planted his * walking staff' with 
 a sonorous menace on the earth, — while ever 
 and anon he uttered some little consolatory 
 sentence, but all so abrupt and pointless, 
 that it became more and more apparent that 
 his thoughts were foreign to his words. 
 
 Presently the lane, diving through deeper 
 banks, became a naked rock-strown gully, 
 pointing towards the river, and the lower 
 part was now overflown by the rising tide, 
 so that the boat which had already arrived, 
 was floated up to the very door of Marlin's 
 cot. It was a wild-looking hut, partly built 
 out of old ship timbers, propped against an 
 over-reaching buttress of rock, which hid it 
 from the eye on the water side. The rude 
 walls and weather-stained thatch were over-
 
 THK PICAROON. 11 
 
 run with stonecrop, moss, and trails of ho- 
 neysuckle, while the turf had been dug away 
 from the shelves of sohd rock in front, so 
 as to form a court, with some broad steps 
 descending from the centre. 
 
 Mat had just made the shore, and was 
 sahiting his handsome wife, as she stood on 
 the lower step, with a lantern to light his 
 comrades from the boat. 
 
 " Bless thee, wench, thy lips are honey 
 baits. — I'll have another smack yet ! — Come, 
 get thee under way, and find the boys a 
 dram from out the Dutch keg in the old 
 locker. Come, come, pit-pat away, and leave 
 little Jack to hold the light." 
 
 " Gently, Mat ! — You're quick to give, 
 but slow to take. Don't you see that the 
 lads are overblown to a man ? — Why, look 
 ye, their eyes sparkle sharp as the Holms- 
 light in a frost, and their very faces shine 
 like skinned eels. Give them brandy ! — No,
 
 12 THE PICAROON. 
 
 no, — clean straw is too good by half, they're 
 hogs already.'* 
 
 " Hearken, Meg !" — replied the pilot in an 
 under tone, — " I know they've had a smart 
 drop, — but I say, not enough. I'll have 
 them drenched to the very gills, wench ! — 
 The dead, and the drunk, can bear no wit- 
 ness ! — I say, away! — look lively, — rap us 
 out the brandy." 
 
 The command was about to be obeyed. 
 Meanwhile Ephraim and the lady, who had 
 hitherto viewed the scene from behind the 
 convenient covert of a fallen tree, resolved 
 to preserve their concealment, and await the 
 event. 
 
 " Prime stuff, Meg ! — Come, suck a sip, 
 niy bonnie bird, 'twill do thee good. And 
 now, lads, don't shy on the can, we'll spill 
 another yet, and then to work. What, you're 
 edging on there, eh? — sly and silent, like 
 old maids at a weddino-, that sham the sweet
 
 THK PICAROON. 13 
 
 cake sour, and scan the bride's trim to the 
 colour of her garters, before they'll own the 
 lily white ! What, you must be poking, 
 pulling, and friggling over nothing, eh ? — 
 Let go the sail, Tom ; — Fll have no prying 
 prigs on board the Nancy. — What's under 
 the canvas you'll see soon enough, man ! — 
 so hands off, and all clear !*' 
 
 " But that there same groan," cried Long 
 Tom, dropping his lower jaw in a way more 
 significant than pleasing, — " I'll venture my 
 
 bible oath," 
 
 " And I'll swear," muttered another, gog- 
 gling his fiery eyes with a drunken leer, — 
 
 " I'll swear," 
 
 " Pooh, Tom ! belay that fool's yarn, I 
 tell thee there was no groan ! — no, — not in 
 the boat or out on*t! — No, nor any sound 
 for a christian to hear, but just a dog's yelp, 
 or the whoop of an owl ; — the like's often 
 heard in the Devil's Reach, but what of 
 that ? — Grog gives some men double sight,
 
 14 THE PICAROON. 
 
 and asses' ears. — Zounds ! we shall have 
 roasted sucking-pigs squeaking on the table 
 next without their heads ! — Come, boys, no 
 more fooling, but bear a hand ; — we'll land 
 the cargo." 
 
 In a moment a sail, which had been 
 stretched over some spars forward, was up- 
 lifted, and the cargo appeared ; — it was a 
 coffin ! 
 
 Not a man would lay a finger to the 
 job. Sailors are superstitious beyond mea- 
 sure ; and it was long, with threats and en- 
 treaties to boot, before Marlin could get 
 them to assist in hoisting the coffin from 
 the boat to the court before the house, and 
 no sooner was this feat accomplished, than 
 a new difficulty arose. Mat's comely spouse 
 was horrified at the thought of such a 
 guest, and as the lady was in that interest- 
 ing condition, when, on the dictum of a 
 grave authority, 
 
 " Coiniii''- events cast a shadow before,''
 
 THK PICAKOON. 
 
 15 
 
 compelling her compliance was out of the 
 question, and her husband had no alterna- 
 tive but to coax her to his purpose. 
 
 " Let's have no more * dears' and ' dear- 
 i/ig' to-night, Mat. — Your tongue's grown so 
 sickly sweet with false-hearted foolery, that 
 I'd swear , that you had some live frolick- 
 some quean laid flat in the box there, — ay, 
 certaui sure as thunder in hay time, but 
 just that I know you're too old and too 
 ugly to catch her ! — No, I'll hear no more : 
 — Before I'd have one of your brown out- 
 landish sea-tanned corpses laid on the same 
 floor with me, I'd fire the thatch, and leave 
 ye to rake the embers for your fortune. 
 All would be right and decent enough, man, 
 if you'd put the coflin under the ledge of 
 rock outside, and let it rest till morning." 
 " Ay, Meg, but remember the cold !" 
 *^ The * cold,* man ! — What, you forget 
 the warm shroud, all bran new flannel ! — 
 Too cold for a corpse, eh ? — And she laughed
 
 16 rnE PICAROON. 
 
 till the clifF re-echoed with the sound, when, 
 suddenly shocked at the thought, that such 
 ill-timed mirth was a mockery of the dead, 
 she turned pale as ashes, and, grasping her 
 husband's arm with violence, exclaimed — 
 
 " But you are much to blame, Marlin, 
 to make a charnel of your home, and con- 
 sort your own living flesh and blood with 
 dead men for the lucre of gain : — O, there's 
 a token and a visit from the grave, Mat, — 
 and I'll not be tempting the chance of 
 either !" 
 
 A frown gathered in silence on the pilot's 
 brow ; — men of the lower order have little 
 confidence in the discretion of the sex, and 
 Mat felt that he must be far more explicit 
 than inclination prompted. At last, with 
 an air of sullen resolution, he passed up to 
 his wife, and taking her hand between his 
 own, said a few words in a solemn earnest 
 tone, but so low as not to be overheard by 
 the men ; and then throwing himself back
 
 THE PICAROON. 17 
 
 against the wall, he folded his arms, and 
 stood as if uncertain of the issue. 
 
 Whatever the secret might have been, 
 it had evidently done little to assuage the 
 alarm of Meg ; the unusual pallor of her 
 cheeks continued, and as she gazed on the 
 coffin, there was a fierce scrutiny mixed with 
 doubt and abhorrence in her glance. A 
 momentary shudder passed, and seemed to 
 relieve her bosom of its load, — and then, 
 drawing her finely moulded figure to its 
 proudest height, as if she scorned her former 
 weakness, Meg waved her hand proudly, and 
 called aloud to the men below. 
 
 " Why stand ye there like lubbers in a 
 storm ! — Up with the coffin, and lodge it in 
 the house, — I say, hoist the coffin ! — Sure 
 they that pay may order? — Tis the Master's 
 whim, and who's afraid ?" 
 
 To shake off" the imputation of fear what 
 would not a seaman dare ! — The appeal was. 
 beyond its cause, and their aversion to the
 
 18 
 
 I'll i: IMC A KOOX. 
 
 undertaker's office was so far conquered, 
 that the coffin was hoisted, and soon stowed 
 off; and then Mat, as he followed his wife 
 into the house, having previously given the 
 crew some necessary directions, closed the 
 door, and shot the bolt home with a slam 
 that implied he meant td be alone. 
 
 " Oh, Sir ! for Heaven's sake !" said the 
 soft, and now pleading voice of Carema, 
 " let us not venture with those tipsy ruf- 
 fians, — it were better to retrace the lane, 
 yes, were the darkness and the distance 
 twice as great. Oh, Sir ! pray let them row 
 off without even knowing that they were 
 observed, — I would encounter any danger to 
 avoid them, — Oh, no, indeed you must not 
 call !" 
 
 " Prithee, Darling, be still, and let me 
 have the advice of mine own judgment. — 
 The matter is one, thou shalt understand 
 hereafter. — I assure thee, all shall be well : — 
 all for the best."
 
 I HE PICAROON. 19 
 
 And so saying, Ephraim descended with 
 rapid strides a small tongue of land that 
 projected towards the river, held his hands 
 hollow to his mouth, and shouted through 
 them, 
 
 " Boat, ahoy !'' 
 
 The cry awoke the distant echoes, and 
 was immediately responded by the deep 
 " Halloa*' of the boatmen, as they put about 
 to attend his bidding. 
 
 " Nay, Carema, why dost thou tremble? 
 — I say, all shall be well. Though the men 
 are tipsy, as thou sayest, yet. Child, the 
 strong drink will not mar their capacity for 
 labour. — All shall be well ! Nay, were they 
 to prove obstreperous, verily, as I have been 
 a sailor, and a master of sailors, so would 
 I make the varlets to lie as ballast in the 
 bottom of their own boat, and I myself 
 would take the tiller, and guide the shallop 
 as far as our habitation, which, as thou 
 knowest, is adjacent: — Nay, — nay, — it is my
 
 20 1 IIK PICAROON. 
 
 pleasure to be afloat, — and, I say unto thee, 
 all shall be well !" 
 
 Never, perhaps, was a pretty foot more 
 unwillingly pressed on the gunnel of a boat, 
 — but Ephraini, though kind, was positive; 
 and Carema felt as if there was a destiny 
 in the matter that implied obedience. In- 
 deed, the whole adventure already hung 
 strangely on her mind, — with a sort of omi- 
 nous interest, — as something personal, — as 
 something, that hereafter she might feel but 
 too anxious to forget.
 
 TH i: I'ICAHOON. 21 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 " "Tis a rich man's pride ! there having ever been 
 More than a feud, a strange antipathy, 
 Bet^N'een us and true gentry." 
 
 MASSINGEK. 
 
 "Did you order any thing, Sir?" said one 
 of the waiters at the Bush Tavern to a 
 young gentleman just arrived by the Oxford 
 coach. The question was put with an offi- 
 cious promptitude, which implied a hint as 
 to the ' impropriety' of not having done so, 
 — but, if so, it was unheeded, and the gen- 
 tleman remained with his eyes poring on the
 
 22 THF- PICAROON. 
 
 fire, apparently lost in a profound reverie. 
 The waiter's second essay was pitched in a 
 louder key, accompanied with a smirk, and 
 a bow, that brought the white rotundity of 
 his well powdered and pomatomed sconce 
 within an inch of the gentleman's chin. 
 The latter shrinking, instinctively, from the 
 greasy profanation, answered unconsciously, — 
 
 a No,— Yes." 
 
 And then with a glance, from which 
 the waiter receded a yard in respectful 
 diffidence, 
 
 " A glass of water." 
 
 The order was promptly obeyed ; and as 
 the stranger silently slipped a silver coin to- 
 wards the knight of the salver, the latter 
 began to opine that he was something more 
 than a look of pale anxiety, with a style of 
 dress, not shabby, but certainly more care- 
 less than elegant, had lead him to suspect. 
 All the comforts of " mine inn " were in 
 immediate requisition ; fresh coals were
 
 THK IMCAROON. 23 
 
 heaped on the fire with needless prodigaUty, 
 and the Morning Post placed within a 
 tempting distance on the table. 
 
 " Waiter, as I happen to be a stranger, 
 can you inform me if I am within a walk 
 of the residence of Mr. Kenrick, the mer- 
 chant." 
 
 *' O, Yes, Sir, — but," — and the waiter, 
 stroking his chin, pointing his collar, and 
 settling his features into a smile of studious 
 civility, added in a soft insinuating tone, — 
 " I would just venture to observe, Sir, — that, 
 as you are but just off a journey, and a 
 stranger, you may not be aware, that Mr. 
 Ralph Kenrick makes it a rule never so 
 much as to ask a gentleman to eat, drink, 
 or sit down on the premises." 
 
 " But, I am a relative, my good friend, 
 and invited." 
 
 " Beg pardon, Sir ! — I would not have 
 taken the liberty of saying a single word, 
 not a syllable, only that the Warehouseman
 
 24 THE PICAROON. 
 
 who lights the fires, makes the beds, and 
 does all his little jobs, told my brother of 
 the fact." 
 
 " Let me have a grilled chicken, with 
 a pint of Madeira." — And casting aside his 
 roquelaure, Frank Blandford ensconced him- 
 self in a cozie corner, with the philosophical 
 resolution, that come what might, the pre- 
 sent hour at least should not be unprofi- 
 tably spent. 
 
 " What !" thought Frank, while adding 
 a second dash of Harvey's sauce to qualify 
 the cayenne and mushroom, " Impossible ! 
 — That Uncle Kenrick, a man, warm in the 
 possession of thousands, who will pocket 
 ' a plum,' — and to judge by his own letter, 
 haughty as a nabob ! That he, of all men, 
 should wallow in these inexpressible mean- 
 nesses ! a * warehouseman' to light fires, 
 make beds, and do all his jobs ! good Hea- 
 vens ! impossible ! 
 
 With crashed affections, and thwarted
 
 THE PICAROON. 25 
 
 hopes, for Frank's Father had recently died 
 in the West Indies, and his Uncle's letter 
 had summoned him from Oxford with little 
 prospect of returning to the University, 
 where he had already gained distinction ; sur- 
 mises such as these, were anything rather 
 than pleasing anticipations. 
 
 The chicken had been handsomely dis- 
 patched, and the leading article of a second 
 Morning Paper carefully digested, before 
 Frank had achieved quantum suff. of reso- 
 lution to venture out on the intended visit, 
 -—and after all, he arranged to leave his 
 trunks at the Bush, as a ready excuse for 
 withdrawing, should a retreat appear ad- 
 visable. 
 
 After threading streets bustling, dingy, 
 cramped, and dirty as the closer parts of 
 London, Frank emerged on * The Back,' a 
 large open space in the heart of the city, 
 with a broad sheet of water in the centre 
 
 VOL. I. c
 
 26 THE PICAROON. 
 
 thronged with shipping, and bounded by 
 ranges of lofty warehouses: here a few in- 
 quiries soon conducted him to Mr. Kenrick's 
 counting-house, and he paused a moment to 
 reconnoitre. 
 
 The building in question was carried out 
 in a gloomy court, on one side of a large 
 store ; the windows high and barred, and 
 just within the wicket, a huge dog was 
 chained, as an additional security. On ad- 
 vancing towards the door, Cerberus plunged 
 and barked with terrific violence, and from 
 a sense of personal insecurity, Frank knocked 
 hastily and loudly. The dog, half throttled 
 with exertion, now growled hoarsely, as he 
 stretched his fanged jaws forward, with con- 
 vulsive efforts. The clang of the heavy iron 
 knocker pealed in hollow reverberations louder 
 and louder, and Frank felt his bosom swell 
 with uneasy forebodings, that such a wel- 
 come could have no happy issue. 
 
 The door was at last partially opened by
 
 THE PICAROON. 27 
 
 a low swarthy figure of a man, wearing a 
 black apron and canvas sleeves. 
 
 " Step in, Sir, — quick ! — or the wind will 
 blow out the lio-ht." 
 
 Such was the fellow's unceremonious greet- 
 ing; and slamming the door, he turned round 
 to show the way. Presently, on passing a 
 large empty office, he muttered, — 
 
 " Clerks all gone ; — Master has them clear 
 off the evening work in the morning : — saves 
 a power of candles, and makes the chaps all 
 the sharper. " 
 
 On arriving at a second door, he gave a 
 tap, which was answered from within by a 
 slight stamp, when the surly varlet threw it 
 open, and thrusting his bald head forward, 
 said gruffly, — 
 
 " Sir, the young man's come, that was 
 looked for : " — when, immediately turning 
 back, he left Frank to make his entree at 
 discretion. 
 
 The chamber was large and desolate, half
 
 28 THE PICAROON. 
 
 f'lunished with old fashioned lumber, and lit- 
 tered up and down with ranges of dusty books, 
 account files, and heaps of paper. A small 
 table near the fire, with a single candle, and 
 a high awkward desk in a far corner, were 
 the first objects that met the eye. 
 
 Frank had advanced to the centre of the 
 room, which still seemed empty, when the 
 creaking of a shoe caught his attention, and, 
 looking back, he saw his uncle standing half 
 behind the door, and watching him with a 
 glance of such consummate craft, as at any 
 other time might have provoked a smile, but, 
 to a heart yearning with the affections of a 
 relative, was abhorrent and repulsive. 
 
 " My nephew Blandford ! — what, you did 
 not see that the old man was waiting to re- 
 ceive you, eh ? — you are welcome." And he 
 held out his hand, but with a frigid, ceremo- 
 nious air, that denied the words. 
 
 Frank's thoughts were of the angel mo- 
 ther long no more, but whose image rose in
 
 THE PICAROON. 29 
 
 beauty with the recollections of his child- 
 hood, even as the memory of a dream. This 
 stranger was her brother, and his heart 
 warmed with an affection that could not — 
 would not, be convinced of its defeat. He 
 might even have stammered out some sucji 
 expression, when Kenrick repelled every ten- 
 der feeling, and froze the kindling pulses of 
 emotion as they bounded from his heart. 
 
 " The coach was in four hours ago, — but 
 Mr. Blandford has been better occupied : — ■ 
 Very well, very right : — the coffee was ready 
 at six, but time matters not, except in affairs 
 of business, — yes, it is still warm." And so 
 saying, Kenrick poured out two cups, and 
 turning his chair round so as to face the fire, 
 he sat down, to the enjoyment of his own with 
 the indifference of an old acquaintance. 
 
 Though half cold, the coffee was richly 
 flavoured, and this circumstance, trifling as it 
 was, gave consolation, as it seemed to imply,
 
 30 THE PICAROON. 
 
 that the old gentleman, however crusty, was 
 not altogether so penurious as reported. 
 
 With the hope of thawing the ice some- 
 what further, Frank now presented a letter 
 from his late tutor at Brazennose. 
 
 *^ Ah ! — what ! We will call this your ' in- 
 voice,' Mr. Blandford ; very well, very right." 
 And with these words the letter was laid down 
 with the seal unbroken, until anotlicr cup 
 of coffee had been duly sugared, creamed, 
 and drunk. 
 
 " Humph ! — * Indefatigable perseverance P — 
 Very well, very right. — ' Kee)i relish for the 
 elegancies of classical literature F — Fiddle dee, 
 fiddle dum ! — ^ High sense of honour' — ^per- 
 fect probity ' — Fudge ! — A pretty letter, young 
 man ; very pretty ! — but we old ones know all 
 about it ! The thinnest bubbles shine the 
 brightest, and burst the soonest ; all cha- 
 racters are very well till they are found out ! 
 Come, come, don't take the trouble to look
 
 THE PICAROON. 31 
 
 pale and foolish, we shall agree very well, 
 very well ; I don't expect any thing out of 
 the way. Your mother never knew the world : 
 had a silly infatuation people call 'generosity' 
 and * fine feeling.' Pooh ! she was as unlike 
 nie as possible ! Ah ! she had no concentra- 
 tion of mind, — no * instinct ' to her own inte- 
 rest. Yet she married well and early ; pretty 
 girls often do ; men, like children, choose their 
 toys for the paint and varnish, not the 
 value ! " 
 
 Frank felt his face flush with impatient 
 scorn ; and something indiscreet might have 
 escaped his lips, had not his uncle suddenly 
 rung the bell, and, after due enquiries, sent 
 his factotum Peter for the baggage. 
 
 " Nephew, you will reside with me for the 
 future. So much was not expressed by letter, 
 no, nor was it needful. I am aware that some 
 other arrangement might have been preferred : 
 but we will not talk of that, the subject
 
 32 THE PICAROON. 
 
 might prove unpleasant ; and, besides, it is 
 altogether useless. Having maturely formed 
 a resolution, it is a rule with me never to re- 
 sign it ; no ! nor do I ever argue questions 
 with men who are my 'juniors/ I say this, 
 Nephew, to win the obedience I have autho- 
 rity to enforce, — for remember, Sir, that your 
 father's will has given me the necessary legal 
 power during your minority. No, no, you need 
 not say a word, not a syllable ! I grant, that 
 he did not contemplate the step I am about 
 to take, but what of that ? It is, Mr. Bland- 
 ford, for your benefit, for your direct advan- 
 tage ; and as a conscientious man, acting 
 under the leadings of grace, and regardless of 
 worldly reproach, I say it must, — it shall be 
 so !" 
 
 To the high spirited and polished Bland- 
 ford, the daring abruptness of this language 
 was so extraordinary, as to render it incom- 
 prehensible. It was the menace of a jailer
 
 THE PICAROON. 33 
 
 rather than the council of a guardian, and 
 Frank stood for some seconds actually as- 
 tounded, gazing on his Uncle with fixed eyes 
 and clenched hands, before the simple fact 
 occurred to his mind, nor was it very pleas- 
 ing when it did, viz. that his volition was 
 legally suspended, and that resistance would 
 but betray his weakness. 
 
 With this reflection, self-command and 
 serenity returned, and his eyes met those of 
 his imperious relative with a glance of moral 
 superiority, from which the other quailed. 
 
 As the wary angler, who finds his rod 
 overbent with a heavy fish, gives line with a 
 ready hand, and then holds gingerly, lest 
 strokes too sudden might set the captive 
 free, so Kenrick began to feel that it was 
 time to temporize, and that a word might place 
 a gulf between himself and his excited ward 
 that no after policy could recover. 
 
 " Nephew, blunt Honesty loves to cast in 
 c2
 
 34 THE PICAROON. 
 
 tlie shadows of the picture first : — and, after 
 •all, a residence with your old Uncle may not 
 jDrove so dull as you imagine. At least, you 
 know it will be for your own advantage, 
 and when a needful probationary season has 
 elapsed, if you win my confidence, let me tell 
 you, that there are points in my business that, 
 had I a skilful assistant, would lead to splen- 
 did results ! You need not fag with the clerks ; 
 no, no,. I would rather have you prove my 
 second self,^ to direct, to order, and arrange. 
 Above all, you should make yourself familiar 
 with the continental languages. Hark'ee, 
 Nephew,^ I have agencies abroad, of which 
 the hirelings of my counting house have no 
 idea, not a glimpse ! nor would I have them. 
 Well, well — we will talk of that another time, 
 but in the mean while,- Blandford, look to 
 this: — I must have you avoid all close inti- 
 macies, which fools call ' friendships ! ' It is 
 well to mingle with society as the gleaner
 
 THE PICAKOOX. 35 
 
 walks the stubble, — mark me, to tread down 
 what opposes, and gather the useful for our 
 own advantage ; but remember, to leave no- 
 thing in exchange ! Well, well, we will speak 
 again : I have matters abroad for to-night, 
 touching *the cause,' — a pinch of the salt of 
 the earth, as a man might say, will be ga- 
 thered in a corner. Well, I shall not return 
 till late, but you will remember, Nephew, that 
 Peter will be here to attend your biddings. 
 Ah ! there is one thing else, for it might be 
 too late in the mornino;. I mean as touchino; 
 a Mr. Hagglestone, — Ephraim Hagglestone, — 
 a Quaker. He was one of the late firm before 
 I took the concern into my own hands ; he 
 has still some capital embarked, and wanders 
 in and out as a stray dog in a fair. But re- 
 member, he is not in my confidence : no : — 
 and when you visit at his house, for it is a 
 thing I cannot well refuse, bear this in mind, 
 — I will have no intanglements with his ward, 
 no love fooleries ! The girl has fascination,
 
 36 THE PICAROON. 
 
 SO has the serpent ! Well, well, — Peter will 
 soon be here. Good night.'* 
 
 As Kenrick left the room, the very square- 
 ness of his long-backed erect figure, and the 
 measured firmness of his quick, yet almost 
 noiseless tread, seemed significant of the so- 
 lidity, harshness, and rapacity of his mind. 
 Frank felt that any idea of companionship 
 with such a being would be absurd ; and yet, 
 the first feelings of chagrin and aversion were 
 strangely deadened, nay, almost forgotten. 
 The fact was, though Blandford was himself 
 unconscious of it, that the reliance his Uncle 
 seemed ready to stake on his skill in matters 
 secret, and of moment, with the rising pride 
 of taking a leading part in a business so ex- 
 tensive, had charmed him into forgetfulness. 
 In a word, Blandford's ' ambition ' was awa- 
 kened, and ambition in the bosom of a young 
 man of talent is often as dangerous, and far 
 more alluring, than the blandishments of plea- 
 sure.
 
 THE PICAROON. 37 
 
 Still, as he sat fancying figures in the 
 fire, and striving to persuade himself that 
 habit might eventually render the desolate 
 chamber around even something like a home, 
 an annoying irksomeness remained, and he 
 was but too happy to be disturbed from these 
 melancholy musings by the rude rattling of 
 the luggage, as Peter let it down rather 
 roughly at his side, and then without a word 
 retired. 
 
 A second summons brouoht back this 
 
 o 
 
 most forbidding of all servitors. On the 
 order, too, Peter re-appeared a second time 
 with supper, viz. a prime Stilton and Burton 
 ale ; and here, again, was consolation, for 
 these viands spoke well of his uncle^s mtnage, 
 and they happened to be Blandford's fancy,* 
 but still there was something in the eye of 
 the surly Peter, as he came and went with 
 the glum self-importance of a verger on duty, 
 that did not please him half so well.
 
 3vS THE PICAROON. 
 
 '' Hang the fellow," thought Frank, '' it 
 IS the very look, the same malicious leer, 
 with which a graceless urchin views the bird 
 just limed, doubting if he shall keep the 
 pretty trembler cnged, — or twist its little 
 neck."
 
 THE PICAROON. 39 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 " Tricks had he in him, that gentlemen have." 
 
 " Good Sir, why do you start and seem to fear 
 Things that do sound so fair ?'' 
 
 SHAKESPEARE. 
 
 If Blandford found the attendance of Peter 
 not precisely the ministration calculated to 
 inspire the confidence that leads to comfort, 
 or to leave him in the vein to conjure up the 
 crowning zest of " bachelors' fare ;" if, but 
 in day dreams of the past, when the glass 
 shone brighter for the lips that pressed it,
 
 40 THE PICAROON. 
 
 and kindling blushes on lovely cheeks grew 
 deeper than the rosy tinted wine ; — if these 
 fire side delights were wanting, the aspect 
 of his dormitory was something worse. 
 
 The bed room, if such it might be termed, 
 was absolutely nothing more than a sort of 
 square box, partitioned off with naked deals 
 from the second flat, or floor of the ware- 
 house. The place was originally intended for 
 the office of a book-keeper, and was a sorry 
 hole even for such a purpose. 
 
 As Peter showed the way, coughing with 
 the cold, and sheltering the light with liis 
 hand to guard it from the wind, the wide 
 and indistinct space of the flat, half lost in 
 shadow, and here and there built up from 
 floor to ceiling with, goodly sacks, casks, and 
 bales of merchandise, had withal an air of 
 opulence, rude, but substantial ; it was the 
 gold of commerce in its native mine ! and 
 Frank thought of the Arabian Tales, and of 
 the riches of Damascus. In the mean while
 
 THK PICAROON. 41 
 
 Peter hurried on, and, having arrived at the 
 far end, opened the narrow door, and hold- 
 ing up the candle, exhibited the bed within. 
 Frank stood confounded with astonishment! 
 a second thought, however, seemed to set the 
 matter right. 
 
 " What ! you are showing me your own 
 room, Peter ! I suppose my Uncle places you 
 here, as a guard upon the property?" 
 
 " A guard ! " — and the fellow, smiling, 
 showed his teeth in silent derision. " A 
 guard ! — No, Sir, INIaster knows better ; — 
 if so be that thieves got on the wrong side 
 of these locks, whoever slept here would be 
 little baulk! — I guess, they'd just slit his 
 gullet, and leave him to whistle through 
 the hole ! — This room be yourn, Sir." 
 
 "This! this infernal kennel!" 
 
 " 'Kennel!' — Lord love ye, — Master 
 says that ' every dog knows his own,' — you 
 called it 'my place' just now. Sir! Master 
 says it's snug as a wren's nest. Ay, ay, he's
 
 42 THE PICAROON. 
 
 all for feeling, and cares no more for look, 
 than a beggarman for woollen rags in sum- 
 mer ! You'll find warm bedding, and all bran 
 new, I guess, Sir. A kennel!" — And still 
 muttering 'kennel !' and coughing, away went 
 Peter, leaving Frank to his own conclusions. 
 
 The inside of the " wren's nest" was little 
 better than the out. Some of the conve- 
 niences of the toilet were there, indeed, but 
 the low oaken bedstead was without hang- 
 ings, and though the high window was glazed, 
 (the others in the flat were open gratings,) it 
 had neither blind nor curtain. Still Peter was 
 right in the essential article of " feeling ; " 
 the bed was capital, and Frank soon fell 
 asleep. 
 
 In the faculty of sleeping soundly, few 
 could excel Frank Blandford, but now he 
 was sadly at fault ; whether it were from the 
 recent whirl of travel, or that the scent of 
 the pimento, large stores of which, with other 
 spices, lay in the adjoining flat ; was it this
 
 THE PICAROON. 43 
 
 or that, Frank dreamt more than a love-sick 
 maiden who sleeps with a mutton shank be- 
 neath her pillow. 
 
 Under the wand of Morpheus, he was 
 again at Oxford, in the midst of a glorious 
 jollification, given in celebration of his own 
 departure. Wit and claret were in the ascen- 
 dant, when just as his old chum, the Hon. 
 Bob Langton, gave a mock oration to his 
 especial honour, and dashed it here and there 
 with sundry little anecdotes, that at last pro- 
 voked a general burst of the old song, 
 
 " Green grow the rushes O !" 
 
 the scene changed, suddenly as the glancing 
 of a falling star, and Frank was following his 
 poor Father's funeral in the West Indies, 
 where he had never been. 
 
 The other mourners, or mummers, for, as 
 is too usual on such occasions, the first word 
 was a sad misnomer, were talking ribaldry, 
 and smoking as they sauntered forward, when,
 
 44 THE PICAROON. 
 
 just as the black half-naked grave-diggers 
 received the coffin to lodge it in its narrow 
 cell, the lid fell off, and instead of a pallid 
 festering corpse, out tumbled an endless shower 
 of doubloons. Thousands on thousands, chink- 
 ing and rattling, they rolled into the grave, 
 its dark sides crumblino; with their weight. 
 And then all but himself seemed sinking 
 through a hollow void of utter darkness, into 
 a viewless bottomless abyss ; — and Frank felt 
 his heart swell, and his brain grow dizzy, for 
 a voice as from the air whispered, 
 
 '' Thou art alone, — penniless, and as a 
 vagabond on the earth." 
 
 Then all without and within became con- 
 fused and indistinct, but still accompanied 
 with a horrible sensation, as if the orbs of sight 
 were pressing back upon the brain. As sud- 
 denly, and strangely, rich strains of melody 
 arose ; — in the dim chaos of the mind, revi- 
 sitings of light appeared, and as they strength- 
 ened, they seemed to reveal the verdant fields
 
 THE PICAROON. 45 
 
 of Christ Chuicli. The mellowing vapours 
 of a warm autumnal evening hung gently 
 in the distance, while through the umbra- 
 geous foliage the rays of a gorgeous sunset 
 streamed in vivid showers of golden arrowy 
 light, painting the darkly heaving river with 
 streaks of an amber tint; — then flashing on 
 the swiftly gliding boats, or resting in full 
 effulgence on the moving groups, in which 
 the gay diversities of female costume con- 
 trasted, finely with the grave monastic habits 
 of the gownsmen. 
 
 A moment passed, and then a long wild 
 shriek was heard ; in the next, a lovely girl, 
 panting for breath, was struggling in a stran- 
 ger's grasp. Her efforts were vain as violent, 
 and presently she was forced into a boat. Her 
 last glance fell on Blandford, with an imploring 
 look of agony that smote him to the heart. 
 The vessel shot forward, swift as an arrow, 
 and, in the spirit of his dream, Blandford still 
 followed : — now he gained upon the chase,
 
 46 THE PICAROON. 
 
 struggling and staggering beneath a press of 
 canvas, and a small white hand seemed to wave 
 a signal from her shrouds; — again the flying 
 sea-boat grew dim to a faint, and moving 
 shadow ; — then cries and broken sobs were 
 heard : — a moment, and that delicate hand 
 was clasped in his ; — a warmth, a life, a pres- 
 sure, shot delicious magic through his veins ! — 
 and then, as suddenly as strangely, it hung 
 all cold, and clammy, as the touch of death. 
 
 " The devil dumfounder thee, for an over- 
 blown swaggering swab, — I tell thee. Jack, the 
 Revenue Cutter, or the King's Sloop to boot, 
 had tacked till doomsday, though the black 
 fiend had cuned the wheel himself! without 
 clawing the wind a cable's length, on the 
 Blowzy Bess, ay, certain as the sea is salt, but, 
 that the old Skipper lay stark and stiff in his 
 own hammock ! — The jolly dogs in the bilboes 
 knew right well how to run a cargo; but, 
 for handling the Blowzy Bess in a high sea, 
 
 ir for coaxing the varment up on the wind's
 
 THE PICAROON. 47 
 
 eye, the Skipper and none else, was the man ! 
 But, poor fellow, he's dead, and she's taken ; 
 and for the last, all the better say I, — 'twere 
 altogether unnatural, for the one to keep 
 afloat, and t'other stranded. — Lord ! it was 
 a beautiful sight to see how he'd lay her off 
 in a squall, and then bring her up snug and 
 easy, when the gale came steady ; and she 
 the hussey, all the while, as if she knew her 
 master, gave a shake and a lurch, and then 
 flew ahead like a rocket ! — the water parting, 
 flying, flashing, and whizzing from her bottom 
 all in a glow, like sheets of flaming fire ! — I 
 tell thee. Jack, 'twas a sight to warm the 
 
 cockles of your heart : but he's cold, and 
 
 she's taken ; — but, as I said afore, let's have 
 no brag of that. Zounds, man ! you might 
 as well boast of harpooning the whale's silly 
 calf, when the mother fish lies with her 
 white belly up and drying in the wind ! — I 
 tell thee. Jack, you may crack the * hollow 
 nut' for me ! — I say it's no brag yet ! — "
 
 48 THE PICAROON. 
 
 How much of this reached the ear of 
 Frank, it were difficult to say, but the first 
 words broke through the magic of the dream, 
 and, starting up in bed, he Ustened with no 
 very pleasing recollections of Peter's delicate 
 hint, — of whistling through a slit in the gul- 
 let. 
 
 " It is a smuggler at least," thought Frank, 
 — " and probably a thief, or what the deuce 
 brings him here? — and then these gentry 
 are rather too well accomplished in the use 
 of cold iron, to make the incident agreeable." 
 
 The light of a lantern just then shone 
 through the chinks and slits of the deal par- 
 tition, and the rumbhng crash of heavy 
 weights in motion was heard from without. 
 This last sound dissolved the charm ; thieves 
 would have been more circumspect, and Frank 
 very properly concluded, that what he had 
 heard was nothing more than the conversa- 
 tion of some men, who were come to w^ork 
 at an early hour; still the allusions to the
 
 THE PICAROON. 49 
 
 tricks of the ^ free trade' were not quite what 
 he might have anticipated on the premises 
 of his uncle, and he felt his curiosity awa- 
 kened. 
 
 " Prick me off those same cotton bales, 
 from fourteen to fifty. Twas all chance that 
 I left Pill with the night tide; — not a soul 
 in Bristol knows of the job, and yet there's 
 many, will chirrup loud enough, to hear that 
 the Blowzy Bess is nabbed at last! — her 
 running, ran the length of many a purse : not 
 that 'twas ever proved, but the Skipper had 
 the knack of playing the honest trader, smug- 
 gler, privateer, or pirate, — just as the wea- 
 ther vane of fancy pointed : and sure enough, 
 the Blowzy Bess was as prime a bottom for 
 the game, as ever man would wish to put his 
 foot in." 
 
 The fellow's comrade made some jeering 
 reply, but the noise of his work rendered it 
 indistinct; and from some broken sentences 
 that followed, Frank learnt little more than 
 
 D
 
 50 THE PICAROON. 
 
 that most probably, the man who had ex- 
 pressed so much interest in the fate of the 
 Blowzy Bess, at some time might have served 
 on board her, a matter of little moment, even 
 as it regarded his own character, as in most 
 seaports, many a prime and ' honest hand,' 
 (in the common sense of the phrase) may be 
 found who has done the same. 
 
 The rapid advance of the dawning light, 
 and the increasing stir below, now seemed to 
 hint, that it might be as well to dress, early 
 as it was ; for any expectation of a morning 
 nap, in the neighbourhood of such a din, 
 could only prove an illusion. 
 
 The sitting room appeared more utterly 
 blank and unsocial by daylight, than when 
 wrapt in the glooms of evening. Mr. Ken- 
 rick was already at breakfast, and a lurking 
 smile of approbation passed over his counte- 
 nance, at the unexpected entrance of his ne- 
 phew. 
 
 " Very well, very right ! — ^To be afore-
 
 THE PICAROON. 51 
 
 hand with the day, young man, let me tell you, 
 is the way to make a premium on time ! — 
 Early bargains prove long gains ! — Stop, Pe- 
 ter ! — Some more dry toast, and harkee, two 
 handsome back cuts from the skippered salmon. 
 A prime morning whet that. Nephew, for a 
 dainty stomach, — ay, and a famous hold-fast 
 for a strong one too ; that is at least, as I 
 take it, qualified with a glass of ' double 
 stout,' just a single glass to keep out the 
 fog, which steals up in the chill of the dawn, 
 from the coppery scum of the docks ; for no- 
 tice. Nephew, I always take a lark's peep at 
 the shipping, just to set the lazy swabs on 
 the stir, and give out orders for the day." 
 
 Gratified by his uncle's good humour, 
 and with the hope of increasing it, Frank be- 
 gan to relate the news that he had accident- 
 ally learnt from the conversation he had over- 
 heard in the morning, but for awhile, he spoke 
 unheeded. 
 
 Kenrick was sitting, or rather basking
 
 52 THE PICAHOON.' 
 
 with extended knees before a huge fire, sHp- 
 ping ever and anon betwixt his teeth, little 
 dainty dice-like bits of skippered salmon, and 
 sucking them down with the satisfactory click 
 of a true gourmand, his eyelids half closed, 
 and all the endowments of the inward man 
 in due obeyance to the masticating organs 
 and their accessories : — when, as Frank named 
 the Blowzy Bess, with some little emphasis, 
 his uncle's eyes grew suddenly dilated, and 
 in a moment they were fixed upon him with 
 an expression that he knew not how to con- 
 strue. 
 
 Had a salmon-bone unluckily crossed his 
 throat, had it slipt the wrong way? — was he 
 choking ? Frank absolutely thought so, and, 
 incontinently, held out a glass of porter. In 
 the excitement of surprise, Kenrick as incon- 
 tinently capsized it, by an involuntary exten- 
 sion of the dexter arm. The contents were 
 spilt upon the fire, a smothering cloud of 
 steam, smoke, and ashes burst from the hiss-
 
 THE PICAROON. 53 
 
 ing embers, and both parties started to their 
 feet. 
 
 '' Young man, young man," — exclaimed Ken- 
 rick, in a mumbling disconcerted tone, and 
 rubbing the scattered smuts completely over 
 his face and forehead, as he strove to wipe 
 them off with his open hand, — " Young man, 
 of what report did you speak ? — it cannot be : 
 no, no, there is some mistake.*' 
 
 " Very likely. Sir." — Frank's voice was 
 almost inaudible from involuntary laughter at 
 his uncle's grotesque appearance, — " I only 
 heard of it by accident, and mentioned it 
 under the idea that you would be glad to 
 hear of the capture." 
 
 " Glad ! — oh yes, certainly ! — very glad." 
 And, clenching his teeth, Kenrick forced a 
 snarhsh smile, — " The Blowzy Bess laid hold 
 of, — good ! ha, ha, excellent ! But then the 
 surprise ! I tell you what, Nephew, had a 
 burning shell fell whizzing through the roof, 
 it had been to this as nothing ! Captured !
 
 64 TH r, PICAROON, 
 
 How, in the name of Beelzebub ? Captured ! 
 Why, there was not a cruiser, not so much 
 as a cutter, on the coast ! The Skipper dead, 
 and neither hanging nor fighting in the mat- 
 ter ! Pooh, boy, it must be a joke; the thing 
 were impossible ! *' And, dropping into his 
 chair, Kenrick for awhile sat motionless. 
 
 " Peter ! off, — make haste ! and fetch me 
 Marlin, — Mat Marlin ; a trusty pilot. Nephew, 
 whom I employ, he shall tell me all. But 
 there is one thing, — Nephew, did you happen 
 to hear, ' were there any papers found V was 
 there any — any discovery?" 
 
 " Cannot say. Sir, the fellow did not seem 
 to know himself; and to change the subject, 
 may I inquire if the documents relative to 
 my father's property are duly come to hand ; 
 the West Indian agent, a man, I am told, of 
 worth and high character, informs me that 
 he has written to you for advice." 
 
 " Yes, oh yes, I have a letter, but he is 
 nobody ; has no proper idea of business, and
 
 THE PICAROON. 55 
 
 SO I have sent out a power of attorney that 
 will relieve him of the trouble, and, for the 
 present, transfer the property to my own 
 account/' 
 
 " Indeed !" 
 
 " Yes ! ' indeed; Mr. Blandford, and what 
 of that ! Is it not secure ? Is it not as 
 safe as if it were my own ? Am not I Ralph 
 Kenrick, whose word and whose bond are in 
 worth the same, and either current, let me 
 tell you, as the gold of the realm ? 'In- 
 deed !' — but that you are my near kinsman, 
 that word had been the last betwixt us. 
 But no, although a relative, you have been 
 out of sight ; you have been as a stranger, 
 and I can overlook it. Yes, Mr. Blandford, 
 nurse the doubt if you will, but remember 
 that I shall nurse the money, and that the 
 advantage will be your own."
 
 56 THE PICAROON. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 " If circumstances lead me, I will find 
 Where truth is hid, though it were hid indeed 
 Within the centre, shakespkarr. 
 
 An elderly gentleman of the old school^ fresb 
 coloured, spare, and upright, rang the house 
 bell at a green door in a lofty wall, down a 
 lane, not far from the river at Clifton. 
 
 ' Elderly, ' — the term is of doubtful pro- 
 priety, and Dr. M'Mara's sobriquet, ' the old 
 beau,' had been more correct. Never had a 
 silk stocking covered a better calf than the
 
 THE PICAROON. 67 
 
 Doctor's. The firm indian-rubber-like elas- 
 ticity of the well knit muscles beneath, shone 
 through with every movement, evincing sta- 
 mina and active endowments of no common 
 order. He wore powder too, and this, like the 
 bloom of the peach, gave a finish and a 
 grace ; the contrast added a brightness to the 
 claret-tinted glow that mantled on his cheeks, 
 and with fine teeth, deep clear blue eyes, 
 piercing and steady ; smiles of constant cheer- 
 fulness, and a singular precision of dress, 
 completed a portrait well worth a second 
 glance. 
 
 On the whole, ' the Doctor,' in feminine 
 phraseology, was par excellence ' a nice man ;' 
 and what is more, he was a worthy man ; 
 but still he had his foible: that of thinking 
 so much for the interest ' of others,' that he 
 forgot his own. This was the very secret of 
 his holding but a narrow practice, when his 
 grasp of intellect and professional skill should 
 have commanded the largest. Not theit he 
 d2
 
 58 THE PICAROON. 
 
 was wanting in those little elegancies, and 
 conciliating arts, that are supposed to win 
 golden opinions in the medical profession. 
 Far from it ; the soothing softness of his 
 Toice, the winning attention, the half thought- 
 ful smile, and bending grace of attitude with 
 which he felt a lady's pulse, whose indisposir 
 tion was but slight; just enough to add an 
 interesting languor to her charms, all these 
 were quite bewitching, and M'Mara was then 
 par excellence * the dear Doctor/ But if the 
 lady was indeed ill ! — in a word, if it was a 
 case of ' moment,' the sympathy of his look, 
 the caution of his remarks, the minuteness of 
 his inquiries, and above all, the anxious fre- 
 quency of his calls were fatal to his repu- 
 tation ! Not, but that all these were truly, 
 in their degree, high minded and philoso- 
 phical ; and not, but that such conduct was 
 conscientious, and precisely what any man 
 must pursue, knowing the defects of medical 
 science, and aware that the life of a fellow
 
 THE PICAROON. 59 
 
 being may, to some extent, be required at 
 his hands ; but it was not common, not the 
 fashion of the day. The * world' is of itself 
 worldly, and the worldly-wise bustling non- 
 entities that retail the tattle of a town, mis- 
 took ^ caution ' for doubt, ' conscientiousness ' 
 for indecision; and the most empty headed 
 but assuming of his competitors drove him 
 out of the field, and that by mere ' force of 
 character ! ' by the oracular importance of a 
 nod ! the rattle-door brevity of a call, and 
 not the less, by that cold-blooded stoical in- 
 difference that overawes the vulgar. 
 
 Still by accident, or rather their own 
 better fortune, M^Mara had some patients, 
 and as these parties most frequently recovered, 
 he might be said to ' preserve his connexion, 
 in the better sense of the phrase. And he 
 kept it too, in another sense : it so happened 
 that Dr. M'Mara never attended a single soul 
 without the kindly feelings of his nature being 
 so far awakened as to leave him prejudiced
 
 60 THE PICAHOON. 
 
 in their favour. Over the bad, his spirit 
 brooded in the ^ luxury' of pity, — he forgave, 
 counselled, and assisted, — and as for the good, 
 with them ' patient was synonymous with 
 friend,' and the friendships thus created were 
 rooted in the heart's best sympathies, and 
 lasted for life. 
 
 With these congenial spirits, and they were 
 many and of diverse rank, for although a 
 man of family, M'Mara cared not for ex- 
 ternals, he was sans doubt, " the dear delightful 
 Doctor." — And yet he had his social whims and 
 idle phantasies, and some as strange as those 
 of the worthy divine who knitted garters as 
 birthday presents for the blooming lambkins of 
 his flock: — indeed, the Doctor was no less a 
 privileged man ; and he would exact his charter 
 on occasion. — In scenes of ceremony, none 
 could be more ceremonious than Dr. M^Mara ; 
 but, all the while he abhorred the folly in 
 his heart, and, among the circle of his love, 
 * the merry and the wise,' nothing amused
 
 THE PICAROON. 61 
 
 him more than some unexpected frolic, ' crack- 
 ing,' as he quaintly termed it, ' the catVice 
 of modern pomposity,' so shallow and so 
 smooth, with a tingling spice of old English 
 jollity. 
 
 " How odd, that the Doctor remained 
 unmarried !" — So said every body, and none 
 even thought so, oftener than himself, for no 
 man had a warmer, a higher estimation, — a 
 keener relish for the attractions of the sex — 
 
 Mingling so sweetly, he said with a sigh. 
 The roses of earth, with charms that ne'er die ; — 
 With intellect bright as the glow of the west. 
 Yet gentle and warm as her own heaving breast ; 
 In woman, dear woman ! the treasures combine. 
 We snatch from existence, or, reckon divine. 
 
 Traps of all devices were, and had been set 
 for the entanglement of the Doctor's poor, in- 
 nocent affections, and that too, as sedulously 
 as " springes to catch wood-cocks." At an 
 evening call, it had positively happened even 
 more than once, that * all the family,* save ' the 
 fair daughter of the house,' would suddenly
 
 62 THE PICAROON. 
 
 remember some inevitable engagement, — and 
 with flattering apologies, dashed adroitly with 
 delicate insinuations, leave the Doctor and 
 the blushing fair one to enjoy a ttte a tete 
 of perilous endurance. Even holy church 
 was no longer a place of refuge or defence 
 against the machinations of Dan Cupid ; — 
 the frumpish mammas managed, silently, to 
 change places with their virgin daughters, 
 until a blooming piety of seventeen pressed 
 the hassock at the Doctor's side, with knees 
 softly enshrouded in downy muslin, that 
 seemed to bear the impress of some ethereal 
 form, and wrapped it in a moonlit cloud ! 
 and while a little hand, in trembling diffidence, 
 supported one leaf of the ritual, the responses 
 were murmured in a voice so redolent with 
 maiden sweetness, that to hear them, a Se- 
 raph might have left his heavenly musings, 
 and lingered on the earth. 
 
 There were fair patients too, and not a 
 few, — whose malady it would have puzzled
 
 THE PICAROON. 63 
 
 Hippocrates to have named. Some, received 
 the Doctor when delicately pillowed up in 
 bed, with a kind, unobservant, sympathizing 
 friend in waiting. Others, in their wisdom, 
 preferring the solemn and the mystic, re- 
 ceived the Doctor in the richly furnished 
 saloon, curtained carefully from the too ob- 
 trusive day into a dim magnificence, where 
 the fair, but neglected idol of self-adulation, 
 lay motionless, and all alone ; — reclined in ele- 
 gant negligence on a velvet sofa, wrapt up 
 in Indian shawls, and lost in a languid reverie, 
 with smiling features, soft as the dream of 
 infant Love, and beautiful in silence as the 
 princess of a fairy vision. 
 
 The only universal symptoms to be noted 
 in these interesting cases, were a slight lan- 
 guishing of the eyes, — and a tremor, we will 
 not say an artificial tremor, of the voice. It 
 was too, a trait, significant of the malady, that 
 all preferred the recumbent attitude, — as doubt-
 
 64 THE PICAROON. 
 
 less the most effective for the purposes of 
 their recovery. 
 
 These feminine essays at ' teaching the 
 young idea how to shoot* in an evergreen 
 of sixty, were pretty well, but the maternal 
 solicitude of one worthy dama, left them wo- 
 fuUy in the shade. The ' young' lady, her 
 daughter, had for some time remained at ' a 
 certain age' unwooed, and was on the brink of 
 the critical, — when, a family convocation be- 
 ing held with three maiden aunts, it was 
 determined nem. con. that, as a forlorn hope, 
 a matrimonial assault should forthwith be 
 attempted on the Doctor, under the ruse of 
 requesting his professional advice. 
 
 At the first interview, in vain did he assure 
 the anxious mamma, after a careful examination 
 of the pulse, the tongue, &c. that, not a shadow 
 of doubt remained, but that. Miss Euphrosyne 
 was in perfect health, save and except, the 
 nervous delusion of thinking the reverse.
 
 THE PICAROON. 65 
 
 " As those convinced against their will. 
 Do hold the same opinion still." 
 
 So the lady, while she acquiesced with a sim- 
 per as to the present reality, assured him 
 gravely that it was of no importance, as she 
 had a positive certainty * in her own mind,* 
 that a dangerous illness was fast approaching, 
 which instantaneous measures could alone 
 avoid. 
 
 " I have not the least idea as to what, 
 in the strange terms of science, the malady 
 would be called ; but, my dear Doctor, I am 
 quite positive that the poor child will be very 
 
 ill, — that is, unless Dear me ! how shall I 
 
 proceed ! — my cheeks are actually on fire. — 
 Yes, indeed, I am going to take the freedom 
 of an ' old friend,' and to say — yes, something, 
 which if I did not know what a dear, good, 
 considerate soul you are, — and more particu- 
 larly if I was not conscious of your courtesy, 
 sincerity, and gallantry ;" — And then the lady,
 
 66 THE PICAROON. 
 
 smiling sweetly, laid her polished hand upon 
 his arm. 
 
 " Yes, my dear Doctor, and if it were 
 not my duty too, ' as a mother,* and if ' you' 
 were not the best friend in the world, I could 
 never even hint at a subject so delicate, 
 so outre, and seemingly improper! — but it is 
 actually necessary for the peace of my ex- 
 istence, that you should see Euphrosyne fre- 
 quently, — very frequently! — and then, poor 
 girl, as you observed, she requires air! — we 
 have no proper establishment; but — shall I 
 venture, — both objects would be so delightfully 
 combined, if, for a short time, you would allow 
 the dear girl a corner of your carriage when 
 on your morning route. 
 
 " Dear me, I never did anything so bizzarro ; 
 but, knowing your kindness, I am perfectly 
 prepared for all the little difficulties that can 
 possibly arise. — Yes, I knew that you would ac- 
 quiesce." And before M'Mara could open
 
 THE PICAROON. 67 
 
 his lips, he found his hand, (in faith he knew 
 not how,) pressed between those of his fair 
 tormenter in all the fervor of gratitude. 
 
 Euphrosyne was really a pretty sort of 
 girl, with great animation, intelligence, and 
 suavity of manner, and so properly obedient 
 as fully to accord with the prudential views 
 of her politic mamma, and yet, all would not 
 do. Day after day was the blooming Euphro- 
 syne demurely seated for an hour or two at 
 tlie Doctor's side, and in the very pride of 
 her sex essaying those thousand little blan- 
 dishments in elegant trifles, which an accom- 
 plished female has ever at command, but all 
 in vain ! even the accidental display of her 
 finely turned ancle in ascending the carriage 
 to an extent that drove ' the eloquent blood' 
 into her cheeks, or the dread artillery of the 
 deep-lashed eyes, that lightened with the soul- 
 subduing fires of passion, — even these were not 
 effective, the Doctor's heart remained as pro- 
 vokingly secure, as obdurate as ever. Yet
 
 68 THE PICAROON. 
 
 after all, however secure in the grand point 
 of his own insensibility, M*Mara soon began 
 to feel that his friends might draw conclusions, 
 perhaps not the less dangerous to his success 
 in any more attractive quarter, and he longed 
 for some feasible means of shaking off his fair 
 encumbrance. 
 
 He could not bear the idea of doing this 
 in any way that might be deemed abrupt, or 
 unkind, and the difficulty of doing it at all, 
 appeared insurmountable; when, one morn- 
 ing, he was informed of the sudden illness 
 of one of his horses, and then the view in 
 a moment brightened. Sending immediately 
 for a pair of common hacks, and ordering his 
 servants to stay at home, he went out un- 
 attended, and driven by a single postillion, 
 to call as usual for the lady. 
 
 After the first civilities, the Doctor, draw- 
 ing a long face, mentioned the misfortune 
 of the morning, and, ' mamma,' with her ac- 
 customed tact, enlarged upon " so unpleasant,
 
 TUE PICAROON. 69 
 
 SO unexpected an accident ;" when, with an 
 ominous shrug, he remarked, — 
 
 ^' But then, my dear Madam, the loss of 
 the horse is comparatively as nothing — the 
 servants ! — you see I am totally unattended." 
 
 " Oh dear, yes ! dear me ! what, some 
 fresh calamity?" 
 
 "The * CARRIAGE,**' — responded M*Mara, 
 with a shudder, and dropping his eyes mourn- 
 fully on the ground, " the ' carriage !' Did 
 you never hear of the infection of a physician's 
 carriage ?" 
 
 " Never !'* — said mother and daughter in a 
 breath. " It is indeed dreadful ! most horrible ! 
 both those strong and healthy men, and a 
 horse ! What an awful visitation ! what a 
 chance !'' And they looked at each other 
 in utter consternation. It was ' Death and 
 the Doctor;' and with the fear of the first, 
 they were but too glad to resign the se- 
 cond. 
 
 The green door in the high wall was
 
 70 THE PICAROON. 
 
 opened by one of those singularly neat and 
 comely waiting maids, so frequently found 
 in the house of a quaker, and the family, 
 being at home, M'Mara entered. 
 
 It was the house of our old acquaintance 
 Hagglestone, and as I would have thee, dear 
 Reader, as familiar with this little nest of 
 comfort, as was the Doctor himself, some 
 short description may be forgiven. 
 
 On passing the afore mentioned lofty wall, 
 the inside of which was completely masked 
 with variegated ivy, a paved court, diversified 
 with groups of evergreens, ascended by three 
 sloping terraces to the house, a cottage in 
 the Venetian style, surrounded with galleries 
 and verandahs, and covered with the flowers 
 and foliage of numberless luxuriant creepers. 
 The balconies of the large windows, and the 
 sides of the open porch, were filled with 
 splendid exotics, and the tout ensemble inspired 
 ideas of opulence and comfort. 
 
 Within, the house had a kind of ar-
 
 THE PICAI^OON. 71 
 
 rangement not so usual. The first part of 
 the hall was divided off with double doors, 
 and communicated with two large rooms ; 
 the one a library, and the other a parlour; 
 and both fitted up in that plain substantial 
 manner which might not in any sense of- 
 fend the prejudices of the 'drab-coloured- 
 denomination !' and here, therefore, Ephraim 
 gave audience and entertained such ' Friends ' 
 as were strangers, or casual visitors. 
 
 The second, and larger portion of the hall, 
 opened to the garden by a semi-circular porch, 
 with a dome, and windows of painted glass, 
 through which the richly tinted light played 
 in fantastic shapes upon a marble floor. The 
 sides of the lofty hall were relieved by niches 
 filled with copies of the glorious statues of 
 antiquity ; and the roof presented a rich 
 arabesque of open-work with sky-lights ot 
 ground glass, and pendents of carved foliage 
 between them. A noble stair-case rose from 
 the centre, and on the one side lay a dining
 
 72 THE PICAROON. 
 
 room in the Gothic, and on the other, a 
 saloon in the Italian style, the windows 
 of both looking out on the garden, as those 
 in the front upon the court. The offices 
 being placed on either side of the house, 
 with passages beneath it and communica- 
 tions with the vestibule, were at once con- 
 venient and out of sight. 
 
 The garden was extensive, and having the 
 advantage of some venerable forest trees ori- 
 ginally on the spot, and being merely divided 
 by an invisible fence from a back ground 
 of rich and woodland scenery, it was more 
 than usually picturesque. Here, too, was 
 the conservatory, built on a sunny bank ; and, 
 as it formed an agreeable object from the 
 house, it may excuse a monent's pause. With 
 the exception of the arched roof of glass, 
 this building had the aspect of a Doric 
 temple, on a rustic base ; but the interior was 
 the attraction, and this presented a fairy scene 
 of beauty. Down the centre lay a considerable
 
 THE PICAROON. 73 
 
 sheet of water, clear as the depths of ocean, 
 and singularly brilliant from the reflective qua- 
 lity of the snow-white marble that p'leamed 
 beneath, and the flood of light descending 
 from above. From the efl'ulgent bosom of 
 this mimic lake, and masking the walls 
 around, arose hundreds of blooming plants, 
 apparently growing from two steep verdant 
 banks ; for the pots that held them, and the 
 shelves beneath, were concealed by creepers 
 led over a profusion of the common wood- 
 land moss. Near the entrance, were two small 
 elegant rooms, lighted like the rest, from 
 above. The other, or further end, besides the 
 marble steps descending in the water, had 
 a platform of the finest turf, with arches of 
 trellis-work, hung with vines, rich in fruit 
 and foliage ; while the exposed spaces were 
 covered with sheets of looking-glass so art- 
 fully arranged, as to cheat the eye into a 
 belief, that a second alcove of equal space, 
 
 VOL. I. E
 
 74 THE PICAROON. 
 
 luxury, and beauty, remained beyond. It 
 scarcely need be said, that the conservatory 
 served the second and agreeable purpose of 
 a bath ; the stoves employed to correct the 
 atmosphere for the plants, giving the required 
 temperature to the vi^ater. 
 
 Though somewhat siih-rosa, Ephraim, with 
 other whims, followed ' the mystery of the 
 angle,' and M^Mara found him seated within 
 the glow of the sunshine, but with his back 
 to the light, and fully engaged with prepara- 
 tions for the watery war, with a small table 
 before him, all littered over with flies, hackles, 
 hooks, lines, reels, and other materiel of the 
 art piscatorial. 
 
 " Oh, vanity of vanities !" quoth the 
 Doctor, — " What would the elders of the 
 gray-coated brethren say to this V 
 
 " Ah, Doctor ! I know thee of old for a 
 profane wag, and a scoffer ; but I can tell 
 thee, that for once thou art mistaken ; we 
 censure no man, that he follow with discretion.
 
 THE PICAROON. 75 
 
 the healthful and ^ profitable ' recreation of 
 fishing." 
 
 " Amen, my plausible friend ; but venture 
 not a word in defence of fogs, wet grass, damp 
 seats, or chilled feet, with coughs, gout, lum- 
 bago, and a thousand other ills that follow 
 in the train of fishing ; and then for the profit ! 
 What say you to soaking through and spoil- 
 ing a new pair of boots in the capture of an 
 eel, that gorges your hook, breaks your line, 
 beslavers you with shme like a serpent, and 
 after all, wriggles through your creel ! Come, 
 come, man, confess ; let naked Truth show 
 her charms without a blush. When you 
 fish, Ephraim, you fish like other men, for 
 the AMUSEMENT, and nothing else." 
 
 " Fy, Doctor! doth it become thee to talk 
 of ' vanity ! ' — who but thyself shall answer 
 for all the strange gewgaws of this dwelling, 
 with its images of sinful flesh, heathen idols, 
 and the prodigal profitless conceits of the 
 poet-man and the limner, as Obadiah would
 
 76 THE PICAROON. 
 
 call them : — I affirm it is all thy doing, — had 
 it not been for the craftiness of thy advice, 
 I had built what they esteem ^ a comely man- 
 sion ' for one of my substance : a pile of brick 
 boxes stuck up together, naked without, as 
 a scraped carrot, and blank within as the 
 common barn-like rooms could make it. I 
 say thou art the man !" — And casting a wink 
 of infinite drollery, Ephraim dropt his chin 
 upon his hand, and laughed with a hearty 
 chuckle that shook him in his chair. 
 
 " Well, I have the honor of pleading guilty 
 to this indictment, saving and except, that 
 the estimate for the ' nest of brick boxes' 
 exceeded the cost of the ' gewgaws* you 
 have the good sense to admire. But where 
 are the ladies ?'* 
 
 " I am glad to tell thee, — that they are out 
 of the way of temptation ! absent. — But, friend, 
 take a seat, and make thyself comfortable, 
 I have something to communicate. Thou 
 knowest Mat Marlin, and thou hast heard
 
 THE PICAROON. 77 
 
 of the Smuggler captured in the Channel, 
 and that the captain was found lying dead 
 in his own cabin. Well! they locked the 
 door on the corpse, and ran the vessel up 
 to King's-road ! Well, the next morning the 
 body was missing; — the men on the watch 
 had neither seen nor heard any thing, but, 
 it was gone! — some said that it must have 
 been stolen under cover of the darkness, but 
 they were mistaken, — fair or foul, the thing 
 was done before the fall of night ! — Ah, I 
 wonder not at thy surprise. Now it so hap- 
 pened, that coming home late on the evening 
 of the capture, I saw a coffin taken in by 
 stealth to Marlin's house, — I say by stealth, 
 for with the view of learning something of 
 the matter, I went a short distance in the boat 
 with the Pilot's men, after they had landed 
 their master and the coffin. Well, odd enough, 
 they knew no more than ourselves ! — they w^ere 
 waiting it seems down at Pill for orders, when 
 Marlin brought in the boat alone, and the
 
 78 THE PICAROON. 
 
 coffin had been kept out of sight until the 
 last moment ! — the men too, had been rendered 
 stupid with brandy, and talked at random 
 as if awakened from a dream. Carema hap- 
 pened to be with me on this occasion, and 
 as something disagreeable may arise, I have 
 requested her not to converse on the subject; — 
 indeed, I am desirous of thy advice, as to 
 whether it may not be well to relate the par- 
 ticulars I have rehearsed to a magistrate, — what 
 dost thou think ?" 
 
 " My good Sir, had the affair involved a 
 danger to either life or property, you would 
 have decided the question long ago in the 
 affirmative, — but, here at most, what have we? 
 — a dead man stolen without his own consent ! 
 — Nay, not so much, for where's the theft ? — 
 the lifeless body would hardly constitute a 
 prisoner of war ; so that granting Marlin filched 
 the corpse, he took what nobody owned. The 
 Pilot's ' motive' is the only point of doubt or 
 interest, and a word will answer that ; ' money !'
 
 THE PICAHOON. 79 
 
 The Smuggler was the very prince of the ^ Free 
 Trade,' quite a gem in the crown of Saturn ; 
 and his followers were doubtless desirous that 
 he should be planted decently in the earth, 
 without the chance of any anatomical overhaul, 
 of which, as you know, seamen have often a 
 superstitious dread. — If so, the Pilot was bribed; 
 and so. Sir, your mystery is solved. — Yet stay, 
 — there is one other guess for the enigma, — 
 and indeed, when I recollect that Marlin was 
 once a sort of surgeon's mate on board a 
 Slaver, it may be the best. The Pilot, rough 
 and ready, may have done business as a resur- 
 rectionist ! — this was certainly a capital chance, 
 — subjects are scarce just now, and if so, he 
 made not less than twelve or fourteen pounds 
 by the job; — and here too, was a sufficient 
 reason for keeping the secret from the men : 
 they might have claimed a share, and Marlin 
 knew his interest too well for that.'' 
 
 " I agree with thee, that the last is pro- 
 bable; — but there is another circumstance so
 
 80 THE PICAROON. 
 
 strange, that I hardly like to name it: — both 
 Carema, and myself, distinctly heard a groan, 
 and that beyond^all question, from the boat, 
 as she passed up the river before the corpse 
 was landed." 
 
 " Excellent ! I dare say you did : — on 
 such an adventure, under the gloomy gorge 
 of the Devil's Reach, I should have fancied 
 a dozen at least ! — Nothing, my dear Sir, could 
 be more natural, — the imagination were not 
 worth a whifF of tobacco, that could not, on 
 such a spot, conjure up a Spectre to boot. 
 I give you credit for the poetry and feeling, 
 but remember, my good Sir, that the Smuggler 
 had been previously seen defunct on board 
 his vessel; and that the physical reasons for 
 the silence of a dead man, are rather too strong 
 to be shaken." 
 
 " Well, Doctor, turn the story as thou 
 wilt ; but remember, for thine own part, that 
 where faith and facts agree, argument hath 
 little force. There is something, let me tell
 
 THE PICAROON. 81 
 
 thee, more than common in the whole affair. 
 The man we speak of, if taken alive, had been 
 deemed a richer prize than his vessel, — ay, 
 though she had been freighted with the ingots 
 of Peru ! He was supposed to be the instru- 
 ment of a lawless confederacy, from which the 
 mercantile world, I can assure thee, has for 
 some time suffered to an extent that it would 
 not be safe to render public; and to have 
 saved himself, he might have betrayed their 
 machinations. His capture too, was consi- 
 dered certain, as three of his crew had been 
 bribed to betray him, by crippling the rigging 
 of the Blowsy Bess, when in the Channel, 
 where the commanders of two Cutters had 
 received secret orders to intercept her. All 
 this was effected, but, as it seems, not without 
 the perfidy having been discovered ; for the 
 three traitors, not being found on board, had 
 doubtless been put to death. There must 
 have been some unexampled villany on shore 
 e2
 
 82 THE PICAROON. 
 
 too, — I mean as to breach of confidence, but 
 the whole is a failure, the exploit having cost 
 far more than it is worth/' 
 
 " Very likely, and so much the better; 
 I have no taste for fighting, but these bought 
 victories are something worse. After all, it 
 is evident that there are men behind the cur- 
 tain of greater importance, and far more guilt 
 than the common desperadoes that execute 
 and suffer. I mean that capital to a large 
 extent is often employed for illegal purposes 
 in unsuspected quarters." 
 
 '' Doubtless, doubtless ; thou art right. — 
 Mean rogues are caught by the law, as little 
 flies in the spider's net, — the great, like hor- 
 nets, break through, and sting the deeper. 
 But come, thou shalt dine with us to-day." 
 
 " No, friend Ephraim, not to-day, for I 
 see they have turned you out of Paradise ! 
 what has been the sin of the morning, that 
 the ladies have thought proper to consign 
 you thus to utter solitude."
 
 THE PICAROON. 83 
 
 " Doctor, they know thee for a sad wag, 
 and have had the grace to stay away." 
 
 " Well, you may tell Carema, that I have 
 found her a lover, and one in whose favour, 
 after due ' compensation,* (mark the w^ord, 
 she will understand it,) I may resign. In 
 sober earnest, I shall bring a gentleman with 
 me to-morrow, or perchance to-night, whom 
 you must know, and ' must ' admire ; — perhaps 
 you have seen him; I mean Kenrick's ne- 
 phew: poor fellow, he is just come down 
 from Oxford, and become already so shrunk 
 up and frost-bitten by the cold-blooded hy- 
 pocrite, his uncle, that it will be a charity to 
 thaw him, if but for an hour." 
 
 " Farewell, — but I must not have thee, 
 call my late partner bad names :— Doctor, thou 
 art censorious." 
 
 " Ephraim, I am just. — Your canting, plot- 
 ting, time-serving hypocrites do more injury to 
 the growth of piety, than either profligates or 
 infidels : these may be shamed into the re- 
 flection that may retrieve them, but your
 
 84 THE PICAROON. 
 
 thorough bred hypocrite, is incapable of re- 
 formation, he is ah'eady too perfect ! like one 
 of the counterfeits, rogues pass for gold, the 
 deceitful colour of the metal arises from its 
 baseness: it will break, but never bend to 
 useful purpose.'* 
 
 " The hammer of thy wit, Doctor, may 
 be bright and heavy, but Kenrick is of a 
 temper, that, will neither bend nor break ; and 
 so thy simile applies not." 
 
 " Would the ass were tethered to his pro- 
 per thistles ! he frets me that he has the 
 chance to kick at better men ; his nephew 
 looks already as shy as a cropt hawk. The 
 man is a mystery, and one too, that smacks 
 of knavery. At first, his command of money 
 was beyond his credit, for no one knew 
 whence it came, and now, that his property 
 is beyond question, the mode of its expen- 
 diture is equally a doubt." 
 
 " Gently, gently, Doctor, thy warmth is be- 
 yond discretion — Farewell."
 
 THE PICAROON. 86 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 What are these, 
 
 So wither'd and so wild in their attire ; 
 That look not like the inhabitants o' the earth, 
 And yet are on't ? — Live you, or are you aught 
 That man may question 1 — 
 
 SHAKESPEARE. 
 
 " Mercy, Carema! — Do you remember, love, 
 that you out-measure me at every step? — 
 Really one has no shadow of a chance, un- 
 less it were possible to screw on a fresh pair 
 of legs at every mile. And then to walk so 
 fast on such a day too, when the wind 
 clasps one so tightly in its invisible arms, that
 
 86 THE PICAROON. 
 
 one has hardly space to pant. Ah ! a poe 
 tical conceit has stopped you at last ! — your 
 guardian, in his droll sea-jargon, would have 
 called it, ' a shot-ahead,' — at which, ' she,' — 
 meaning your gipsy self, under the symbol 
 of a ship, — ' lays the helm hard a-weather, 
 and stands upon the wind.' " 
 
 " Well spoken, and with all due nautical 
 emphasis," exclaimed Carema, laughing, as at 
 the moment her silk dress, ruffled and rust- 
 ling with the gale, played around the luxu- 
 riant contours of her form in waves of chang;- 
 ing light, so that the simile of a ship in 
 stays, told handsomely. 
 
 " Yes, and I begin to fancy that he will 
 soon make you as fond of blue water, and 
 blue jackets, as himself; but really, Kate, 
 the wind has now caught me, * bodily,' as 
 the sailors term it, and to stand, is to wrestle 
 with the unseen spirit of the air, in all reality. 
 But come, I will be a good girl, — tame as a 
 dove, and quite as steady as any discreet
 
 THE PICAROON. 87 
 
 * young lady/ on the list, might well desire ; — 
 nay more, for the chase I have lead you, I 
 agree to submit to any fair penance you may 
 impose." 
 
 " First then, walk slowly; — and secondly, 
 give up all flirtation with poor Blandford/' 
 
 " What, is it even so, mine own fair friend ? 
 — who would have dreamt that such a little 
 plump personity of panting sweetness could 
 have such mischief in its nature ! I shall 
 remember to play the Fairy, and pinch the 
 naughty place. No, Kate ; they say the men 
 love plaguing; and if so, your favourite, the 
 pale Oxonian, shall have enough : — I wish in- 
 deed, that he had the folly of a fancy for 
 my unworthy self, that I might punish him 
 in very deed, were it only to show my dislike 
 for the glum gray gentleman, his Uncle." 
 
 " Take care, love, though your wit may 
 be as a sword, and his no better than a foil, 
 — yet if the button breaks, the point may 
 penetrate ; take heed. They say those pale
 
 88 THE PICAROON. 
 
 knights love the deeper, for that their blood 
 settles warm around the heart: the rose of 
 passion, is one that seems to fade, as the 
 richness of its bloom grows stronger; take 
 care !" 
 
 " You are learned in the roses, Kate. — 
 But come, we are now far out on the breezy 
 Downs, beyond the reach of mortal ears, 
 and I think I may at last venture to tell 
 you the rest of my story." 
 
 " O yes ! I am all impatience. — You had 
 said, you know, that your dear mother was 
 an Italian, living near Palermo, whom your 
 father, then young, and on his travels, had 
 married unadvisedly, — no, not that word, I 
 only mean without the knowledge of his 
 friends in England.. And I think you observed 
 too, that not being of age and his fortune 
 being in the hands of his nearest relative, 
 an uncle, whom the marriage offended, he had 
 no resource but the dower of his bride, on 
 which they lived for awhile in Sicily.'*
 
 THE PICAROON. 89 
 
 " Yes, the place of my birth ; but oh, how 
 faint and indistinct are all the recollections 
 of our infancy, even those that memory would 
 treasure most! — When all alone, I have sat 
 for hours, resting my temples on my hands, 
 and striving to follow out into a shape of 
 likelihood and sense, some strange wild words 
 and cries, and wilder looks, that rise mibid- 
 den to my mind, as warning tokens from the 
 past; — indistinct, but far more terrible than 
 dreams ! — oh, I would give the world to quite 
 forget them, or if not so, to find a meaning, 
 in their shadows ; — a clue to the mystery 
 they involve." 
 
 " How mean you, Carema ? — what are 
 they?" 
 
 " They will sound as idle fancies, — but 
 they were fearful visitors to me in childhood ; 
 — and even now, they come too often;- — yet 
 I have day dreams too, not all unpleasant: 
 one, is an angel vision of a desponding face, 
 beaming with feminine sweetness, that seems
 
 90 THE PICAROON. 
 
 to look down on me, with dark full eyes of 
 searching love and tenderness, past thought ; 
 — and with it comes an instinct from nature's 
 secret harmonies, that thrills a holy chord 
 within my ' heart of hearts,' — my face and 
 bosom glow, as if from showered kisses of a 
 mother's lips ! and so it is, she sleeps in 
 death ; — but even thus, her fond caress, her 
 breath of love, burn on her oi-phan's cheek as 
 if an ember from the altar of her God ! sacred 
 and never to be quenched. Another vestige 
 of these forgotten days, comes with a con- 
 sciousness of lulling music ; soft and clear as 
 the * Ave Maria* in some still chamber, where 
 the sick can bear no hurried sound, where an 
 artificial dimness is preserved, and all is 
 solemn and serene: — and then at once, in 
 tumult rise, loud horrid oaths, and flashing 
 lights, fierce visages, the rattling shots of 
 death, and clash of arms." 
 
 ** Hush ! hush, Carema !" and so saying, 
 Kate looked out upon the Downs, where
 
 THE PICAROON. 91 
 
 straight before them, and perchance within 
 hearing, for Carema had spoken loudly, (under 
 the impulse of strong feeling,) stood a gaunt 
 figure of a woman wrapt in a dark cloak, and 
 with a Welsh hat slouched forward, so that 
 little of the countenance was seen save the 
 keen and deeply seated eyes, which were now 
 suddenly withdrawn, as if to escape observa- 
 tion. 
 
 " Shall we hold a parley with the witch ?" 
 said Carema smiling, as she restrained her 
 companion, who had already turned aside, from 
 a feeling of alarm. 
 
 " Tis a strange chance, but as I know that 
 you * will speak,' Carema, pray let me intreat, 
 that it may be with caution ; there may be 
 danger !" 
 
 " Yea, verily, Kate ! — she may bestride 
 her broomstick, and whisking off your darling 
 little self, mounted behind her without a pillion, 
 go riding on the wind !''
 
 92 THE PICAROON. 
 
 *' Now I mount, and now I fly, 
 Malkin my sweet spirit and I." 
 
 " Stay, good woman ! can you tell a maid- 
 en's fortune? Come forward, Kate; hold out 
 your hand, and put your faith in stars and des- 
 tinies !" — Kate in very fear obeyed. 
 
 " O ! capital — don't be frightened,' Kate ; 
 that shake of the head has a most oracular 
 effect — we shall hear strange things anon !" 
 
 Carema was mistaken ; not a word was 
 uttered, and in turn, she herself felt a touch of 
 timidity, when the unknown, with a solemn 
 bow, and using one finger only, — the other 
 hand was enveloped in the cloak, — drew the 
 form of a cross on Kate's most soft and deli- 
 cate palm. 
 
 " Dear me ! — I had forgotten the silver 
 talisman." Carema presented a half-crown, 
 which was refused with a second grave inclina- 
 tion of the head, and both the girls wished 
 themselves fairly quit of the adventure.
 
 THE PICAROON. 93 
 
 Not SO the stranger, whose eyes flashed 
 with a smothered momentary expression, as 
 picking up a rose that had fallen, she expanded 
 its glowing petals with a single breath; then 
 its beauties were buried beneath a handful 
 of withered grass, which she had plucked 
 from the ground, and over all a small black 
 stone was pressed with a show of violence ; 
 a moment more, and these were shaken off, 
 and a ring having as suddenly been slipped 
 over the petals of the flower, so as to re- 
 store its bud-like form, the rose with its 
 golden cincture was dropped in Carema's 
 hand. 
 
 " How delightfully odd and whimsical ! 
 What can it mean ? You must explain.'' 
 
 A gesture implied a negative ; and then 
 in fearful confirmation of its cause, those 
 hideous incoherent sounds were heard, that 
 constitute the utterance of the dumb ; and 
 before they could look again, or speak, the 
 stranger moved away.
 
 94 THE PICAROON. 
 
 Surprised, and shocked beyond measure, 
 the friends exchanged looks of painful in- 
 terest ; and after a little while, Carema, re- 
 collecting the ring, would have called after 
 the dumb woman, if such she was, but it 
 was already too late, the stranger was far 
 distant, and soon out of sight. 
 
 " How strange ! but we shall doubtless 
 see her again, when this golden token of 
 her confidence may be restored ; for I have 
 little doubt but that the whole is a device 
 to awaken our attention. In this ase of 
 ' double distilled refinement,' as the Doctor 
 calls it, charity, is only allowed to move on 
 some grand theoretical principles of general 
 utility, that overlook individual suffering with 
 a stoical indifi:erence. The benefit, after 
 all, may fall on those who do not require 
 any; no matter. Political Economy rejoices, 
 as the Quack laughs at the sick he poisons, 
 while the strong take the noisome drug with 
 impunity, and praise it for tlie health they
 
 THE PICAROON. 95 
 
 had without it ! There, Kate, drop me a 
 courtesy, like a good girl, and treasure the 
 words of wisdom, for I have repeated those 
 of our sage friend M'Mara. — But again, to 
 apply the moral of our sermon, I was going 
 to say, Kate, that it is now quite philoso- 
 phical to want humanity : — the eccentricities 
 of the poor, those poetical propensities, that 
 furnished town and country with wandering 
 minstrels and diverting vagabonds, can no 
 longer hope for sympathy or sufferance ; so- 
 ciety, from the pauper to the prince, must 
 move with the precision of a steam-engine, 
 and the only way for a gipsy to be tolerated, 
 will be to give young ladies gold rings upon 
 a common !'^ 
 
 " But are you sure, that she was a gipsy V 
 " No, not quite, — at least not one of 
 English birth ; indeed, Kate, I have a shrewd 
 doubt that, like myself, she is an exile from 
 the sweet and balmy south i — And, pardon 
 me, there was more of an air emphatique than
 
 96 THE PICAROON. 
 
 you good islanders can wear with grace. But 
 be it as it may, I will return her pledge with 
 interest.'' 
 
 " No doubt, Carema ; and, in the mean 
 time, what think you of the fantastic tricks we 
 have seen, — of the rose, the pebble, and the 
 ring ?" 
 
 " And the grass, the withered grass, fair 
 Catherine ! — ^had that no meaning ? — Well, 
 then, for a bold guess. The rose. Love's own 
 bright glovv^ing emblem, in its expansion 
 shows the opening dawn of meek affection, 
 but when the kindling breath of passion hath 
 awakened all its fragrance, and the flower 
 grovs^s faint in its ovi^n excessive sw^eetness, 
 then falls the w^ithered leaf, the green hope 
 faded ! the beauty of the rose, its freshness, 
 and its incense breathing exhalation, all sink 
 beneath * indiiference,' the withered grass ! — 
 And then, the cold, black, bolt of evil destiny, 
 the Gipsy's pebble, falls with a crushing 
 weight, and seems to seal down hope and
 
 THE PICAROON. 97 
 
 life, as in a tomb : — but Love ! immortal 
 Love, had only slumbered, and now arousing, 
 with triumphant power, he shakes away the 
 coil of envious circumstance, and springs to 
 mount his throne !" 
 
 " Your own fair breast ! — Well said, 
 Carema. Come, love, leave your blushes 
 for another time, and tell me faithfully what 
 means the ring, the circling crown of gold 
 that gave the rose its virgin grace again?" 
 
 " Really, Kate, you are the most pro- 
 voking little minx that ever lived ! — you 
 have broken through the prettiest tissue of 
 prose poetry I ever wove in my life ; and as 
 for your question, I could almost pray that 
 the fates would ever preserve it a mystery 
 from the heart and eyes of one that wishes 
 so much to solve it." 
 
 " Thank heaven, the prayers of the wicked 
 avail not. But, my dear Carema, return to 
 your own story, — those startling traces of 
 
 VOL. I. F
 
 98 THE PICAROON. 
 
 your half forgotten childhood at Palermo ; I 
 glow with impatience to hear them all/' 
 
 "No, no, love, I feel not in the mood : 
 those sombre thoughts are even as the charnel- 
 house of memory, and one would not, you 
 know, too often look upon the dead. Some 
 other time, Kate, and now I will tell you 
 something; of what I believe to have been 
 realities. 
 
 " My mother's death was said to have been 
 sudden ; — a stroke from fear, and, as they 
 tell me, occasioned by the conflagration of 
 the palazzo in which she resided. I have 
 entertained perplexing doubts, not as to the 
 fact of her decease, but of its cause. Young 
 and nursing mothers, when all they love is 
 safe, fall not so easily. Still I cannot shape 
 my doubts even into suspicion, and all re- 
 mains but as a spreading shadow you cannot 
 look beyond. My poor father did not long 
 survive ; he sunk beneath a fever, brought on 
 by an excess of grief. In some of his let-
 
 i 
 THE PICAROON. 99 
 
 ters, written just before the close, and per- 
 chance when his brain had began to feel the 
 fiery touch of the disease, are dark and 
 strange allusions, as if some previous letter 
 had explained revolting circumstances, that it 
 were needless to repeat; but if it was so, such 
 letters never came. 
 
 " Of my mother's family I have not been 
 able to learn much, or even who at first 
 received her orphan child. But soon, it seems, 
 an Italian noble, the Count Montrano, of 
 whom you have heard me speak, and who 
 had been intimately known to my parents, 
 returned to Palermo : by him my father's will 
 was produced ; and, in accordance with its 
 provisions, I was sent to England, and placed 
 under the care of my dear guardian Hagglestone, 
 who, with his wife, have been but too indul- 
 gent of their wayward charge. My father and 
 guardian, although of different creeds in non- 
 essentials, (as the Doctor calls them,) had been 
 from early youth most dear confiding friends ;
 
 100 THE PICAROON. 
 
 and when, in consequence of his marriage, 
 other, and nearer friends, had proved unkind, 
 * how, ' as he writes, * did it smooth his dying 
 pillow ' to think, that without appealing to the 
 cold proud hearts he pitied and despised, his 
 child would find a shelter from the world, 
 with meeker spirits, and with friends more 
 faithful : — and how nobly, my dear girl, has 
 that high confidence been met. There were 
 no restrictions in the will, and Ephraim might 
 silently have brought within the pale of his 
 own denomination, a wealthy convert ; but too 
 conscientious for sectarian prejudice, he re- 
 solved that my education should be in all 
 things, what my parents would themselves have 
 chosen ; and hence those accomphshments you 
 sometimes flatter, and thbSe gay innocent de- 
 lights his home affords me." 
 
 " Yes ! and thus you have escaped the 
 quilted petticoat and untrimmed bonnet ! — 
 But teach not thy fair brow that stern dis- 
 dain.— I do but jest, Carema; it were stu-
 
 THE PICAROON. 101 
 
 pidity indeed, not to feel, and admire conduct 
 so full of honor, and that high chivalry of 
 soul, that stamps the nobility of nature with 
 a grace beyond the starched dull pedantry of 
 rank. There, darling, there is another little 
 bit of the Doctor. — By-the-by, is there not a 
 destiny in the name ? It is ever on our lips ; 
 and after all, it is a thousand to one, but w^e — 
 nonsense, I mean either the one or the other, 
 shall marry the Doctor. " 
 
 " Amen, Kate ; but with this proviso, that 
 I resign the precedence of seniority, and leave 
 the bee to suck the honey of his favourite 
 flower — but silence and discretion : behold, 
 here comes the sententious, sour Mr, Kenrick." 
 
 " Yes, and how odd to see him here, and 
 alone. He makes a boast of never stirring an 
 inch from home without an object, and here 
 he can have none, except it be to find out 
 our new friend the gipsy : and oh ! how 
 wonderful ; — it is even so ! Look towards the 
 swell of yonder hill ; do you discern a single
 
 102 THE PICAROON. 
 
 figure, Carema, standing like Milton's Satan 
 all alone ? — It is the gipsy ; — yes, and now 
 she waves a signal, and now she passes out 
 of sight, doubtless to avoid observation: — but 
 Kenrick walks in that direction, and faster 
 than before ! What, is the ugly Caliban 
 grown crazy, or in love? Shall we follow? 
 the conviction of such a solemn wiseacre 
 would be a jest for ever; — come, I will walk 
 as fast as you please, Carema, — come, let us 
 hasten on." 
 
 " Not for the world, Kate ! — the evening 
 light grows dim, and Kenrick is the last 
 man, on whose protection I would either ob- 
 trude or depend."
 
 THE PICAROON. 103 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 ** We are oft to blame in this, — 
 'Tis too much proved ! — that with devotion's visage, 
 And pious action, we do sugar o'er 
 The devil himself." 
 
 Hamlet. 
 
 " Yes, Love indeed is hght from heaven, — 
 A spark of that immortal fire 
 With angels shar'd, — by Alia given 
 To lift from earth our low desire." 
 
 Byron. 
 
 The cheerful equanimity with which Bland- 
 ford at first encountered the repulsive qualities 
 of his uncle, arose from the generous glow 
 of youthful impulse, rather than from any
 
 104 THE PICAROON. 
 
 conviction of its propriety; and thus, while 
 Kenrick imagined that every passing day 
 increased his influence with a wiUing dupe, 
 the nephew, in reahty, became the more 
 anxious to escape from an inthralment which 
 reflection had shown to be dangerous. 
 
 With little fear as to the ultimate safety 
 of his fortune, Blandford felt that his uncle 
 had assumed an irresponsible power by in- 
 vesting it under his own name, which it might 
 hereafter be difficult to shake. Supposing 
 that when of age he was admitted as a partner, 
 it might not be amiss to have capital already 
 embarked in the business ; — but, if with other 
 views he then wished to withdraw it, he felt 
 that his uncle, by taking possession, not only 
 of the property, but of all the documents 
 connected with it, had obtained an unfair 
 advantage, which at the least might occasion 
 much injurious delay. 
 
 To any remarks upon the subject, Kenrick 
 as at first, deigned no other reply than a dry
 
 THE PICAROON. 105 
 
 allusion to the ' will/ and as Blandford felt, 
 that for him to assert that his father had 
 made it on an erroneous estimate of his 
 uncle's character would not invalidate its 
 force, he soon learnt the prudence of that 
 silence which had been construed as com- 
 pliance. 
 
 The truth was, that the apparent sanctity 
 and thorough-paced-business-like details of 
 Kenrick's letters, had inspired Blandford's 
 father with the idea, that the merchant was, 
 of all men, the most fit to protect and counsel 
 the non-age of his son. Personally, he had 
 known but little of Kenrick, as at the period 
 when he left England to assume the manage- 
 ment of a family estate in the West Indies, 
 the latter, after a youth of little promise, 
 had just entered as a clerk in the house he 
 had now made his own. It was by this 
 house that the produce of the West Indian 
 estate had been regularly purchased ; and as 
 a relative, tlie correspondence had been con- 
 
 f2
 
 106 THE PICAROON. 
 
 fided to Kenrick, who, having his private 
 reasons, took especial care to conduct it to 
 advantage, and eventually inspired the confi- 
 dence at which he aimed. Nor was this 
 confidence founded on grave sentences and 
 kind expressions only, — the unlucky youth 
 was become the fortunate man, and with an 
 advance in prosperity as sudden as it was 
 unexpected ! — From a clerk, Kenrick became 
 a partner, and from a partner the sole pro- 
 prietor. In all this the common casualties 
 had had their usual share; the head of 
 the firm died unexpectedly; the other part- 
 ner, Hagglestone, chose to retire; and more 
 than these, the thrift and good fortune of 
 Kenrick in mercantile matters were noto- 
 rious. 
 
 It might be, that some of the old and 
 knowing ones, had shrewd surmises that all 
 was not so substantial as before. Two parts 
 of the capital had doubtless departed with 
 the respective partners. Awkward anecdotes
 
 THE PICAROON. 107 
 
 were whispered too, that some people believed, 
 and others called ill-natured : — however, right 
 or wrong, Kenrick had the fame of getting 
 money, he was a * rich man' by popular re- 
 port, and if nobody knew in what particular 
 he was a * good one,' he was undoubtedly 
 seriousy which half the world deemed some 
 thing better. 
 
 It was only the fairer portion of all this 
 that found its way across the Atlantic ; and 
 the wealthy, lucky, serious Mr. Kenrick, being 
 a bachelor to boot! — could a nephew pos- 
 sibly have a better guardian? — He might be 
 a little cinisty or so, — but what of that? rich 
 bachelors often are, and as for introducing 
 limitations in the will, it would only show 
 suspicion, give offence, and possibly provoke 
 * the good man' to leave his money out of 
 the family, instead of making the nephew 
 the sole heir, which would otherwise so natu- 
 rally occur. In fine, as nothing could be
 
 108 THE PICAROON. 
 
 better, it was done handsomely and without 
 reservation. 
 
 The general propriety of this step in all 
 its bearings was affectionately explained to 
 Blandford in his father's last letter : — and 
 above all, the supposed 'piety' of the uncle 
 was alluded to with feelings of peculiar satis- 
 faction by the dying parent. 
 
 " Yes ! " — said Frank, in mournful soliloquy, 
 as the melancholy paper lay before him, — 
 " Would to heaven it had been so, — for with 
 any man of real piety I had been happy 
 and secure. Peculiarities of opinion might 
 have existed, as they often do, with the wisest 
 and the best, but where the light of genuine 
 Christianity beams in the bosom, it is as 
 sunshine to the landscape — the natural ine- 
 qualities of surface still remain, but the life- 
 inspiring beams of golden radiance harmonize 
 all, in one broad glow of fertility and beau- 
 ty! — But when the heart remains callous in
 
 THE PICAROON. 109 
 
 its selfishness, and a show of sanctity becomes 
 the cloak of pride ; — when rancorous bigotry- 
 condemns what it hath not intellect to com- 
 prehend, or charity to forgive : — when he, 
 who in ignorant arrogance would trample 
 down the innocent and elegant amusements 
 that charm existence, is himself the slave of 
 swinish gluttony : — when hollow prayers are 
 mouthed to mask extortion : — when " — 
 
 Blandford paused, for the utter selfish- 
 ness of his uncle's character was too thread- 
 bare to admit of farther examination, and 
 he withdrew his thoughts in disgust, as we 
 cast aside a curious reptile, offended by its 
 slime, or affrighted at its venom. But what 
 had rendered the gay-hearted Frank so mor- 
 bidly sensitive? — nay, as it were so greedy 
 of deformity? It is true, that the frowning 
 mask of religious hypocrisy is even more 
 abhorrent than the drivelling sincerity of 
 fanatical folly ; but Frank had betrayed the 
 zeal of personal interest, of personal dislike, —
 
 110 THE PICAROON. 
 
 and unconsciously to himself, this unwonted 
 bitterness of soul was born of love ! 
 
 As Kenrick had foretold, Blandford's in- 
 troduction to the social circle at Hagglestone's 
 cottage had soon occurred, and the heart- 
 inthralling influence of its fair enchantress, 
 from that moment, had bound his senses in 
 the subtle maze of passion : — and she, his 
 charmer, she, was the aversion of the cold- 
 blooded Kenrick ; who can wonder then that 
 the latter was his own? 
 
 All * correctly disposed' young men, who 
 entertain a laudable wish to stand well with 
 Society, are perfectly aware, that while fortune 
 is the first, love and marriage are the last 
 considerations that should engage their atten- 
 tion. To sit down with the mere competency 
 of humble, quiet, domestic enjoyment, is worse 
 than nothing! — 'Station' and an ' Estabhsh- 
 ment' should be held paramount to the in- 
 stincts of nature, the affections, or religion ! — 
 Yes ! let them all perish, while two-thirds
 
 THE PICAROON. Ill 
 
 of life are expended in the acquirement of 
 affluence, at the risk it may be of final ruin 
 from scheming chicanery in the over-eager- 
 ness for gain : — If at last successful, marry I 
 but still prudently. Advancing age has its 
 concomitants, its feebleness ; and your progeny, 
 to gUmmering intellect, may add sickly con- 
 stitutions : — but what matter ? — as early or- 
 phans they will soon be schooled in worldly 
 craft, and after all, cunning simpletons are 
 the best subjects of that overstrained artificial 
 system fast prevailing, which apes the pohsh 
 without the knowledge and feeling of high 
 civilization. 
 
 It must unfortunately be confessed, that 
 Frank Blandford was sadly wanting in such 
 particulars; so full of old English prejudices 
 as to consider the ' heart,' in value equal to 
 the head, and so sensual, as to deem an early 
 marriage the better path to virtue. 
 
 Yet however sensitive to the softer emo- 
 tions, his early manhood had hitherto remained
 
 112 THE PICAROON. 
 
 unshackled by ' the rosy god of gay desires.' 
 The varied forms of female loveliness society 
 presented, had dazzled, and flitted away, swift 
 as the flashes of a moonlit sea. — For a moment 
 he had thrilled to the touch of Beauty, — 
 had drunk the music of her voice, and then, 
 when his glowing heart yearned warmly for 
 the future, awakened judgment told that 
 all was vanity; the idol of his fantasy 
 awaited other worshippers. But with Carema 
 came feelings of deeper import; the influence 
 of a quenchless hope strong in its own reality. 
 All the fond visions of the past seemed per- 
 fected in her, and yet, as if in the perversity 
 of fate, his attentions were repulsed, or at best 
 unheeded. The smiles that played around 
 her lips, with all their arch, bewitching grace, 
 to him, were but the arrows of disdain. She 
 moved in beauty with a gay triumphant 
 buoyancy of life, that shed enjoyment round 
 as sunshine gleams through clustering roses, 
 more fragrant, bright, and glowing : — and this
 
 THE PICAROON. 113 
 
 to friendship had been delightful, but to 
 ' love/ — how far more dear the confusion of 
 conscious tenderness that comes unbidden to 
 the virgin's heart, and as it swells with new 
 emotions, drives the blood in burning blushes 
 to her cheek, even as bloom growing deeper 
 on the fruits of summer, reveals their rich 
 maturity. 
 
 To be less poetical, but not the more 
 direct, for metaphor may often best explain 
 the mystery of passion : — in this chilling in- 
 difference, viewed, be it remembered, ^ as a 
 proof that Carema's affections were in every 
 sense her own, Frank ventured to read the 
 promises of hope. 
 
 "She is totally disengaged," — he whis- 
 pered to himself, — " and though unconscious 
 of the soft entrancement her charms inspire, 
 yet may not friendship, with time, infuse a 
 dearer sentiment, until the lovely scorner be- 
 comes the coy, retiring, trembling girl, in 
 whose confiding, half averted ear, in some
 
 114 THE PICAROON. 
 
 auspicious hour I may pour unchecked, the 
 tender pleadings of my soul." 
 
 With such illusions of fancy had Bland- 
 ford of late too often feasted his imagination; 
 and now, to forget his uncle, nothing more 
 was necessary than to muse upon Carema. 
 How delicious were these day dreams of his 
 ideal mistress! — The fervor of her affections, 
 her soothing gentleness, so trustful and for- 
 bearing, with that religion of the heart, that 
 clothes itself in deeds rather than in words, 
 and knows no creed but charity. 
 
 This alchymy of thought went on, but in 
 a lover's brain so many sparkling rays of 
 hope with such a theme ascend, that the 
 rapt senses grow giddy with their own de- 
 light. Imagination, to the mental graces she 
 has clothed with heavenly tints, gives earthly 
 charms, and the heart throbs with a new 
 awakening joy, a mystic consciousness ; — the 
 fascination that womanhood inspires in the 
 first grace and dewy freshness of its beauty.
 
 THE PICAROON. 115 
 
 The electric touch of glowing lips, grown 
 holy in the fear of shrinking modesty: — the 
 pressure of the trembling hand, Avhen tender- 
 ness hath left no voice for words: — the 
 panting breath of ecstasy, and soul-dissolving 
 thrills of human sympathy unquenched, that 
 gushing through the heated fancy, seem re- 
 alities. 
 
 Yes, masculine passion, whether for good 
 or for evil, hath a fearful potency ; — an ardour 
 that can achieve far more than the ena- 
 moured youth would deem it possible to 
 reach, or if he knew, perchance would dare 
 to venture ; and Blandford, in the frequent 
 solitude of his new abode, had nursed these 
 wilful vagaries to a dangerous, it might be 
 to an irretrievable extent, and that without 
 having (so far as he could judge) awakened 
 a glimmer of reciprocal feeling, or a shadow 
 of return. 
 
 Frank's only, place of retirement at such 
 idle moments, or, indeed, for more sub-
 
 116 THE PICAROON. 
 
 stantial studies, was the little deal box of a 
 chamber before described, and which he had 
 contrived to render more comfortable, by the 
 arrangement of a few books, and other trifling 
 matters of a bachelor's convenience. Here, 
 at least, he had the advantage of silence, as 
 the merchandize in the flat was not often 
 shifted, and the court beneath was seldom 
 passed, except by that pattern of taciturnity, 
 the frowning Peter. All had been as still as 
 usual, when Frank heard a faint laugh, or 
 rather a merry growl, and presently the steps 
 of a heavy man, who, judging from the 
 sound, was pushing Peter into the house 
 before him. 
 
 ^^Very odd," — thought Frank: — the win- 
 dow was too high and awkward for a peep ; 
 it was however open, and not to hear, was 
 equally impracticable. 
 
 " Bah, Peter ! — where can be the harm ? — 
 remember, man, I'm ^ Reverend' now, — speak 
 reverentially of your betters, and announce
 
 THE PICAROON. 117 
 
 the Reverend Simon Smuggleton ; — come, 
 come, alFs safe — what can the young cock 
 aloft peck out of that, eh?" 
 
 " No, no, Mr. Smuggleton ; — my orders 
 were to let none of you come on the ground 
 when the Master is from home, and if you 
 push in like a thief I'll wash my hands of 
 the job." 
 
 " Nonsense, man ! out of sight is often 
 out of danger, — 'any port in a storm.' This 
 unlucky turn, too: — you can tell me some- 
 thing, how squares go, eh?" 
 
 " Not I, — rU know nothing ! — and as to 
 that, what I do know hangs to my con- 
 science by a rotten rope ! It stands to reason 
 secrets should be paid for, and you're sen- 
 sible I've had dog's fare here; little rest, 
 small thanks, and less profit." 
 
 *' Patience, Peter! perhaps like me you'll 
 have a change : — a call to preach, eh ?" 
 
 "A 'call' to fiddle. Preach ! — that's 
 another rough bone in my swallow. Mock
 
 118 THE PICAROON. 
 
 religion is the Devil's own coin, and for the 
 good of the world say I, let every single 
 counterfeit be " 
 
 ** Hush, Peter ! — don't swear; if the world, 
 like an over-grown baby, loves the shining 
 counterfeit best, let the joke pass, and all 
 the better." 
 
 The closing of a door proved that the 
 stranger had made good his entrance, malgre 
 the expostulations of the positive Peter. 
 
 '^ What can be brewing now?'' — thought 
 Frank, — ^^ here is a low, unprincipled, religious 
 mountebank, taking possession of the house 
 vi et aj^mis,*' 
 
 And what could be the secret that Peter 
 held so closely ? There was evidently some- 
 thing dangerous, perhaps ' dishonourable,' in 
 motion; and to this his uncle was in some 
 way a party ; and if so, it was probable, nay 
 more, it was ' evident ' that he himself would 
 be involved. The blood rushed to Bland- 
 ford's temples with a strange instinctive
 
 THE PICAROON. 119 
 
 consciousness of present peril: — it seemed as 
 if a pit of infamy was dug beneath his feet, 
 but hidden from his eyes : — he started from 
 his chair, with the intention of making some 
 instant investigation: — but where could he 
 go? — to whom could he apply? — what were 
 his charges? — The vague surmises of uncer- 
 tain suspicion would but rebound upon 
 himself! He stood in utter and bitter con- 
 fusion, until, as with the touch of an icy 
 hand, the thought fell upon his heart, that 
 his eagerness after all was but a vain impo- 
 tency ! At best, his only alternative would 
 be to await some tangible, incident on which 
 to charge his uncle, home ; but how long 
 might this uncertainty continue, while the 
 hidden mischief was still waxing stronger 
 and wider, until at the moment of attempted 
 extrication, some public explosion might en- 
 sue, and leave him innocent indeed, but with 
 a reputation so fatally tarnished, that every 
 hope of Carema would be for ever gone.
 
 120 THE PICAROON. 
 
 Such were his feelings, when Kenrick's 
 voice, and that in high anger, resounded 
 through the building. *' Yes/' — thought 
 Frank, — *^ he has just returned and heard of 
 his unbidden guest, now will be the time to 
 understand him; — now, while his caution 
 sleeps in the passion of the moment; I will 
 seek him instantly." 
 
 In the way stood Peter listening, and 
 with an expression of unusual ferocity, doubt- 
 less from the storm of indignation he had 
 just encountered. At the sight of Frank 
 his countenance changed, as if he meant to 
 speak, but clenching his teeth with some 
 sudden recollection, he hurried off, and Bland- 
 ford passing forward, entered silently into 
 the presence of his uncle. 
 
 Kenrick was seated with accounts before 
 him, and looking pale and disturbed, as he 
 watched the stranger, who stood at a window 
 holding up a document to the light as we 
 scrutinize a doubtful note. Both were totally
 
 THE PICAROON. 121 
 
 absorbed, when the stranger, in a harsh and 
 vulgar tone, exclaimed, — 
 
 *' Very well, Mr. Kenrick, very well : — 
 and so the loss of the whole caro;o is to be 
 packed on my shoulders ! — and this precious 
 assignment proves it, eh? — Hark ye. Sir! 
 though the juggle were hatched in the hot- 
 test hole of liell, it shall not weigh a 
 feather!" 
 
 ^^ Your own signature," — said Kenrick, 
 in a hollow voice of dogged assurance, — 
 " Your own signature ! — and if you want a 
 witness " 
 
 '^ Want the Demon I" — cried the other in 
 a towering rage, — ^' The writing is my own ; 
 but how came it here ? — I say. Sir, this 
 paper has been tampered with : — has been 
 abraded : — and this signature has been in- 
 serted with gum and pressure ! A cunning 
 cheat it passes to the eye; but what of that? 
 a little moisture will dissolve your magic." 
 
 And so saying, and having breathed closely 
 
 VOL. I. G
 
 122 THE PICAEOON. 
 
 on the document, he appeared as if about 
 to raise the edge of the suspected patch 
 with the point of a penknife, when Kenrick 
 clutched his arm, and snatched it from 
 him. 
 
 Both stepping back, now faced each other 
 with looks of eager malice, their very fore- 
 heads blackening with excess of passion, and 
 every muscle stiffening for some essay of 
 deadly hate, when Blandford passed between 
 them ; and then cowering with a new fear, 
 the dread of convicted villany, both stood 
 silent and abashed. 
 
 With momentary self-command, and a 
 well affected tone of plausible vexation, 
 Kenrick immediately apologized to his ne- 
 phew, for what he called, — his ^^ most unfor- 
 tunate, and easily besetting sin, a warmth 
 of temper." 
 
 " We were both to blame," — he continued, 
 in a husky tone of lingering confusion; and 
 looking meekly as a bull in a bog ! — '^ both.
 
 THE PICAROON. 123 
 
 though I am ready to confess myself the 
 most so." 
 
 ''You had better confess," — said the still 
 sullen stranger, — ^' You had better confess, 
 that you are aware, that — I mean that you 
 have discovered " — added the fellow^, "^ w^ith 
 an artful turn, — '^ that, we must not either 
 of us depend upon this document." 
 
 '' Oh, certainly not ! I hold it for nothing 
 more than it will answer, — as void ' indeed ' 
 without the witness." 
 
 ^' I know not what you mean! — one man, 
 and only one, was privy to the matter, and 
 all he might have proved on me was but a 
 ' third : ' but what of that ?~he is dead." 
 
 "Believe it not: he lives!" 
 
 ''Anselmo?" — said the stranger, turning 
 pale, and speaking in a low and smothered 
 tone of voice, so as not to be over-heard, as 
 he imagined, by Blandford, — "Anselmo?" 
 
 A nod of affirmation increased the visible 
 consternation of the stranger, while, with 
 returning confidence, Kenrick added —
 
 124 THE PICAROON. 
 
 ^' Be not troubled, good Mr. Smuggle- 
 ton ; time and skill may shift the burden 
 of the loss to other shoulders : — and after 
 all, thus to wrangle for the mammon of un- 
 righteousness, is but a sony occupation. 
 Here, Nephew, you must know this gentleman 
 better, as my pious, but rather too hasty 
 friend, the Rev. Simon Smuggieton. He is 
 the missionary of the new denomination we 
 hope to build up, as a tower of refuge, 
 in the desert of this sinful generation ! and 
 he himself too is a shining, but, as 1 may say, 
 a wandering light in the world : — I mean, 
 as to the call to travel in his vocation, 
 which from regard to me, and a little profit 
 for himself, he has clogged so far with 
 worldly cares, as to undertake some little 
 agencies with Holland and the Low Coun- 
 tries. These, as you must be sensible, Ne- 
 phew, are open to perplexing casualties of 
 one sort or the other; — and indeed, as the 
 salt of the earth ! should be kept clear of the 
 damps of misfortune, I must saddle my wits
 
 THE PICAROON. 125 
 
 with some device, that may save him from 
 the loss we had grown so hot upon." 
 
 Kenrick paused, and Blandford turned his 
 eye towards the stranger. Never had he 
 beheld a mass of human flesh more eloquent 
 of the soul within, — or rather of the want 
 of one! — than the pious Mr. Smuggleton. 
 
 The reverend gentleman had perched him- 
 self on the high stool of the desk, and his 
 bowed and marvellously short legs hung 
 dangling with an awkward looseness from a 
 nether bulk of unusual amplitude. The chest 
 was contracted as the heart within, and over- 
 hung by high heavy shoulders, bearing long 
 pendulous arms : — his head large, but singularly 
 flat ; — the eyes deep-seated, bright and twink- 
 ling, as those of a lynx ; — the forehead low, 
 smooth, and half hid, by a profusion of 
 coarse hair, combed and pomatomed down on 
 one side, with all the precision of a villaoe 
 barber : — the nose, strangely thin and promi- 
 nent, was standing up from the broad flat
 
 126 THE PICAHOON. 
 
 face like the picked bone of an old turkey, 
 and with much the same gristly transpa- 
 rency and ugly tint of blueish yellow. The 
 mouth, that porch of the soul ! but in the 
 present instance only valuable as the viaduct 
 to the gastric magazine, was graciously re- 
 laxed from its usual forward pucker of con- 
 ceit, into the grave, square-cornered smile of 
 the Precisian ; and with all its wonted cha- 
 racter of shallow, heartless, overreaching 
 subserviency. There was in the whole ex- 
 pression, such a mixture of cunning and 
 perplexity, — such a complete personification 
 of sordid sensuality and artificial gravity, that 
 Frank, forgetting all his previous anxieties, 
 actually gave way to a hearty fit of laughter. 
 The ridicule was too appropriate to be 
 mistaken ; and the conscious Smuggleton dropt 
 his eyes, and wriggled on his chair, with the 
 fidgety excitement of an old maid, when bridal 
 tapers are growing shorter, and blushes deeper. 
 Even Kenrick was disconcerted ; — but only for
 
 THE PICAROON. 127 
 
 an instant, when, with more than his usual as- 
 perity, he demanded the cause of so ' strange,' 
 so 'unmannerly' a freak. 
 
 " Positively, Sir, I hardly know, except 
 that something put me in mind of an odd 
 conceit in sculpture, which I once saw in a 
 gothic church. It was a grotesque, and re- 
 presented a saint squeezing down the head 
 of a miserable little devil, while he pinched 
 the fiend betwixt his knees and choked him, 
 by forcing him to swallow the dart of his 
 own tail." 
 
 "Better and worse:" — said Kenrick, drily, 
 " But come, young man, we have matters of 
 business to adjust, in which you can hardly 
 be a party; — suppose that you take a walk." 
 
 " Rather late. Sir ! — and, by the by, I have 
 a matter of business to adjust, which must, 
 and shall command your * instant ' attention !" 
 
 " Very well, young man : — very well, very 
 right, — candid and direct. — Smuggleton, my 
 good fellow, call to-morrow. — And now he is
 
 128 THE PICAROON. 
 
 gone, Mr. Blandford, what are the commands 
 of a nephew to an uncle ? " 
 
 " The legal transfer of your authority, Sir, 
 and of my fortune, to proper trustees for 
 the residue of the period, or an application 
 to the Court of Chancery for protection." 
 
 " Still better, but very juvenile, young Sir! 
 — 'Protection' — Consider, may not this pre- 
 sumption hang upon a fallacy ! — His Honour 
 The Lord High Chancellor must have some- 
 thing to protect ! — and it is often more easy 
 to talk of a fortune than to produce it on 
 demand ! — Hark ye, Mr. Blandford ! your sub- 
 stance has been adventured in merchandise : 
 — now a * transfer ' on the books at the Bank 
 of England is a thing they understand very 
 well in Lincoln's Inn, but a ' transfer ' across 
 the Atlantic, is more in my way : — There are 
 the casualties of the Ocean ! — Foundering, 
 strokes of lightning, piracy, storms, rocks 
 and shallows ! " — 
 
 "Words, — Sir, words; the law is stronger
 
 THE PICAROON. 129 
 
 than your threat ! — The account must, and 
 'shall' be rendered." 
 
 " The account * shall ' be rendered : — Very 
 well, very right; but still, as I said before, 
 very juvenile ! — What say you, young Sir, to 
 that pleasant common place in mercantile af- 
 fairs — "Bankrupt, and no effects." 
 
 " Base ! — infamously base, — but, thank God, 
 improbable : — your object, Sir, is to alarm me 
 from my purpose, but it shall not avail." 
 
 " Really, Mr. Blandford, your self-delu- 
 sion is amusing. — Your proposition, remember, 
 takes it for granted, that I am base : — beware, 
 lest you ensure the completion of your pro- 
 phecy! — As I told you before, I will not 
 reason with a junior; I only caution you not 
 to provoke the injury you would escape : — the 
 restitution of your fortune happens not to 
 suit my present convenience; — nothing more. 
 Now, mark me, Nephew, my object has been 
 wealth ! — Wealth, in no common sense of the 
 tenn, and my hazards have been, and are in 
 g2
 
 130 THE PICAROON. 
 
 proportion : —even now, I have a stake upon 
 the equipoise, that, but a breath of what you 
 menace would overthrow. Now then, away ! — 
 Go ! — go, play the Hero ! proclaim your kins- 
 man for a knave, and make yourself a beggar ! 
 — But no, Sir, it were weak to trust your duty, 
 or your prudence ; I have a better guarantee, 
 your folly! — Move but a step against my 
 wishes, and Carema Darnley will have suffi- 
 cient cause to thank you ! — Her fate is some- 
 what too deeply involved in the cloud of slum- 
 bsring mischief your weak impatience would 
 disturb :— ah! I see that the blood deserts your 
 cheek ! very well. Sir, learn caution, and dream 
 not of what is beyond your grasp :— silence 
 and obedience are the only securities within 
 your power.*'
 
 THE PICAROON. 131 
 
 CHAPTER VIL 
 
 " He was a man as dusky as a Spaniard, 
 Sunburnt with travel, yet a portly figure ; 
 Though coloured as it were within a tanyard, 
 He was a person both of sense and vigour — 
 A better seaman never yet did man yard." 
 
 Beppo, a Venetian Story. 
 
 There is one within 
 
 Besides the things that we have heard and seen, 
 Recounts most ' horrid sights,' seen by the watch.' 
 
 Julius C.^-.sar. 
 
 The dispute with Kenrick had left Frank but 
 little relish for society, and less for his own 
 thoughts; and as we all yearn for the fresh 
 and open air, when overloaded with " that pe-
 
 132 THE PICAROON. 
 
 rilous stuff that weighs upon the heart," in 
 very self-defence he sought an evening stroll. 
 
 The bustle of the port had ceased; and as 
 he vi^andered down by the Avon's side, all 
 was silent and lonely. The bed of the river, 
 left bare by the tide, shone in its trickling 
 v\retness with a dull and leaden hue, while 
 the hull of a sloop, or half-decked sea-boat, 
 lying here and there, showed black and mo- 
 tionless, as if each were the carcass of some 
 aquatic monster, stranded by the ebbing waters. 
 
 The bleat of the distant sheep, and the 
 bay of the shepherd's dog, sounded mourn- 
 fully from the neighbouring Downs. The beet- 
 ling cliffs on either side hung over all, gloomy 
 and grand, while the dim distance, filUng the 
 yawning gulf between, showed in its growing 
 blackness the swift and rippling current of 
 the river diminished to a glimmering line of 
 silvery sheen. 
 
 As if presaging rain, the big-bellied clouds 
 seemed pressing downwards, and waxed still
 
 THE PICAROON. 133 
 
 darker as they gathered. By degrees the si- 
 lence gained a painful intensity, seemed deathly 
 and appalling; and as the loose sand patter- 
 ing from the gullies of the rocks came 
 with a swifter sharper rustle, Frank looked 
 up with an involuntary shudder ! — It seemed 
 as if his steps were tracked ! and that some 
 invisible mischief was hovering in the air! 
 
 A little after, and as the path wound 
 past a corner, columns of ruddy light gleamed, 
 as with a tangible distinctness, on the evening 
 mist; but so circumscribed, that the reflec- 
 tions on the rocks and water were hardly to 
 be remarked. These feeble flames rose from 
 the fires of some adjacent Limekilns, and 
 Frank remembered, that he had wandered far- 
 ther down than the hour might render pru- 
 dent; it was at least time to beat a retreat, 
 and he was about to return, when a new 
 object caught his eye, and amused him for 
 the moment. A white owl came saiUng slowly 
 up the glen, traversing every nook, and
 
 134 THE PICAROON. 
 
 doubling every corner with the regularity 
 of a setter; and evidently with good success, 
 as her frequent swoop evinced. 
 
 The bird had passed the two first Limekilns 
 with the indifference of an old acquaintance, 
 and on her wide and swagging pinions, was 
 sweeping round the third, when with a scream 
 of sudden terror, she shot away, and in a 
 twinkling was out of sight. Aware, that this 
 alarm was not without its meaning, Frank 
 looked eagerly forward, but nothing could be 
 discerned. The first Limekiln lay at the dis- 
 tance of about two hundred yards, among 
 scattered hommocs of rocks, overgrown with 
 briars, and through these a hollow sheep path 
 approached it on the right. 
 
 Few men had less taste for an adventure 
 than Blandford, but yielding for once to the 
 promptings of curiosity, he climbed the bank, 
 and under cover of the rocks and brush- 
 wood, advanced to reconnoitre. He had not 
 gained twenty yards, before he found reason
 
 THE PICAROON. 135 
 
 for self-congratulation in his present means of 
 concealment, as at a distance behind, in the 
 path he had just relinquished, five rough 
 looking fellows were to be observed, coming 
 slowly forward, and using a degree of cir- 
 cumspection with which ' honesty ' could not 
 be supposed to have any necessary affi- 
 nity. They were prowling, either to in- 
 tercept some party for the sake of plun- 
 der, or to secure an escape; and, in either 
 case, not the most agreeable companions. 
 
 Frank had crept to within something like 
 half the distance, when he had reason to 
 deem the owlet a bird of promise, and to 
 pause for observation. At a lower level, and 
 from a hollow space of open turf arose the 
 Limekiln, and immediately under it were two 
 figures moving like flitting shadows in the 
 dusky light. Presently, the one stepping far- 
 ther out was seen to be a sailor, and a second 
 glance discovered the well-knit form of the 
 Pilot, Mat Marlin. The other, just then be-
 
 136 THE PICAROON. 
 
 came even more obscured, as a descending 
 cloud of smoke rolled over the edge of the 
 kiln ; — it drifted off, and Frank was sur- 
 prised to observe that Mat's companion was 
 a woman ! 
 
 Yes, a woman ! but one so wild and hag- 
 gard in aspect, and attire, as to relieve the 
 jolly tar from all peril of St. Anthony's tempta- 
 tion, whatever other danger might impend. Of 
 the last, there was soon rather too plain a 
 token, as, sitting down, she drew forth a large 
 case knife, and began to whet it on the stone 
 beside her ; presently, turning up the hem of 
 her petticoat, she wiped the dust from the 
 blade ; next the edge was carefully tried, and 
 Frank felt a choking at the throat, followed 
 by a cold tremor, as, tucking up the sleeves 
 above her gaunt and sallow arms, she rose 
 hastily, and passing forward, said to her 
 companion, — 
 
 " A bloody job, Mat ! but he's half dead 
 already."
 
 THE PICAROON. 137 
 
 '' You may say that ; yet still for all, Fd 
 make sure work ! — take my advice, lay the 
 knife in with a jerk behind the head, and 
 he'll he quiet for the rest." 
 
 *' Oh God, a murder V — ejaculated Frank, 
 but in a voice so smothered in horror as to 
 be quite inaudible; meanwhile the female 
 fiend-like figure stalked off behind the Lime- 
 kiln, and as her companion, or accomplice, 
 Marlin, cowered down to wami his hands at 
 the fire beneath, Blandford detected as he 
 thought, the deadly pallor of a smitten con- 
 science, stealing like a death damp over his 
 rugged features. 
 
 Still Frank gazed on in silence, and, as 
 it were, without the faculty of motion : — in 
 fact, the unexpected and overpowering vil- 
 lany in the conduct of his uncle had un- 
 hing-ed his mind, and left a languor on his 
 senses that he could not drive away. 
 
 The utter loneliness of the place — the 
 shadowy hour of closing night — the death
 
 138 THE PICAROON. 
 
 like desponding aspect of the earth and hea 
 vens ! the feeble glow of the embers, and 
 drifting vapours of the kiln, as it projected 
 from the surrounding shade, white, weather- 
 stained, and on the one side cracked so 
 deeply, as to show the fiery entrails glowing 
 underneath, — all seemed to minister to the 
 soul-sickening evil of the hour. Unarmed too, 
 Frank was without the means of resistance, 
 and aware that any alarm might probably 
 ensure a second murder, and that too in his 
 own person, while his brain reeled with hor- 
 rible emotions, he shrunk still further under 
 the foliage, and waited for the issue. 
 
 Presently, the demon in petticoats came 
 hastily forward, still bearing the knife, its 
 blade ensanguined, and her bony hands 
 stained fearfully with the same revolting hue. 
 Throwing herself with an indecent careless- 
 ness upon the ground, she began to wipe 
 away the soils with handfuls of the long sear 
 grass, and at the same time muttered some-
 
 THE PICAEOON. 139 
 
 thing that Blandford could not catch ; the 
 next words were more audible. 
 
 ** Prime luck, Mat ; Look ! the tide is 
 out, so nothing passes on the river; and here 
 on land, there is neither chance of prying- 
 eyes, nor curious ears ; no living creature 
 after dark w^ould wander on a path so deso- 
 late without a purpose. As I said before, 
 nothing could be better : — the fire, too, glows 
 hot, red, and steady, as Beelzebub's best 
 range ! it would scorch an ox to a cinder : — 
 now's the time, man, hoist him forward ; — 
 we'll finish all in a jiffy." 
 
 Convinced that the wretches were about 
 to consume the body of the victim, as the 
 means of destroying the evidence of their 
 crime, Frank felt a new shock, — his knees 
 smote together, and shuddering deeply, he 
 closed his eyes, to avoid as he imagined, the 
 dreadful spectacle at hand. 
 
 Suspense is ever more awful than the 
 reality; Frank found it intolerable, and opening
 
 140 THE PICAROON. 
 
 his eyes with a strong effort of self-command, 
 he ventured a hasty glance towards the Kiln, 
 and beheld with fresh amazement, — not the 
 poor naked mangled corpse fancy had de- 
 picted, but, — a noble salmon ! split down the 
 middle, crimped, and ready for the fire. 
 
 A taste for the horrible is so inherent in 
 humanity, that it can scarcely be less than a 
 taint of original sin. Be this as it may, it 
 must be confessed, that the revulsion which 
 occurred in Blandford's overwrought feelings 
 had a very unamiable mixture of disappoint- 
 ment ; — at best, he felt ashamed of his own 
 fears, and befooled by his own fancy, but 
 after all, most unjustly, for the excitement 
 was nothing more than what circumstances 
 had created, and good sense might warrant. 
 
 Relieved from all apprehension, but, far 
 too much oui of humour to accost the Pilot, 
 whom he had once or twice seen at Ken- 
 rick's, and equally actuated by aversion to- 
 wards the woman so strangely present, Frank
 
 THE PICAROON. 141 
 
 remained where he was, — and it was 'well that 
 he did so ! 
 
 '* A detestable trick, that same crimping 
 of live fish," — said Marlin, as, after spanning 
 out the salmon with some willow sticks, he 
 began to broil it, and stood by to watch the 
 culinary operation, with looks of measureless 
 content. ^* A vile trick, say I; but you have 
 taken care to nick this gentleman's back 
 bone first, and all's right. Ay, you and I 
 have seen rough work, bloodshed, and danger, 
 and shall again ; yet, for all that, let's have 
 nothing 'gainst nature ; no quiet cruelty ! — 
 I say, cutting and scoring ' live flesh ' for a 
 fashion is altogether 'gainst nature ! — but the 
 way takes mainly, and them that knows the 
 sin, follows after. I've seen Kenrick and 
 scores of his kidney; sly, goggle-eyed hypo- 
 crites, pick round the market for the keenest 
 crimp! — Lord, 'tis a lovely fish, and steams 
 out on the fire, sweet as a bank of violets ! — 
 Well, Captain, I shall just make free to put
 
 142 THE PICAROON. 
 
 a bit by for our Meg, poor girl ; she has a 
 fancy now for dainties." 
 
 ** What, she puts you in mind of the 
 violet bank, eh, Mat? Doubtless, she is a 
 well practised judge in all * good things,' — 
 except, indeed, that she has little relish for 
 a corpse, or a coffin! and least of all, for a 
 Hawny foreigner' in petticoats !" — and at 
 the word the latter were most indecorously 
 inverted by a gamble as malapert as a female 
 satyr might well have fancied. 
 
 *^ Yes, Mat, I should like to whirl them 
 to the moon ! They cling like gyves about 
 the ankles, and catch in every briar ; and 
 yet I'll confess that I've to thank them 
 for one lucky chance to-day. — The sweetest 
 girl, Mat, that ever smiled in the sunshine ! 
 Faith, pale, shrunk, and withered as I am 
 from this late mishap, the first glance of her 
 deep impassioned eyes, so full of southern 
 beauty, thawed the frozen fountain of exist- 
 ence, and for a moment I seemed to breathe
 
 THE PICAROON. 143 
 
 airain the soft Sicilian breeze !— I could have 
 died to serve her ! — Yes, for she seemed a 
 sister exile torn, like myself, from that deli- 
 cious clime, that once to know, must be to 
 love for ever." 
 
 This was uttered with a fervour, as incom- 
 prehensible to Marlin as interesting to Bland- 
 ford, who gazed on the speaker with a newly 
 awakened doubt. Had the female garb been 
 assumed as a disguise ? Was the picturesque 
 figure before him a man^ and an Italian? 
 Every instant strengthened, confirmed, rati- 
 fied the presumption. The darkly tinted yet 
 pale complexion ! the quick glancing fire of 
 the deeply seated eye, so shadowy and so 
 bright ; the curve and grace of the lips, and 
 the bold contours of the strongly moulded 
 features ; — and more than all, the sympathy 
 avowed for Carema, for Frank's fond heart 
 had construed the slight description instinc- 
 tively : — all these were confirmations ; but 
 beyond them were particulars that aroused
 
 144 THE PICAROON. 
 
 suspicion. A daring freedom in the stranger's 
 look ; perhaps, in part subdued with haggard 
 traces from recent suffering, and all at mo- 
 ments dashed with a strange fierceness, that 
 came and passed hke distant Hghtning on an 
 evening sky ; transient and beautiful as yet, 
 but ominous of evil. 
 
 " I likes the warm latitudes well enough, 
 for the matter of that;" — said Marlin, with a 
 phlegm worthy of a Dutchman,—'^ but chiefly 
 the Indies, — 'cause how, my stomach stood 
 staunch under ^ new rum,' and there's not one 
 in a clear thousand will ever live to boast of 
 that ! And then for the girls ! — time was, Fd 
 an * eye' as well as another. No seaman ever 
 got the right fancy for the mould and trim 
 of a good sea-boat yet, but that he had just 
 the same understanding of a woman ! — and 
 no wonder either, seeing as how all scholars 
 calls 'em both, — * she' and 'her,* just the same. 
 Ay, Sir, I could pick ye out the lucky taking- 
 craft of either sort, while you'd spunge a gun I —
 
 THE PICAROON. 145 
 
 — you see, there's the hehn for sense ; the bal- 
 last for conscience ; and your masts, yards, 
 sails, and running gear, what are they, but 
 the passions, the feelings, and the fancies ! 
 Put the ocean down for life, and the winds 
 for fortune; — the stars may stand for des- 
 tiny, and you have it all by the card, as easy 
 as to box the compass. And then for 'beauty,' 
 — from the dog-vane to the keel ; the love- 
 locks to the shoe-ties ; why all's the same. 
 Your figure-head should have a jaunty air, 
 neither too light nor too heavy ; your bows 
 springing forward, but sweetly rounded with 
 a knowing sweep below ; your counters show- 
 ing off with a delicate fullness, and — ^'* 
 
 " Pooh, Mat, snap the yarn, and pipe for 
 supper : — have you remembered the bread, and 
 * the cream of the valley ?' " 
 
 " Both, Captain ; and now here's a mess 
 for a prince ; — cooked after this fashion, it will 
 keep for a month, and famous prog too, Cap- 
 
 VOL. I. H
 
 146 THE PICAROON. 
 
 tain ; that is, if you should have to lie out 
 much longer on the skulk." 
 
 " Faith, Mat, I am half mad already.— The 
 loss of the Bess was a cruel blow; and then 
 the treachery, — that was something worse: — 
 I could have sworn that my boys were stanch 
 to the heart's core ! and now !" — 
 
 " Why now, you see, Captain, and plain 
 enough too, that they should paint the devil 
 * yellow,' for in the shape of gold he wins 
 the world : — those rascals had their price, and 
 sold the Bess ; but yet, after all, they had 
 to take their wages : — and so they had them." 
 
 " How so, what mean you. Mat?" 
 
 " Why, Captain, you knocked them on the 
 head, and all the better." 
 
 " Have you any guess, Marlin, as to who 
 laid the trap on shore?" 
 
 " There's the matter. Captain, I never talk 
 business on an empty stomach, but now that 
 the cargo is half shipped, my jaw-tackle is
 
 THE PICAROON. 147 
 
 reeved, and all's ready. — First then, and fore- 
 most, Kenrick stands clear : — he was ramping 
 mad to hear of the chance." 
 
 "And with good reason too. Mat; — he had 
 made sure of the cargo on his own account ! 
 and now, the card having turned the wrong 
 way, he is for slipping the loss on Smug- 
 gleton : — hark'ee, he met me for the very 
 purpose not two hours ago, and went off in 
 a hufl', to find me not quite so ripe a rascal 
 as himself." 
 
 Blandford held his breath as an icy pang 
 shot throuo^h his heart : his worst fears of his 
 Uncle were confirmed. 
 
 " As for Smuggleton," answered Mat, " he 
 would hang with a cobweb ! — 'tis his natural 
 destiny ! — A man, who has had honest tar on 
 his hands, would never foul his soul with a 
 false oath ! — or, faith, to witness black were 
 white, in such a cause, were little sin ! — I tell 
 ye what, Captain, I've my doubts, that, that
 
 148 THE PICAHOON. 
 
 same sanctified trickster, and none else, — rang 
 the knell of the Blowzy Bess." 
 
 " If I thought that,'' — said the Italian, with 
 a startling emphasis, and still more startling 
 ferocity of mean, — " if I but dreamt that it 
 were possible, — I would crush the reptile's 
 soul out from his eyes ! — The proof, Marlin, 
 know ye any chance for that ? — I would give 
 the world for proof." 
 
 "Why hark'ee. Captain ! — you may as well 
 expect a crab to walk straight, as to get a plain 
 answer from a slippery saint of that trim ; — 
 the only way is, to watch their looks; words 
 with them are only used as we hang up 
 fly-traps, to dazzle and betray : — Simon shows 
 fidgety if you name the Blowzy Bess ; and he 
 is curious as a grave-digger to know how 
 your body has been stowed away: — he told 
 me only yesterday, that he would give a ten 
 pound note, for but a moment's peep at the 
 corpse, though it were rotten as a dog's drift- 
 ing in the sun."
 
 THE PICAROON. 149 
 
 " Most kind and delicate in an old friend, 
 Mat ! but, I hope you left him without a 
 hint." 
 
 " Not a word was started, though he heaped 
 on his questions as thick and as close as 
 ever you packed the Blowzy Bess with can- 
 vas in a chase : — but, all for nothing ; not a 
 word!" 
 
 " Marlin, your good faith shall be rewarded 
 — I have my own doubts too, of Smuggleton, 
 and if he knew of my escape, as we live, man, 
 it would be one no longer ! — His agency was 
 never worth the risk of depending on a knave. 
 I have a thought, that often rises like a shadow 
 on my mind ; — and if the hour should come, 
 when the bloodhounds of the law would hunt 
 me to the bay, — then, Marlin ; " — and the 
 Italian's voice and countenance changed to a 
 tone and aspect solemn and commanding, — 
 " then, I shall set the red seal to Anselmo's 
 fate! — The dungeon, the gallows, and the 
 cord — for fools, for cowards ! — Yes ! let the
 
 150 THE PICAROON. 
 
 felon stoop to his desert, and die the jeer or 
 pity of a crowd : — but the free Rover of the 
 Ocean, — he who knew no sovereign but the 
 Storm — who sought no shelter from the law, — 
 and yet, who only struck in self defence ! — 
 he, in the hour of need, will trust to the same 
 keen weapon for deliverance, and find a safe 
 one; — a haven, beyond their daring or their 
 mahce : — the pale security of death." 
 
 Aroused and charmed with the martial ex- 
 citement that lightened from Anselmo's glance, 
 Frank had leant somewhat farther than before 
 from the crag which had hitherto sheltered 
 him from view, when a new object so ar- 
 rested his attention, that the answer of Marlin 
 passed unheeded. 
 
 Far away under the cliff to the left, and 
 advancing by the towing path he had so re- 
 cently traversed, came the five men he had 
 before seen, and still of suspicious bearing, 
 judging at least from their cautious mode of 
 examining the recesses of the rocks that rose
 
 THE PICAROON. 161 
 
 beside them. It was evident, that their object 
 was either search or concealment, and in either 
 case, Frank heartily wished himself quit of 
 the adventure. 
 
 His situation was indeed most perplexing ; 
 the object of the strangers was probably the 
 capture of Anselmo, in whom, all lawless and 
 daring as he was, Frank began to feel a 
 deep and vivid interest. The odds were so 
 great, that the Italian could have but little 
 chance of escape, and how dreadful was the 
 other alternative: — and then to be found 
 in any way, mixed up with such an affair, 
 connected as Blandford was with Kenrick, 
 whose disgrace he foresaw, would inevitably 
 follow : — this was a fearful issue — but still 
 more so was the sacrifice of the Italian; and 
 Frank generously resolved to have recourse to 
 any expedient, that might promise to avoid it. 
 
 At first he thought of going down at once 
 to the Kiln, and pointing out the danger, but 
 a moment's consideration of the hurry and
 
 162 THE PICAROON. 
 
 alarm that his unexpected presence would 
 create, and the premature discovery that might 
 instantly arise, showed this to be unadvisable, 
 and for a while he lingered in suspense.
 
 THE PICAROON. 153 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 '* Holof ernes. O, thou monster, Ignorance, — how deformed 
 doth thou look ! 
 
 Sir Nathaniel. Sir, he hath never fed on the dainties that are 
 bred in a book. He hath not eat paper, as it were j he hath not 
 drunk ink. His intellect is not replenished. He is only an 
 animal,— only sensible in the duller parts." 
 
 love's labour's lost. 
 
 " The fire-gleaming flashes around us may fall; 
 Thev may strike, they may cleave, but they cannot appal ; 
 With lightnings above us, and darkness below. 
 Through the wide waste of waters right onward we go !" 
 
 THE ROVEU'S SONG. 
 ELIZA COOK. 
 
 Every passing minute now was of critical 
 importance ; the strangers advanced more ra- 
 pidly, and the lurid flare from the limekiln 
 rose unfortunately stronger. The crisis was 
 h2
 
 154 THE PICAROON. 
 
 at hand; it was perhaps too late, when at 
 a venture, Frank pitched a heavy stone to 
 the left of the kiln. The signal succeeded; 
 both Marlin and the Italian had caught the 
 alarm, and looking out in the direction of 
 the falling missile, beheld the coming danger. 
 
 If Frank had been before struck with 
 the gallant bearing of Anselmo, he was now 
 infinitely more so. The sense of immediate 
 danger had inspired the Italian with a fresh 
 and glowing energy ; the traces of debility, 
 of suffering, or of sorrow, were seen no 
 longer, and he appeared ready, nay eager, to 
 contend in the mortal strife that menaced. 
 
 Suddenly his brow contracted, his cheek 
 sunk, and, as a tremor shook his frame, 
 Anselmo drew a dirk, and, in a hurried tone, 
 addressed the Pilot, who had hitherto re- 
 mained as one absorbed, stunned and stupid 
 with alarm. 
 
 " Marlin, life is sweet with us all ! — 
 now, mark me : — I have found too many
 
 THE PICAROON. 155 
 
 false, to trust in any ! — if I stand here, as 
 indeed it seems, betrayed^ bagged for the 
 hunt ; the foul play must have been thine 
 own, and thou shalt answer it, with blood 
 for blood ! — A desperate man is sure of 
 vengeance, and think not to escape. Nay, 
 swear not : — oaths from a villain are but 
 empty breath, and from a true man need- 
 less. I want not words, but deeds ! — here, 
 cloak thee up in these, and play the woman 
 for a while ; lie down, and seem to sleep ; 
 or, perhaps, it were better, — crouch like a 
 crone, beside the embers : — do any thing— but 
 quickly ! — life hangs upon thy wit, — upon 
 thy speed !" 
 
 Reassured, and indeed rejoiced to find that 
 any hope remained, Marlin assumed the female 
 disguise of the Italian with due celerity, and 
 in three minutes became, to all appearance, 
 a strapping, rullocking gipsy-quean. 
 
 '■'■ You look it bravely. Mat : — the play 
 will soon begin ; lie snugly there, and
 
 156 THE PICAROON. 
 
 snore : — the flask of brandy, boy, will make 
 them think thee drunk ! — Ay, hide but thy 
 face to baffle them awhile, and they shall 
 snatch the slimy adder from her hole more 
 easily than grapple with Anselmo ! — quick ; 
 down boy, down." 
 
 The foreign velvet vest, of a dark olive 
 green, worn by the Italian under his late dis- 
 guise, now promised well for the success of the 
 intended stratagem. With the silent celerity 
 of the reptile he had named, he slunk among 
 the tufted grass, scrambled through the 
 bushes, and crept along the moss-grown rocky 
 ledges, until half the overhanging precipice 
 was won ; but then, either from inability to 
 climb higher, or, perchance, allured by the 
 shelter offered by a fallen tree that hung 
 lodged in the turn of a water gully, he 
 crouched behind it, and remained, as Bland- 
 ford thought, in perfect security. 
 
 Frank was himself, and very much to 
 his own satisfaction, tolerably well hid in
 
 THE PICAROON. 157 
 
 a deep crevice between some hommocs of 
 rock as high as his shoulders, and charm- 
 ingly overhung vv^ith tangled bushes and 
 trailing briars ; on the whole, the campaign 
 promised to open well for the assailed, and 
 in the mean while, Marlin practised his nasal 
 hum to admiration. 
 
 The advancing party came on the faster, 
 as the limekiln rose in view ; the drizzling 
 rain that had began to fall, having inclined 
 their leader to view the warm precincts of 
 the kiln as a most delectable halting place. 
 
 At nearer quarters, it became evident 
 that only three of the five were likely to 
 prove effective, if the matter happened to 
 take the rougher turn. These were two 
 * Quarry-men,' and a travelling ^ Tinker,' who 
 had been hired by the official leader. This 
 last, a huge carcass of a man, the " Big Ben " 
 of Bristolian fame, was originally chosen as 
 a mace-bearer, on account of his portly pre- 
 sence, and had been afterwards advanced,
 
 158 THE PICAROON. 
 
 ' by great interest/ and with little desert, as 
 is often the case in matters of more import- 
 ance, into a situation for which he was singu- 
 larly unfit, both by nature and by habit, viz. 
 that of a police officer of the higher grade. 
 
 Now, it so happened that the cava sposa 
 of Ben, although, perchance, somewhat lack- 
 ing in the conjugal virtues, was, neverthe- 
 less, devoutly ' attached ' to all official dues 
 and perquisites ; and these depending on Ben's 
 thread of life, doubtless from a pure and be- 
 coming care of her husband's precious per- 
 son, she never suffered him to stir abroad 
 without the attendance of a cautious self- 
 sufficient long-backed personage in her con- 
 fidence, who had been originally nicknamed 
 "Turnspit Jack," in the low derision of his 
 familiars, and was afterwards as Big Ben's 
 ' Esquire of the Body ' very properly dignified 
 with the soubriquet of " The Lion's Pro- 
 vider." Both master and man at heart were 
 arrant cowards, but as an * official,' has
 
 THE PICAROON. 169 
 
 " greatness thrust upon him," and must at 
 least seem to do something for his salary, Ben, 
 who had the voice of a bull calf, would roar 
 the refractory into order; and if the greasy 
 varlets were obstreperous, and showed for 
 fight, his shadow stepped between, and lulled 
 the growing storm with sounding epithets of 
 law ! — and with quantum stiff, of truncheon 
 law to boot, if the occasion gave excuse. 
 
 " Gently, gentlemen all ! — gently : — have 
 ye no bowels of mercy for a man of my 
 weio'ht ? Well ! well ! — this rain will be the 
 ruination of me for a * King's Officer,' cer- 
 tain sure ; what with rheumatism, asthma, 
 broken rest, and short commons ! Plague 
 take these sea varmin, say I, they'll dodge 
 and hide like water rats, and cost more trouble 
 the routing out than the blood-money will 
 cover, after all. Hold your tongue. Jack ! 
 I'll have you understand, sirrah, that a 
 * King's Officer' on duty, mind you that,— is 
 not to be interrupted by every slavering
 
 160 THE PICAROON. 
 
 puppy such as thee ! — I was telHng you, 
 * gentlemen all ! ' that a ' King's Officer ' 
 like myself, is clean altogether overreached, 
 jockeyed, and scotched, by these same sea- 
 faring, tar-scented vagabonds, that won't stay 
 to be nabbed like a dacent land thief in a 
 Pot-house. Plague and ruination take all in- 
 formers, say I ; they'll never hunt down their 
 own game, but the whiles they pocket all 
 the profit as quietly as my lady sips her 
 vi'ine ; we that be ' King's Officers,' yes, we 
 must do the work ! rough or smooth, its all 
 the same : — just as now : — down comes the 
 warrant, and a ' King's Officer' like myself 
 must, nolens volens, leave board, bed, ay, 
 and the arms of his lawful wife, to wander 
 in night fogs, rain, sleet, and darkness, — and 
 all for what ? — to catch a vagabond Smuggler 
 that has had the sense to shoot a bigger rogue 
 than himself." 
 
 Just then ' Turnspit Jack,' whose red fer- 
 ret-like eyes were ever winkling and twink-
 
 THE PICAROON. 161 
 
 ling on this side and the other, like a caged 
 baboon, caught a peep through the bushes 
 of Marlin's red petticoat, and a council of 
 war was summoned on the moment. 
 
 The bold ' Quarry-men,' the sturdy ' Tin- 
 ker,' and even the shallow-witted Jackall, 
 were unanimously of opinion that the object 
 in view was their intended prisoner, but in 
 this the oracular Ben would in nowise ac- 
 quiesce. 
 
 *' No offence, * gentlemen all,* — but you're 
 altogether wrong : — ay, take the word of 
 a Kins^'s Officer for that ! ' Diso'uise' me no 
 disguises ! every man to his trade. — Why, 
 who the deuce should understand a muffler 
 better than a King's Officer? — answer me 
 that! — Have not I had the tip-top 'finish!' 
 the right bang-up gentlemen flash thieves of 
 Lunnun, down in our City, quite comfortable, 
 and taking the air in High Street, powdered ; 
 black-coated, with spectacles, long faces, 
 clean teeth, and three-cornered hats, as good
 
 162 THE PICAROON. 
 
 clergy to the eye as ever bishop made : — 
 and our own serious folk, straight-haired ladies, 
 and other simple bodies, following 'em up 
 and down like a cow that has lost her calf, 
 begging 'em to dinners, prayings, preachings, 
 and such like, — when I've spoiled sport just 
 with a silent nudge ! — winked my solemn prig 
 off to a tavern ; only for civility, d'ye see ; — 
 well, there he tips his bottle quite genteel, and 
 on the * live and let live * plan, I gives a hint, 
 that Bath is better by half for ' finger prac- 
 tice,' — and then all's quite agreeable, and quiet 
 as kissing in a church ! A King's Officer, 
 you must know, has always a proper fellow- 
 feeling for * professional gentlemen!' — Trust 
 me for a disguise, ay by night or by day; 
 but here, why — all's natural as life ! — and 
 what the deuce should ye expect to find of 
 a gipsy quean more than another woman? — 
 tell me that, gentlemen? tell me that?" 
 
 *' Here's a hole in the kettle at last !" — 
 cried the Tinker; and straddhng over the
 
 THE PICAROON. 163 
 
 apparent gipsy, lie lifted up one of the heavy 
 booted legs much as a blacksmith handles 
 a horse. 
 
 With a due and characteristic indignation 
 of so indecorous a freedom, Mat silently and 
 swiftly drew back his foot, and as suddenly 
 planting it on the Tinker's seat of honour, 
 kicked him a yard into the air. This feat 
 accoQiplished, with a yawn and a stretch, as 
 if but half awakened, he turned over, threw 
 out his legs in an attitude perhaps more 
 easy than feminine, and again snored away 
 with the snorting force of a blowing gram- 
 pus. 
 
 *^ Serves thee right, for a black fingered 
 fool!" — said Ben, with the gravity of a 
 judge, though all the rest were laughing 
 loudly at the Tinker. 
 
 " Ay, sprawl like a hoisted frog ! — serves 
 thee right for doubting the word of a ' King's 
 Officer!'— did not I tell thee,— that all was 
 natural as life, and no disguise."
 
 164 THE PICAROON. 
 
 '' Disguise enough for the matter of that, 
 when a woman's a man ! — Zounds, if I don't 
 fire the petticoats! snoring, sleeping, or 
 waking, we'll have a sailor's hornpipe with- 
 out the music." 
 
 Whether in jest or in earnest, the Tinker, 
 suiting the action to the word, hghted a 
 whisp of sear grass at the ash-hole of the 
 kiln, and ran with it flaming and flaring 
 towards the Pilot. 
 
 This fiery ordeal was something more 
 than Marlin fancied ; and tearing off" the fe- 
 minine combustibles as he sprung to his feet, 
 the Tinker's prediction was realized, to the 
 visible chagrin of Ben, and the astonishment 
 of all. 
 
 Twenty questions were put in a breath, 
 and some that it might have been difficult 
 to answer, for all, except the Tinker, were the 
 acquaintance of the Pilot; and with the kind 
 familiarity of old friends, were perfectly ready 
 to believe in any charge, that they might
 
 THE PICAROON. 165 
 
 provoke him but to colour with a word : — 
 Marhn, however, foiled theai, with what, in 
 the present instance, was calculated to be 
 more effective than the words of wisdom, 
 and far more convincing than either truth 
 or eloquence, the dumb-foundering silence 
 of a drunkenness so well affected, as not 
 to be doubted for a moment. 
 
 After the variety of guessing was pretty 
 well expended, the general opinion seemed 
 to be, that the Pilot had been made the 
 dupe of some wild frolic on ship-board, and 
 afterwards landed in his gipsy's garb to sleep 
 it out. Be this as it might, he appeared in 
 no condition to give information, and there- 
 fore, leaving him to snore again, they were 
 on the point of pursuing their search down 
 the river, when the case-knife, which had 
 done the honours of the salmon, caught the 
 eye of the sapient Ben. In a moment all 
 were on the qui vive; the knife bore the name 
 of Anselmo, scratched upon its haft, and with
 
 166 THE PICAROON. 
 
 SO strong a proof of his vicinity, the reward 
 offered for his apprehension seemed already 
 within their grasp. 
 
 The careless coarseness and vulgar merri 
 ment of Ben and his gang were now ex- 
 changed for a sullen thoughtfulness, from 
 a sense of coming danger, mixed with a 
 bulldog-like ferocious joy at the thought of 
 hunting down the way-worn, desp3rate out- 
 law, whose vain struggles against such odds 
 could do no more than give a zest to his 
 inevitable capture. 
 
 All seemed so certain, and so easy, that 
 Ben took the handcuffs from his pocket to 
 have them in readiness for instant use: — 
 some of his followers, too, bound handker- 
 chiefs around their loins, to enable them to 
 support, with greater ease, the violent exer- 
 tions of running or climbing that might 
 immediately ensue : — others fresh primed their 
 pistols ; and all paid respectful attention to 
 the brandy flask, under the popular view.
 
 THE PICAROON. 167 
 
 that spirits and valour are at least convertible 
 terms. 
 
 These notes of preparation were not un- 
 obsei-ved by Frank, and he felt that the pro- 
 babilities against the Italian were fearfully 
 augmented. 
 
 The police officer and his myrmidons were 
 indeed the King's liege subjects, and in 
 common parlance, ' honest men ; ' — but as they 
 stood beside the rugged quarry, grouped 
 together under the fitful glow of the burning 
 kitrt, and exchanged looks and words of 
 eager vengeance against one, who at least 
 had never been the personal foe of either, 
 Blandford fancied that no blood-thirsty ban- 
 dits could have appeared a wit more demoniac 
 and hateful: — in proportion his anxiety for 
 their defeat became so deep and ardent, that 
 he was almost ready to involve himself to a 
 culpable extent in the affair. 
 
 It was now resolved, that the exploring 
 party should separate; the two * Quarry-men'
 
 168 THE PICAROON. 
 
 being ordered to ascend the rocky ledges of 
 the cliff, and examine their recesses, while 
 the other three were to support them from 
 beneath, as occasion might require. 
 
 Frank felt that this arrangement would be 
 fatal to Anselmo, and as he looked out upon 
 the landscape, its dim dissolving shadows 
 seemed to creep into his very heart, with a 
 cold and ominous feeling. The slight and 
 drizzling rain had now altogether ceased : — 
 the clouds too had lost their bold and broken 
 outlines, and lay confounded in one contiguous 
 sheet of a deep and leaden gray ; but in some 
 measure lighter than before, as the moon was 
 up ; and though canopied and almost lost in 
 a shroud of gathering vapours, yet still her 
 presence had its influence in the more lumi- 
 nous atmosphere, that contrasted with the 
 shadowy horizon of the east. All was so 
 hushed and quiet, that the low moanings 
 of the distant tide were audible from seaward ; 
 and the very craunching of the grass 'and
 
 THE PICAROON. 169 
 
 herbage was heard, as the men below began 
 to trample them down in moving on their 
 enterprize. 
 
 Presently, as if from some electrical change, 
 the whole face of the heavens and of the earth 
 darkened until all was indistinct. It seemed 
 as if the silent sympathies of nature accorded 
 with the sorrow-stricken hearts that throbbed 
 beneath them. 
 
 The gloom increased : — it thickened into 
 blackness : — wild sobbing gusts came at inter- 
 vals, and died away into low mysterious wail- 
 ings, still fainter in the distance. Again they 
 sounded in the air, nearer and louder ; and 
 then the multitudinous echoes of the cliffs 
 had caught them, and sent them forth in 
 shouts and rattling laughter, peal after peal ! — 
 and now, as all at once, the wind awoke in 
 might and majesty, all other sounds and feel- 
 ings seemed absorbed. With crash on crash, 
 — the rocky caverns of the glen groaned in 
 hollow thunders. Anon the surging pinions 
 
 VOL. I. I
 
 170 THE PICAROON. 
 
 of the blast, in hissing rushing swiftness swept 
 down the river,- and tore the rising tide into a 
 hoary track of foam. Now, with the hurtling 
 storm came rain ; at first in scattered squalls, 
 but, afterwards heavy, steady and thick, with 
 sheet on sheet, as if the foundations of the 
 earth were to be soaked and shaken. 
 
 This falling deluge seemed soon to have 
 purged the heavens of half their blackness, 
 and again the wild outlines of the gorge arose 
 in dim obscurity, — pale and spectral as the 
 troubled vision of a dream : — presently they 
 brightened, till all the nearer objects were 
 grown distinct, and Blandford could observe 
 the gang beneath, scattered for shelter where- 
 ever a projecting crag, or hollowed bank might 
 promise to afford it. 
 
 Leaning out for a moment, he looked up- 
 ward towards the fallen tree that had been 
 chosen as a hiding place by the Italian. It 
 was still there, but the gully in which it had 
 lodged was now overflown by a torrent, and
 
 THE PICAROON. 171 
 
 where the tree lay, the impeded waters were 
 vexed into a cataract of foam. Soon heavy 
 sparkhng jets burst, bounding through the 
 rifted branches, and rushing with fast in- 
 creasing force, threatened every instant to 
 wash down all in headlong ruin. 
 
 Doubtless, aware of the coming danger, 
 Anselmo had raised himself from the bed of 
 the overflown gully, — and Frank, on watching 
 closely, could distinguish that he had thrust 
 one arm into a fissure of the rock a little to 
 the right. 
 
 The splash and whiz of the pent flood grew 
 louder, and had by this time attracted the 
 notice of Ben and his followers. Even as 
 they gazed, the weight of the gathered waters 
 augmented, and soon with resistless pressure 
 they tore the imbedded roots, with trunk and 
 branches, from their hold : — the loosened rocks 
 around were lifted, and as the explosion burst, 
 all fell together with a thundering deafening 
 crash. A cloud of spray arising from beneath
 
 172 THE PICAROON. 
 
 and drifting in the wind, wrapt all in a mo- 
 mentary gloom, — and then fierce echoing shouts 
 and shrill impatient cries were heard above 
 the tumult of the storm. 
 
 Anselmo was discovered, as the falling 
 waters had left him clinging to the naked 
 rock, — and Blandford felt how far more intense 
 and awful are our sympathies with human 
 suffering, than those awakened by inanimate 
 nature, although seen in her most sublime and 
 terrific forms. 
 
 At first sight, the Italian seemed already 
 lost ! — unarmed, exhausted and defenceless ! — 
 The rocks around him, glistening darkly with 
 the falling waters, were far too slippery to be 
 trod if he had strove to move, but the pallor 
 of despair was stamped upon his brow, and the 
 wild and furtive glances that he threw beneath, 
 shone more with perplexity than hope. 
 
 Observing his helpless condition, Ben, in a 
 voice of thunder, hailed him to surrender; and 
 not meeting with the compliment of an an-
 
 THE PICAROON. 173 
 
 swer, he directed the * Quarry-men/ who were 
 provided with a pole and a rope, to clamber 
 round by some overhanging crags of easy ac- 
 cess, and noose him from above. The Tinker 
 meanwhile, was troublesomely urgent for leave 
 to make a fire underneath, and thus to smoke 
 him from his post of vantage : — indeed, the 
 conquest seemed so nearly won, that even the 
 Jackall was willing to essay it. 
 
 With mutual assistance, and the facility of 
 habit, the Quarry-men had gallantly surmounted 
 the more difficult portion of their task, when 
 half raising himself with a sudden and violent 
 effort from the glassy and almost perpendicular 
 surface of the rock, Anselmo unsheathed the 
 dirk he had before shown, and while Blandford 
 shuddered at the suicidal blow his fancy pic- 
 tured, the Italian very quietly slit down his 
 boots, and having thrown them off, in the 
 next moment sprang to a giddy ledge at hand 
 that promised a path to freedom, though at 
 the hazard of a broken neck.
 
 174 THE PICAROON. 
 
 The game was now grown desperate : — 
 pistol shots were fired rapidly from below, 
 and with a wild halloo, the 'Quarry-men' 
 having changed their direction, with redoubled 
 efforts, won the summit of the cliff. Unaware 
 of this fact, which had rendered his best ex- 
 ertions vain, Anselmo bounded from rock to 
 rock with the fleetness of an antelope, and 
 regardless of the danger, had by hanging on 
 with his hands, slung his body round a jutting 
 angle of the precipice, when he was confronted 
 on the other side by the stoutest of the Quarry- 
 men, whose comrade meanwhile lay at his 
 length on a table rock over head, with his 
 rope and pole so adjusted as to make 'sure 
 work,' as he imagined, of the Italian, at his 
 leisure. 
 
 The Quarry-man below had expected a rough 
 customer, and was ready for the tustle, but 
 Anselmo had noted the rope with a seaman's 
 eye, and determined at any risk to turn it to 
 advantage. This line, as he was aware, had
 
 THE PICAROON. 175 
 
 been made fast to the rock above, for the 
 security of his assailants, and he resolved that 
 one at least should put it to the proof. For 
 this purpose, in affected alarm, he made a 
 faint of retreating, and as the Quarry-man with 
 one arm twisted in the rope, attempted to 
 grapple at him with the other, by a sudden 
 bound he vaulted on his shoulders, and at the 
 same time pressing against the side of the pre- 
 cipice, so as to force his enemy off his feet, 
 in a moment both were dangling in the air. 
 What, with the surprise, and the sudden 
 pressure of a weight so unexpected, the man 
 above had allowed the tackle to run some 
 dozen feet, while his comrade shrieked as in 
 the agony of death, and clung to the cord 
 convulsively, with hands and teeth, as his only 
 chance for life. To weigh up both was utterly 
 impossible, and as Anselmo, when suspended 
 half way down, stood on the head of the man 
 beneath, he very coolly told the fellow above, 
 that he would kick his comrade off into eter-
 
 176 THE PICAROON. 
 
 nity, if he did not immediately lower them 
 both in safety : — there was no other alternative, 
 and he was obeyed. 
 
 When near the earth, the Quarry-man 
 beneath let go, with the hope of taking the 
 Italian to a disadvantage; but here he was 
 deceived, as Anselmo had done the same, 
 and both arose from the ground simultane- 
 ously. Both were equally aware, that the 
 struggle would be deadly, and with the re- 
 membrance that assistance was at hand, 
 which might unfairly share the honor of 
 the conquest. 
 
 The rough Quarry-man, who struck with 
 the deadly force of a horse's plunge, thought 
 at first to disable the light built foreigner 
 with a blow ; his boxing sleight was, how- 
 ever, of no avail, as Anselmo, seeing the 
 danger, fastened closely upon him with a 
 sudden throttling grasp, and both rolled 
 struggling on the turf. 
 
 By this time, the Tinker was at hand.
 
 TITR PICAROON. 177 
 
 and when Anselmo rose from his now breath- 
 less and half-stifled assailant, the man of ' met- 
 tle' was upon him, and presently too the reco- 
 vered Quarry-man had joined the fray. This 
 odds was rather too much ; but it promised to 
 be greater, as Ben and the rest, with de- 
 moniac shouts, were hurrying to the spot. 
 
 Blandford's prudence was now expended, 
 and with the burning pulses of excitement 
 throbbing to his brain, he burst among 
 them ; some turned, as they thought him 
 an accomplice, and he might have been 
 made a party to the fray, but that every eye 
 had caught the flash of the Italian's weapon, 
 which was again drawn, and, as they 
 thought to stab his assailants, — but no one 
 fell, no wound was given, — and presently he 
 had cast the stiletto in the river, while at the 
 same moment his cut and loosened vest was 
 torn away in fragments, and with naked 
 arms and polished trunk, on which no grasp 
 could hold, with a wild and headlong lunge 
 i2
 
 178 THE PICAROON. 
 
 he broke in triumph through them, and 
 dashed into the stream. 
 
 Even at the instant, Blandford observed, 
 that vv^ith the violence of the effort, a recent 
 gasli upon Anselmo's neck had re-opened, and 
 that the blood gushed over his bosom, as he 
 sunk amid the broken waters of the rising 
 tide. 
 
 Presently, the head of the fugitive might 
 be seen emerging with every roll of the 
 waves, as if he swam ; and every time, with 
 merciless aim, a pistol shot whizzed at the 
 mark ! — but, soon obscured by a thick mist, 
 which was steaming up from the river, no- 
 thing more could be discerned ; and the ge- 
 neral opinion was that if not shot, the wounded 
 wretch had speedily sunk, and perished in 
 the deep and dangerous eddies of the river.
 
 THE PICAROON. 179 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Lockit. Those I see will fit the Captain better. Take down 
 the further pair. Do but examine them, Sir. — Never was 
 better work : — how genteelly they are made ! — They will fit as 
 easy as a glove, and the nicest man in England might not be 
 ashamed to wear them. [He puts on the fetters.] If I had the 
 best gentleman in the land in my custody, I could not equip 
 him more handsomely. And so, Sir, I now leave you to your 
 private meditations. 
 
 THE beggar's opera. 
 
 For awhile the defeated gang gazed wist- 
 fully upon the water; not that the fate of 
 Anselmo excited any feeling of remorse, but 
 that the loss of so many good pounds sterling 
 as his capture would have won, was deemed
 
 180 THE PICAROON. 
 
 a sorry chance ; and, in the mortification 
 of the moment, they were but too ready for 
 any new excuse for violence ; Blandford's 
 appearance had been so critical, as to be at 
 least suspicious ; and with a simultaneous 
 and tacit consent, they fastened suddenly 
 upon him. 
 
 " Ay, ay, gentlemen, hold on ! — stick close, 
 don't give the rascal room to wag a finger; 
 I'll have the iron bracelets ready in a 
 twinkling. Now as I'm a ' King's Officer,' 
 here's a disguise here, and a proper one 
 too ! — Only look how my gentleman youngster 
 flushes up about the gills, and threatens 
 with his eyes, all shame and passion, like 
 a maid just kissed. Now mark it, — he'll 
 make a sham, d'ye see, that limbo is just 
 as new to him as wedlock to the other, — and 
 all the while, he's a right regular Lunnun 
 ' Cove,' and stale at Bow Street, Coven Gar- 
 den, as cabbages in autumn. Swag his 
 joints lissome, gentlemen ! — that's your sort ;
 
 THE PICAROON. 181 
 
 your restive colt is soon blown; — we'll have 
 him tame in rogue's harness, as blind 
 Dobbin in the mill ; — do ye see, gentlemen, 
 he's the cut-throat Captain's ' complis,' and 
 as we've lost the one, zounds, we'll stick 
 the closer to the other. Bring him on, 
 gentlemen, — and if he wont trot dacent, 
 run the noose 'taut on his arms : — ay, 'taut 
 to the bone, — and let him taste the cord 
 before he sees the gallows." 
 
 All this was rather too much to be plea- 
 sant, and yet Bland ford saw no escape ; and 
 Big Ben's rough jokes were unfortunately so 
 well relished by his followers, that they did 
 all they could to render them practical, as 
 Frank's bruised arms and aching joints by 
 this time bore plain evidence. At length 
 the lucky idea crossed his brain of whispering 
 to the ' King's Officer's ' Aid-de-camp, the 
 puissant 'Turnspit Jack,' — and this judi- 
 cious measure, with the cogent corroboration 
 of two * bright-fuced yellow boys,' that ex-
 
 182 
 
 THE PICAROON. 
 
 changed the custody of waistcoat pockets 
 on the occasion, had a marvellously mollifying 
 influence. 
 
 The Aid~de-camp whispered to his supe- 
 rior Officer, the latter gave the official nod 
 acquiescent, and thus instead of the threat- 
 tened iron bracelets, to which Frank chanced 
 to have some whimsical objection, his arms 
 were very delicately pinioned with a silk 
 handkerchief, and with one of Ben's *^ gentle- 
 men" hanging with a feather weight on either 
 side, he had the honour of being as ceremo- 
 niously led off the field of action, as an Hon 
 Member of the Lower House, when in the 
 custody of the Serjeant-at-Arms. 
 
 All were in full march, when Ben sud- 
 denly remembered, that the Pilot's boat would 
 be a more easy conveyance ; and as he doubted 
 not but that it lay somewhere adjacent, two 
 of the party were sent back, with orders to 
 arouse the sleeping owner. 
 
 The report of these fellows, as to Marlin's
 
 THE PICAROON. 183 
 
 non-appearance, evidently gave the ' King's 
 Officer' an unpleasant surprise ; and, mumb- 
 ling curses on ^' informers, " — " salt-water 
 thieves,'' — the " rheumatism," and, more than 
 all, the " rain ;" — a 'real grievance by the by, 
 as all were dripping and drenched to the skin, 
 he staggered through the mud before them. 
 
 Never having had any experience of the sort, 
 poor Blandford was most anxious to know what 
 would be his destination, on arriving in the city. 
 To this request, reasonable as it was, no 
 answer could be obtained ; and, in fact, 
 the fumes of the brandy had muddled Ben's 
 usual sulkiness into an obstinate silence, 
 and the others followed the example of their 
 leader ; partly from ignorance, and, no less, 
 with the hope of exacting a second * civihty 
 fee !' — on the whole, Frank's guess, that he 
 was to be lodged in durance vile, passed 
 without contradiction, and he made up his 
 mind for locked doors and naked walls. 
 
 The party had passed up two or three
 
 184 THE PICAROON. 
 
 streets, all silent, wet, and dreary; the lamps 
 dim and wavering, the overflowing spouts 
 playing off above and below, with a uni- 
 versal gurgling, gush, and splutter; and the 
 patient watchman, standing here and there, 
 under eaves and porches, pale, and glistening 
 with the rain, like so many tea-garden deities 
 fresh cast in lead, — when a tall, cloaked figure, 
 following a boy who tripped forward with a 
 lantern, crossed hastily before them. 
 
 *' Wet night, your Honour." 
 
 Like too many of his class. Big Ben was 
 ever as ready with a catch-attention word, 
 to curi-y favour with the rich, as with the 
 clumsy cuff and kick official, for the poor 
 devils who happened to fall into his clutches ; 
 and now, as he doffed his hat, notwithstanding 
 the rain, the cloaked gentleman was doubt- 
 less a man of influence. 
 
 Frank felt this, and felt the mortification 
 doubled, from being noticed in so equivocal 
 a plight; when his confusion became utterly
 
 THE PICAROON. 185 
 
 confounding, as the bright eye and rosy phiz 
 of Dr. M'lVtara shone full upon him ! 
 
 " Angels and ministers of grace defend 
 us !" — exclaimed the gay-hearted physician, 
 in capital style, and suiting the action to 
 the word with a droll solemnity. " Really, 
 Mr. Blandford, to have met the unquiet 
 Majesty of Denmark, had been to this as no- 
 thing ! — In the name of honour and good 
 fellowship, explain ! — From what fair damsel's 
 balcony hast thou, the Romeo of to-night, 
 been plucked with hand so rude ? — Yes ! and 
 pray remember, that I can sympathize with 
 your poetical sorrows ; so tell me all about it. 
 To steal a heart is but a petty larceny after 
 all, and so you know it will be hardly wise 
 to take the affair so utterly in dudgeon. 
 Come, come, cheer up ; — no doubt, thou'rt 
 desperately anxious to conceal the blushing 
 charmer, who hath bewitched thee so cun- 
 ningly into the clutches of these, the darker 
 minions of the moon ! but fear not, simple
 
 186 THE PICAROON. 
 
 heart : her secret, or thine either, shall moult 
 no feather. Friend Benjamin is rather an 
 overgrown urchin for a Cupid, but not a wit 
 too wise. A golden fillet will instantly be- 
 stow that blindness, which is the god's most 
 valuable quality, and thus on the adventure 
 of to-night, shall he remain for ever silent ! — 
 What, still so thoughtful ! doubt not for me, 
 I will swear to keep thy counsel, — not on the 
 blue sword of the melancholy Prince, but on 
 something better, a stoup of glowing, gene- 
 rous wine ! — Come, we will treasure the jest 
 for ourselves alone, and the ' Romant of the 
 Rose ' shall remain for ever sub-rosd,'' 
 
 Still more disconcerted by a gaiety so 
 malheureuxj Frank had not a word to mus- 
 ter ; and the ' King's Officer, * whose politic 
 sensibilities had been somewhat shocked at 
 the recognition, construing the silence of his 
 prisoner in the usual way, began to talk 
 large and horrible. Now he spoke of the fu- 
 gitive Captain of the Blowzy Bess, who had
 
 THE PICAROON. 187 
 
 SO incomprehensively returned to life, " after 
 having been certified as dead by a ' King's 
 Ofl&cer !' " then came Frank's unlucky se- 
 quel, interlarded with shreds and patches of 
 legal slang, all ominous of evil : — " accom- 
 plice,"- — " aiding and abetting," — and, w^orse 
 than all, " accessary." 
 
 The Doctor listened at first with incre- 
 dulity, and at last in alarm ; the fame of An- 
 selmo had much of the marvellous and ro- 
 mantic interest, that allures the ardent, and 
 might have interested Blandford but too far ! 
 The statement was, at all events, too plau- 
 sible to be pleasant, and the investigation of 
 a police office would make the matter worse. 
 
 To have interfered with the redoubtable 
 Ben, on any point that he might have ima- 
 gined to compromise his duty, would have 
 been unsafe : — to have reasoned had been ab- 
 surd ; — only one expedient remained, and 
 M'Mara, with his usual tact, touched the 
 master key at once.
 
 188 THE PTCAl^OON. 
 
 Ben, after the exertion of his bluster, had 
 hardly recovered breath, before a qualm had 
 dashed his valour. The Doctor, who had 
 listened with profound attention, suddenly 
 raised his eyes, and turning them with an 
 air of astonishment at Ben, shook his head 
 mournfully. 
 
 There was so much solemnity, such mys- 
 tery and pity in the action, that Ben felt a 
 strange misgiving in his mind ; a thousand 
 undefined sensations crept about him, and 
 presently, in a tremor, he inquired of the Doc- 
 tor if he was not going to be ill. 
 
 " Far worse !" — replied M'Mara, in a tone 
 so awfully deep, that Ben's huge face turned 
 white as a cream cheese ; and his very mar- 
 row grew chilly, — when the Doctor led him 
 aside, and whispered slowly in his ear, — 
 
 " Don't be alarmed, my poor unfortunate 
 fellow, but tell me whether you have made 
 any httle provision for your family." 
 
 *' The Lord be merciful to a poor sinner,
 
 THE PICAROON. 189 
 
 not a farthing ! — oh, your Honour need not 
 say a word, I feels plain enough all over that 
 I'm not long for this world : — feet cold, stony 
 cold ; — head hot, as if a burning gimlet was 
 boring through : — oh, Doctor ! Doctor !" 
 
 ^^ Benjamin, thou art altogether an ass ! — 
 I meant not as to your body, man ; but as to 
 the loss of your place ! — Your ' place,' Ben- 
 jamin ! — Did it never enter your simple noddle, 
 that, that gentleman might be a secret agent 
 from the Secretary of State. Don't you know 
 that our benevolent Government has Commis- 
 sioners, and Emissaries, of one sort and the 
 other all over the country ; and then remem- 
 ber, that this affair of the Blowzy Bess is 
 no trifle either ! — I say, Benjamin, did you 
 never think of this ?" 
 
 *^ Never, your Honour ! never, as I hopes 
 to be saved ! — But sure, the gentleman will 
 not go to ruin a poor ^ King's Officer ' hke 
 me, just for a little mistake in the way of 
 business."
 
 190 THE PICAROON. 
 
 " Really, Ben, I would not venture a 
 word in your behalf: — I only know, that 
 youVe been dragging a gentleman about like 
 a felon ! and remember, Benjamin, that I will 
 have no appeal made to me : — no, no ; take 
 notice, that I absolutely know nothing of the 
 matter : — not a word ! — not a word ! 
 
 This disclaimer sealed the whole. " The 
 Doctor," — thought Ben, — '* shakes it all off 
 like a serpent : — ay, the deuce, Vm in a pretty 
 pickle now !" — and then, returning to his pri- 
 soner, whom he perplexed with a thousand 
 protestations, he loosed the fettered hands, 
 and Blandford found himself at liberty. 
 
 The ^King's Officer' and his gang slunk 
 off as fast as possible, but not before Ben 
 had thanked the Doctor for a kind hint, to 
 be ' silent as a fish ' on the whole affair. 
 Blandford too had stammered out his thanks 
 with rather a sorry grace to his liberator, 
 when the latter, taking his arm, said in a far 
 graver tone than usual, —
 
 THE PICAROON. 191 
 
 " Not a word, Mr. Blandford ; I am ever 
 happy to oblige my ' friends/ but, of course, 
 with the confidence that they respect them- 
 selves ! — Your hesitation is unusual ; the ad- 
 venture of to-night still more so ! — I have no 
 right to inquire into the particulars, but if 
 they involve consequences which ' you ' think 
 it necessary to conceal, you will reflect how 
 far they should bar our future intimacy." 
 
 There was a mournfulness in the appeal 
 that checked any rising feeling of resentment, 
 and Blandford's heart swelled as he replied, — 
 
 " I have no secrets of my own to hide, 
 but if accidents place those of others in 'my 
 keeping,' the very delicacy you enjoin de- 
 mands their preservation, let the risk be what 
 it may ; and no penalty could be more severe, 
 than the loss of Doctor M'Mara's friend- 
 ship. " 
 
 " My dear Frank," replied the Doctor, as 
 he left him at his uncle's door, to arouse the 
 slumbering Peter, — " having given you this
 
 192 THE PICAROON. 
 
 friendly warning, I shall leave the matter 
 cheerfully to your discretion ; but remember, 
 for' your own safety, that honour will not 
 sanction the retention of those secrets that 
 the law has a right to question. Good 
 night." 
 
 *' That the law has a right to question .'" — 
 repeated Blandford to himself, as he pressed 
 a sleepless pillow, his limbs still cold as 
 marble from the recent exposure; and his 
 fevered fancy conjuring up unreal sounds, 
 as the howling wind surged with fitful starts 
 through the neighbouring flat. " Good God ! 
 into what a condition am I fallen : — the very 
 silence imposed upon me may be considered 
 as a guilty connivance ; and to the loss of 
 fortune may be added what would be worse, 
 a thousand times worse, a ruined reputation." 
 
 These were comfortless cogitations, and 
 Frank felt a still greater desolation pervading 
 his bosom at the recollection that he was 
 now precluded from any chance of advising
 
 THE PICAROON. 193 
 
 with M*Mara. The Doctor's declaration went, 
 indeed, to the extent of showing that he 
 should not consider himself bound to pre- 
 serve a secret, on which legal consequences 
 might hang, — and Blandford was but too pain- 
 fully conscious that his Uncle was in some 
 way criminally involved. 
 
 Another tormenting question was, ' how 
 far' he was justified in remaining under the 
 same roof with Kenrick ? — but here the iron 
 hand of Destiny had crushed him into a 
 corner, that left him without resource. To 
 fly without funds or friends, implied more 
 chivalry than sense ; and the explanation that 
 would acquire him support, would, according 
 to the dark hints of his wily Uncle, betray 
 the welfare of Carema. 
 
 On the whole, the great physician, Time, 
 presented the only anchor his baffled hopes 
 could lean upon ; and at last, lulled with the 
 very tedium of conflicting thoughts, the stupor, 
 but not the refreshment of sleep, absorbed his 
 
 VOL. I. K
 
 194 THE PICAROON. 
 
 wearied senses : — though after all, not so to- 
 tally, but that at times, sounds, — and no lon- 
 ger those of the imagination, — came ever and 
 anon; — heard, but without arousing the un- 
 derstanding, as pass the broken traces of a 
 dream.
 
 THE PICAROON. 195 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 " 111 fares the land, to hast'ning ills a prey, 
 Where wealth accumulates, and men decay. 
 Princes and Lords may flourish, or may fade ; 
 A breath can make them, as a breath has made : 
 But a bold peasantry, their country's pride, 
 When once destroy'd, can never be supplied." 
 
 Goldsmith. 
 
 Among the green delights of Hagglestone's 
 garden, was what my Lord Bacon has quaintly 
 termed *'a wilderness;'' viz., a piece of ground 
 stored with all things wild and singular, 
 and yet withal, so artfully laid out, that the 
 whole may appear the spontaneous freak of 
 dame Nature, in the very prodigality and 
 wantonness of her beauty.
 
 106 THE PICAROON. 
 
 Down the centre of" this fairy vale, ran a sil- 
 ver streamlet so pure, so bright, and clear, that 
 the variegated stones and sliells that glowed 
 beneath, shone through the rippling water as 
 a rich mosaic of a thousand tints. Here and 
 there, under a group of scattered rocks, the 
 current mined its way in deep and narrow 
 fissures, gleaming and hissing in the darkness, 
 as if self-luminous, — and gifted as it shot along 
 with a serpent's animation. Anon, it poured 
 in tranquil listlessness through mossy banks, 
 and all encumbered with rushes, sedges, and 
 mouldering roots. Hence, tamed into the 
 meekness of repose, it mantled through a chain 
 of glassy pools ; some shallow, and glistening 
 to the sun, but others deep and overshadowed, 
 as if the flood that slept within had dug itself 
 a long abiding place, and meant to sport no 
 further. Around the last and largest of these 
 petty lagoons, the moss-grown banks were 
 sprinkled with every flower that rejoices in 
 the shade, and loves the moisture, while the
 
 THE P1CAROOV. 197 
 
 firm and wax-like petals of the white and yel- 
 low lotus peeped up amid the dark green fresh- 
 ness of their -broad and floating leaves. The 
 bason here too, being artfully lined with an 
 argil of snowy whiteness, the translucent flood 
 rich in reflected light, and motionless, might 
 seem to the fancy a glistening shield of solid 
 crystal, but that ever and anon, swift glancing 
 troops of wandering fish shot through, and 
 as their bright metallic splendour flashed, — 
 bubbles and far diverging circles disturbed the 
 tranquil waters with a transient animation. 
 
 The banks of this capricious brook were the 
 favourite stroll of Ephraim after the noon- 
 tide hoiu' ; and here on his accustomed walk, 
 the Quaker had just stooped to observe some 
 plant of unusual beauty, when on rising, he 
 encountered a look so sharply scrutinizing, 
 that it seemed intended to imply some perilous 
 dereliction of propriety. 
 
 " What, Sir," — said the specious Kenrick, 
 who had thus silently obtruded ; — '^ do you
 
 198 THE PICAROON. 
 
 prize simples as fools, choose women for the 
 look ? — In all things, the use and the profit, 
 Sir, for me. That weed would 'choke an ass ! 
 — and to bend the back, and to crouch the 
 hams over a variety of green leaves — why, this 
 is worse by half than the trick of Nebuchad- 
 nezzar ! — Yes, for the long-nailed king of Ba- 
 bylon, had the excuse of appetite. Plain 
 words and honest thoughts, my good Sir, are 
 all that people ever get from me : — I was just 
 thinking what a capital bed of water-cress 
 mio'ht be contrived here, instead of all these 
 far-fetched fantastic fooleries, that are only fit 
 for savages and serpents.*' 
 
 " I tell thee what, ' Friend," I have a pur- 
 pose in not following thy advice : — the poor 
 creatures that gather the wild herb, that thou 
 recommendest, cannot afford to lose their 
 market, nor would it become me to set an 
 example for the robbery of the destitute." 
 
 ^* ' Robber I/' — I do not quite understand 
 you, Sir ; thievery wants wit, and — jevy
 
 THE PICAROON. 199 
 
 well, very right ; — but, Sir, I have the satis- 
 faction to inform you, that for the future, mats, 
 matches, clothes-pegs, and cabbage-nets, with 
 all the et-cetera of vagabond merchandize, will 
 be manufactured wholesale, and under the 
 eye of Authority, — to the utter discomfiture of 
 strolling mendicants and tramping vagrants. 
 Not one in the legal sense shall be found, Sir, 
 not from the east to the west ; — we will stow 
 them off, and house them for the benefit of the 
 community." 
 
 " I will not talk with thee on this matter, 
 Ralph Kenrick, — for it is one to which thine eye 
 hath been darkened, and thine heart deadened ; 
 nevertheless, I will forewarn thee of the evil 
 of thy way. What is the Political Economy 
 they worship, but a device to trample down 
 the faith of a Christian and the feelings of a 
 man ! — In that name, with a high hand, and a 
 brazen brow will they ' do evil,' that good may 
 follow. — In that name, too, will they famish, 
 b^l system and by measure, the desolate; the
 
 200 THE PICAROON. 
 
 oppressed of sorrow, and those that have none 
 to help them. — Yea, these, in their innocence 
 and their calamity, — will they punish in their 
 desolate prison houses of high walls, and eye- 
 searing gravelly courts, with the slow and 
 silent torture of a hunger half appeased, until 
 the wretches will take the lowest minimum 
 of wages that avarice and monopoly will con- 
 sent to offer ! — Nay, Ralph Kenrick, — I will not 
 hear thee belie the better spirit that even now 
 hath made thy countenance to change, and thy 
 lip to quiver ; but, I will tell thee yet more of 
 the abomination of that name, that hath spread 
 its roots like a upas-tree of moral pestilence in 
 the land. — In that name ; — in that accursed 
 name ! — will they sever husband and wife, and 
 parents and children ! quenching as far as in 
 them lies, the best and dearest sympathies that 
 God hath ordained ! — ^Those sacred bonds of 
 affection, that consecrate existence and raise 
 humanity above the brute : — and all the while 
 will they mock and jabber of ' education,' —
 
 THE PICAROON. 201 
 
 of ' gospel light,' and of civilization ! — I tell 
 thee, Kenrick, — the day may come when as 
 they sow, so shall they reap I — and the countless 
 herd whom they have brutalized in their selfish- 
 ness, shall turn and rend them in their folly ! — 
 In the pride of their heartless, fanatical, false 
 philosophy they have loosened the bonds of 
 society : — Sampson-like, have they broken in 
 the pillars of ' social love,' and ' holy ordinance,' 
 that rose from earth to heaven ! — and the crash 
 of the anarchy they provoke, will overwhelm 
 them in the dust of its desolation." 
 
 As Kenrick was too sagacious, not to see 
 through the fallacy, that had over-laid the 
 wit of many men far more honest than him- 
 self on this subject ; and being, at the same 
 time, too cunning to commit himself by an 
 expose of the real object of the measure, he 
 met the eloquent rebuke of Ephraim with 
 the practised smile of a Precisian, and the 
 half hesitating bow of subservient hypocrisy. 
 " To change the subject, my charitable 
 k2
 
 202 THK PICAROON. 
 
 friend, do you know that I came to ask a 
 favour, — and yet, you see, I began by find- 
 ing fault with your whims and fancies: — 
 the craft of worldly wisdom is so foreign to 
 my nature, that my bluntness might most 
 offend myself, but that you are too just 
 to let me suffer for my honesty. My object 
 is to request the favour of a loan of four 
 thousand, for seven months, either in Cash, 
 or by Bills, to be renewed at shorter dates : — 
 I am aware that twice the sum would be 
 no inconvenience, but still I would have it 
 so arranged as exactly to meet your own 
 views." 
 
 " In short, Neighbour Kenrick, thou 
 would St have Four Thousand Pounds Ster- 
 ling ; for the which thou wouldst render me 
 any thing that thou canst command !" 
 
 " Doubtless, Sir," — rephed the plausible 
 Ralph, although somewhat staggered by the 
 closing clause. 
 
 " Well, then. Friend, I will be as blunt
 
 THE PICAROON. 203 
 
 as thyself, and tell thee downright my doubt, 
 as to thy command of that security that would 
 satisfy r 
 
 Astounded, but unabashed, Kenrick stood 
 for a moment looking up with elevated nose 
 and passive features, as one aiming at a 
 wild duck, and then letting fall his gaze, as 
 suddenly, in a careless tone, he rejoined. — 
 
 " You will remember, Mr. Hagglestone, 
 that ' eight thousand ' of your ward. Miss 
 Darnley^s fortune, adventured in the firm 
 at the change, were accredited to me : — now, 
 if your refusal should be followed by a 
 crash ?" — 
 
 '* They will be lost !" — rejoined Ephraim, 
 with equal coolness, — ^' yea. Friend, but as 
 thou wouldst say, better eight than twelve ! — 
 Thou hast a nephew !" 
 
 Kenrick bit his lip as he turned aside ; 
 for of all things he was desirous to avoid 
 any mention of either Blandford, or his for-
 
 204 THE PICAROON. 
 
 tune ; — or, indeed, anything like an admission 
 that the latter existed. 
 
 " Now, Ralph Kenrick, thy Nephew hath 
 already been made a party to thy con- 
 cerns :" — Ephraim paused, and his auditor 
 fidgeted about in visible inquietude, as not 
 knowing in what sense to understand the 
 mther too pertinent remark of the Quaker, 
 and fearful of the worst : — the latter con- 
 tinued, — 
 
 " Now, as doubtless the young man hath 
 substance; and that, to thy knowledge I" — 
 another pause ensued, that, to the guilty, 
 seemed fraught with danger. 
 
 " Well, the young man hath a winsome 
 look, that with me shall avail much ; and 
 thus as a youth of uprightness, and of a 
 pretty substance, as Uhou knowest,' and must 
 certify ! — if he will join with thee in a bond, 
 the money shall be supphed according to thy 
 desire."
 
 THE PICAROON. 205 
 
 "What, Sir!" — said Kenrick, speaking 
 loud, and affecting irritation as a cloak to his 
 real feelings, — " Is our friendship come to 
 this ? — that you would have me expose a 
 petty ridiculous pecuniary difficulty of this 
 unexpected and transient nature, to a youth 
 of little piety and less discretion : — one, too, 
 who is not to be trusted with his own se- 
 crets : — who is raw upon the world, — and 
 who hath not that reverence for me, his kins- 
 man, that is needful, either !" 
 
 " Thy bile overfloweth, and anger will be 
 hurtful : — I would recommend thee. Friend, 
 to drink warm toast and water to allay thy 
 choler, which is altogether unseemly. Come, 
 we will go to dinner ; and at any time that 
 thou and thy kinsman require the cash, I 
 liave told thee how to apply: — come thy 
 way. " 
 
 People talk of tlie omnipotence of ' fash- 
 ion,' but what is it to that of * habit,' — at 
 least in England. The French may have
 
 206 THE PICAROON. 
 
 their affection de siiivre la mode in politics, 
 theatricals, literature, or religion, which, after 
 all, is nothing more than the belle esprit of 
 their national vivacity, showing itself on the 
 surface of society, in this direction, or in 
 the other, but never ceasing to exist ; as 
 the currents of the ocean, whether seen or 
 hidden, still flow the same. But, with us 
 plain islanders, — be the fault with the dull- 
 ness of our atmosphere, or from the high 
 tax pressure of existence, that gives so little 
 time to pluck the flowers of fancy, or the 
 fruits of wisdom • be it either, or both, — the 
 gaiete de caur is only the result of unusual 
 excitement. Verily, an Englishman ever finds 
 it a ' labour ' to be merry. From the fancy 
 halletto of the noble, to the * free and easy ' 
 of a country hop, the attempt at vivacity is 
 found so serious, so formidable a matter, — that 
 the soul of enjoyment evaporates in the effort 
 of possession. 
 
 It was by ' habit,' that Kenrick preserved
 
 THE PICAROON. 207 
 
 the entrte of Hagglestone's domicile long 
 after any desire existed for his presence ; — 
 and on the present occasion, with an appe- 
 tite not a whit impaired by the late dhioue- 
 mefitj he had paid his devoirs to a luxu- 
 riant dinner, and the wine that followed, 
 with a zest well worthy of civic honours, 
 when, on rising for the drawing room, the 
 Doctor, who was also a guest, — paused to 
 admire a recumbent nymph by Canova, that 
 graced a recess of the apartment. 
 
 " My good friend Ephraim !" — said Ken- 
 rick, — he always used the " good" when 
 he meant to be offensive, or had an object 
 in view : — " My very good friend," — and he 
 pulled Hagglestone by the button, as the 
 worthy Quaker, with a convenient deafness, 
 was sidling off; — " I cannot imagine how 
 you can suffer these nude abominations !• — 
 Doubtless, they were at first put up without 
 your authority," — and Kenrick slyly turned 
 an accusing glance upon the Doctor; — " yes,
 
 208 THE PICAROON. 
 
 how you, of all men, can suffer such an out- 
 rage on moral decorum ! But, my dear Sir, 
 they were overlooked among the fantastical 
 conceits of this palace of vanity ! — but now, 
 that their repulsive immodesty has been de- 
 tected, doubtless you will have these Pagan 
 idols of iniquity torn down, and hewn into 
 pieces." 
 
 " But I have a doubt ; — and one of other 
 matters too, as thou mayst recollect: — but 
 as touching that sculpture, the which thou 
 hast already stoned with the hard words of 
 a zeal without knowledge : — wilt thou tell me. 
 Friend, in what particular it hath offended 
 thee ? The marble is of a pure tint, and the 
 form is as that of an angel, that ministereth 
 in the courts of heaven ! — Come, as thou art 
 a plain dealer, speak thy mind freely, — in what 
 hath it offended ? " 
 
 Never was a mouthing hypocrite more 
 auiusingly confounded. The sounding torrent 
 of his declamation, as it inferred more than
 
 THi: PICAROON. 209 
 
 was specified, — us a whole, defied refutation ; 
 but if analyzed for a single proof, it was utterly 
 without one, and Kenrick stood silent and 
 mortified . 
 
 " Neighbour, suffer me to tell thee thy 
 own secret ! The offence is not without, but 
 within. The forms of ' ideal beauty' — are as 
 the children of a sinless paradise : — as they 
 excel the human, they approach the divine; 
 and there is a harmony of form, a sweet elo- 
 quence of expression in that, which is as the 
 impress of that Mind, that hath created in 
 its own brightness, that both exalts and re- 
 fines ; — yea, and even now, the cold simulated 
 lovehness that hath enshrined the rock of the 
 quarry with softness and with beauty, hath 
 left thee without an answer : — Ralph, thou 
 hast spoken evil, as one in a dream, conversing 
 of the creature of his own fantasy ; but of 
 this, if thy senses are awakened, thou mayst 
 discern naught but what is altogether good, 
 and without reproach."
 
 210 THE PICAROON. 
 
 *' At least, Sir," — said the Doctor, — ^^ you 
 have given the sinner a feehng homily on 
 a stony text." 
 
 The Italian saloon, with its glowing pic- 
 tures, its silken draperies, its mosaic tables, 
 bronzes, and glittering mirrors, might better 
 have realized Kenrick's sarcastic simile, ' the 
 palace of vanity,' than any other portion of 
 the house, though all was rich and splendid. 
 But Ralph was now too much wrapt with his 
 own dark thoughts, at the unusual asperity 
 of his host, and the difficulties attendant on 
 the loan, to notice anything, or scarcely indeed 
 to reply to the remarks that were addressed 
 immediately to himself. 
 
 In this gorgeous saloon, the vulgar glare 
 of many lights had been avoided, and yet 
 all was luminous, in the soft and mellow 
 effulgence shed from a single candelabra of 
 rare device ; and crowned with a globe of a 
 dead and golden tinted glass, that diffused a 
 delicious sunny tinge on every object ; except
 
 THE PICAROON. 211 
 
 indeed, that from the wide and lofty Venetian 
 window, — the cold keen radiance of a cloudless 
 moon, fantastically broken by intervening sha- 
 dowy wreaths of roses and the sweet climatis, 
 fell in irregular patches on the storied basso- 
 relievos sculptured on the marble piers that 
 formed its sides. 
 
 The breathing fragrance ; the charms of 
 triumphant art ; — the soothing stillness that 
 a promise of music had imposed ; all might 
 combine to steep the senses in delight, when 
 our young friend Blandford was announced. 
 
 The shght courtesies that society imposes 
 were passed with the practised grace of fashion- 
 able ease ; and for the first few minutes there 
 was nothing to be remarked in the fine form, 
 and glowing countenance of Frank, that might 
 betray the anxiety that rankled in his breast. 
 The rich tones of his friendly voice fell on 
 the ear with all their wonted cheerfulness, — 
 but as the momentary excitement passed, and 
 seated near the window, he looked out into
 
 212 THE PICAROON. 
 
 the embowered and moon-lit garden, the pallid 
 livery of melancholy feelings stole fast upon 
 him. 
 
 But this was all unheeded in the social 
 enjoyment of the group: — 'Kenrick, indeed, 
 was mentally alone, lost in sullen abstraction ; 
 but on the other side was the Doctor, in his 
 happiest mood, chatting with the benevolent 
 Ephraim and his comely spouse ; the last, 
 meek and sleek, in all the comfort of fat and 
 forty; while the young and lovely Carema, 
 brightly fair as some blest vision of a poet's 
 dream, and gay as the Hours at the birth of 
 Morning, was bending over a music-stand at 
 some distance, and smiling archly as she pre- 
 sented the score of a song to a lady at her 
 right. 
 
 " Can I tempt you with this, Signora?" 
 
 " No, rather select some mournful ditty: 
 
 something that breathes a spirit sorrowful and 
 
 mild, for all my thoughts have been too busy 
 
 with the past. — Some other song, Carema :—
 
 THE PICAROON. 213 
 
 yet soft, I have a few wild echoes on my mind 
 that now perchance may suit me better." 
 
 Madalena arose, and awakening a wild 
 accordant symphony, she sang, — her impas- 
 sioned senses mingUng with the theme ; that 
 soon swelled into a melting melody so thrilling, 
 that while her every attribute of being seemed 
 involved, the might, the magic force, she 
 gave to sound, — swayed on the heart like des- 
 tiny, and floated on the air, a spiritual reality, 
 unseen, but mingling with the breath of life ! 
 and bounding in the pulses of existence. 
 
 MADALENA'S SONG. 
 
 On the sunny southern sea 
 Trim the sail, with Love and me ! 
 Far away from care we'll roam 
 O'er the ocean's sparkling foam ; 
 Not more light, or bright, and gay, 
 Rosy clouds of rising day. 
 Float around ihe mountain's crest. 
 Than thus we stem the billows' breast; 
 Pleasant thoughts our ballast be, 
 Joyous Mariners are we !
 
 214 THE PICAROON, 
 
 II. 
 
 Soon the sun -lit flashing wave 
 Darkening frowTis, tlie seaman's grave 
 Vainly too, we flee from care, 
 Hungry storms are howling near ! 
 Morning's cloud so gay and light, 
 Spreads the awful shroud of night, 
 And as hollow thunders roll. 
 Fear sits brooding o'er the soul ; 
 Hope, no port, no shore can see, 
 Wretched IMariners are we ! 
 
 III. 
 
 Such the Life we love so well, — 
 Such is Pleasure's siren spell : 
 Passion for a moment glows. 
 Then as falls the fading rose, 
 Treasured hopes for future years 
 Leave us but a wreck for tears ; 
 Eyes that beamed affection round, 
 Tones that sweet in memory sound. 
 These are gone, — and gone for ever ! 
 Hearts may bleed, but Fate will sever. 
 
 The hurried feelings of Blandford responded 
 mournfully with the music's melancholy pa- 
 thos, — and he gazed with newly awakened 
 interest on the lovely songstress, as she stood
 
 THE PICAllOON. 215 
 
 apart musing, as it might be, on thoughts 
 both sad and secret. 
 
 Madalena had reached the meridian of 
 womanliood : — the sylph-Hke virgin grace of 
 earlier years had ripened into a rich maturity 
 of female beauty ; yet still there was an innate 
 dignity, verging on hauteur, that chilled and 
 chastened while it charmed : — a smile ethereal, 
 arch, and sensitive, but passionless, that stole 
 into the heart, yet left no warmth that love 
 might draw its nurture from : — that smile was 
 as the sunshine on a marble vase; it gilds 
 the surface, but leaves the centre cold and 
 snowy as before. But had that tranquil cheek 
 been ever thus, nor mantled with the flush 
 of mutual consciousness, — that mystic charm, 
 that in its very weakness grows omnipotent, 
 in self-betrayal vanquishes, and wins by sheer 
 abandonment? — What boots the question! — 
 she was a stranger from the South ; let its 
 own glorious sunshine, and spirit-hushing
 
 216 THE PICAROON. 
 
 nights of moonlight sheen, and hfe-reviving 
 fragrance, answer as they may. 
 
 With an amiable prejudice, perchance too 
 rare, Madalena retained the pecuharities of 
 the Itahan costume ; and the rich and flowing 
 drapery of the Roman Dama accorded well 
 with the majestic contours of her form. The 
 glossy tresses of a raven blackness, braided 
 above the ample forehead with a golden ban- 
 delet, enriched with gems : — the gossamer veil, 
 deeply embroidered at the edge, depending 
 obliquely from the hair behind, and faUing 
 over the left shoulder, — free, soft, and flowing^ 
 as a cloud. The velvet corsaletto half con- 
 cealing a bosom that the graces might have 
 moulded ; — white as the Parian marble in its 
 native cave, before the prying eye of day hath 
 stained it with a shade, — and softer than the 
 signet's downy vest. The polished, round, 
 voluptuous arms ; shadowed above by the soft 
 caressing folds of the snowy lawn camiscia,
 
 THE PICAROON. 217 
 
 itself confined by platted cords, ending in long 
 fringed tassels of a dead and embossed golden 
 pattern. The rosary of simple jet, and cross 
 of flashing brilliants, — swiftly changing in its 
 starry radiance, as it trembled on the gently 
 heaving breast beneath. 
 
 All these were but the vague, dim outline, of 
 the beauty they enshrined : — but in that beauty, 
 superb and matchless as it was, there lurked 
 a something undefined; — a hectic flush, that 
 came and went, — the trace it might be of deep 
 and rankling disappointment, — or, perchance 
 the smouldering embers of resentment for in- 
 juries long past, but not forgotten : — a some- 
 thing whispering, that the fixed composure of 
 that fair and polished brow was not serenity; 
 but rather the collected fortitude of high 
 resolve : — a stoical indifference, that fain would 
 view the present as a dream, and darken all 
 the future with shadows of the past ! And 
 yet, in a strange contrariety — the native 
 loveliness of that sweet face seemed as a flower, 
 
 VOL. 1. L
 
 218 THE PICAROON. 
 
 too glowing to be nipped with such a frost; 
 and the deep liquid heaven of her eyes ! — shone 
 as a sea too clear and smiling for the storms 
 of adverse fate, or the rude wrecks of wounded 
 sensibility — the self-consuming fires of slighted 
 love.
 
 THE PICAROON. 219 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 " There is a moment we may plunge our years 
 In fatal penitence, — and in the blight 
 Of our own souls turn all our blood to tears, 
 And colour things to come with hues of night." 
 
 BYRON. 
 
 Baffled, but more than ever anxious to 
 avoid defeat, Kenrick spent the greater part 
 of the next day in abortive attempts to devise 
 some plan for the attainment of the loan, 
 ^^^thout the concurrence of Blandford, — which 
 existing circumstances had, indeed, placed 
 altogether beyond his reach.
 
 220 THE PICAT^OON. 
 
 " The money must be forthcoming ;" — 
 said he, grinding his teeth with vexation, and 
 still as much pei-plexed as ever, though the 
 shades of evening were so far advanced that 
 Peter had Hghted the solitary candle,—'' yes, 
 though the barter were concocted in the pit 
 of hell, — the money must, and shall be had !'' 
 
 Having thus spoken, Kenrick in the bit- 
 terness of his feelings dashed his hand heavily 
 on the table, — and then looked up as fiercely, 
 and as much startled, with his own vehe- 
 mence, as if the Fiend had answered the 
 appeal. 
 
 At that moment, silently and suddenly, 
 the arch dissembler, Smuggleton, glided into 
 the apartment, and placing himself at the 
 opposite side of the table, began to open an 
 old pocket-book, as if his business were too 
 well understood to demand the trouble of a 
 word. 
 
 ''I am not prepared :" — said Kenrick 
 with a dogged assurance, and affecting an
 
 THE PICAROON. 221 
 
 almost careless tone, — " no, not for to-day : 
 — but, by this time * to-morrow' the balance 
 will be paid/' 
 
 '' To-morrow ! — Hark ye, sir ! I want not 
 promises, but ^cash:' — 'to-morrow' may but 
 repeat the lie to-day has proved. Look to 
 yourself, Kenrick ; — down with the balance ; 
 or, you stand impeached, ruined, and blasted, 
 to the very dregs of poverty and shame!" 
 
 ** To-morrow," — repeated Kenrick, in a 
 hollow nerveless tone, and turning pale as 
 parchment, — " To-morrow." 
 
 " Well then, to-morroiu :'" — responded the 
 other sullenly, — " but, let me see ; — at what 
 hour will your convenience suit ?" 
 
 " At any after noon." 
 
 "As we live !" — said Smuggleton, — *' the 
 hounds of the law will open on me yet. To 
 be safe, we must be secret; it were better to 
 name ' any hour ' after sim-set : — or, indeed, 
 could you not meet me more privately some 
 where without the town ?"
 
 222 THE PICAROON. 
 
 " Yes, yes, name the place." 
 
 '* Be it then at the Limekilns, by the 
 river side : — say, just at sun-set." 
 
 A nod had ratified the engagement ; and 
 long after Smuggleton's departure, Kenrick 
 continued to pace the room, restless and 
 hopeless; until at last a new thought opened 
 on his mind : — it was the design of a fraud 
 on Blandford, and one, as he thought, of 
 easy perpetration. 
 
 " Peter ! — call my nephew hither." 
 
 ^^Well, Mr. Blandford,"— said he, as 
 Frank attended to the summons, — " I have 
 bethought me of your West Indian property, 
 and as short accounts make long friends, I 
 am willing to place the remittance, now due, 
 of ' four thousand,' in your own hands : — 
 there must be a proper instrument sent out, 
 signed jointly by ourselves, and if you have 
 not any objection, Hagglestone in the mean 
 time shall be your banker : something of this 
 nature would suffice, — there, write your name
 
 THE PICAROON. 223 
 
 in that corner, Nephew : — well, now copy the 
 whole out fairly ; sign it, in the same way 
 as this, and leave a blank for me : — there ; 
 lay it in the desk ; and I will first show it to 
 friend Ephraim, leaving- you to * present ' 
 and * receive.* '' 
 
 Frank gave no answer, from a feeling of 
 bewilderment, as he observed that his uncle 
 had folded up the first paper, to put it in his 
 pocket, and that it bore a stamp I It was 
 odd, — and yet, at the next moment, the rising 
 suspicion seemed absurd ! — for what had he 
 to lose, more than his uncle held already ? — 
 and then, the name of Hagglestone was, in 
 itself, a pledge for all things fair and honour- 
 able. In the mean while, the watchful eye 
 of Kenrick had remarked Blandford's hesita- 
 tation, and, as candour was his cue, — he im- 
 mediately inquired the cause, and affected to 
 blame his own negligence, for what he termed 
 ' the accidental loss ' of the stamp, on a mere
 
 224 THE PICAROON. 
 
 draught : — and thus, the matter passed, as a 
 casualty and a trifle. 
 
 So far had the plot succeeded, but the 
 unprincipled Kenrick looked beyond ; his ob- 
 ject was not to pay the money either to his 
 nephew or to Smuggleton, — although to the 
 latter it was necessary that a part should pass, 
 but to devote the bulk, to some arrangements 
 that were demanded, in order to throw the 
 large contraband property then on his hands, 
 into the market, with advantage : — and this 
 accomplished, his intention was to appropriate 
 the whole, and to cross the Atlantic. 
 
 Nor was it dishonest avarice alone that 
 prompted this step : — as his nefarious system 
 extended, it had been necessary to confide in 
 a greater number of agents than prudence 
 would approve ; the loss too, of one adven- 
 ture, as in the case of the late capture, might 
 be followed by others, and never again, per- 
 haps, might so much of the ' joint wealth '
 
 THE PICAROON. 225 
 
 be vested in his own individual power : — in 
 fine, as villains reason, it was the precise time 
 to strike the blow ! and every hour of delay 
 was but to court a loss, and provoke danger. 
 
 Baffled, too, in the hope of finding a friend, 
 and an accessary in his kinsman, whom, had 
 it been so, he might have adopted ; — a grow- 
 ing feeling of aversion, and offended pride, 
 made Kenrick view the pillage of Frank's 
 property as merely a gratifying sacrifice to 
 his revenge : — a sudden want of cash, too, 
 made it, in one sense, necessary ; — and after 
 all, he thought, that he might dole out a 
 pittance to his nephew as he chose, and tame 
 his spirit down, by poverty, into a useful 
 subserviency, — as hunger breaks the haggard 
 falcon to the lure. 
 
 Something of the same vile jealousy of 
 virtue, provoked the fraud on Hagglestone : — 
 his dislike to Carema had a more subtle 
 origin: — but we may not anticipate; — it is 
 sufficient to say, that Hagglestone fell into 
 l2
 
 226 THE PICAROON. 
 
 the trap, and that the money was paid on 
 what appeared to be the joint security of the 
 parties ; and within a few hours afterwards, 
 Kenrick, saUied forth to keep the appoint- 
 ment of the evening. 
 
 As he turned away from the door with a 
 hngering look at the lofty warehouse, in which 
 he had garnered up his heart, it was with a 
 glow of satisfaction, and a chuckle of delight, 
 to think that he should so soon, and so easily, 
 silence the dangerous Smuggieton, who had 
 threatened ' an information,' and who, as he 
 conceived, was the only man who could lay 
 one with safety or advantage to himself: — and 
 the price of his silence too had been so 
 craftily provided for. 
 
 By the time that Kenrick had reached the 
 Limekiln, the sun was fairly down, but the 
 evening continued unusually light, as a strong 
 and ruddy glow still lingered in the west, 
 painting every object with a soft and vermeil 
 tinge. The votaries of Mammon are as watch-
 
 THE PICAROON. 227 
 
 ful as those of Love or of Honour, and Smug- 
 gleton was already on the ground. The con- 
 versation that followed was deep and earnest ; 
 many were the questions to be asked, and the 
 matters to be provided for in consequence of 
 Smuggleton's intended departure, and Kenrick 
 warily kept back the payment to the last. 
 
 Among other subjects the escape of An- 
 selmo was alluded to, and as Smuggleton 
 began to recount the struggle which had oc- 
 curred on the very spot where they were stand- 
 ing ; the circumstances were detailed with a 
 force and interest that awoke, and soon con- 
 firmed the suspicion, that the speaker must 
 himself have had some confidential communi- 
 cation with the myrmidons of the law on that 
 occasion ; and if so, it was equally clear, that 
 the capture had been attempted at his sugges- 
 tion ! — In a word, that he was already a traitor 
 to his comrades ; — and if so, all that Kenrick 
 feared was, perhaps, even now accomplished ! 
 The mere idea induced a cold shudder.
 
 228 THE PICAROON. 
 
 but with an effort he preserved his former 
 tone of voice, and expression of countenance 
 — still the suspicion put him on his guard, 
 and he made up his mind to reserve, even if 
 at some risk, a considerable part of the few 
 hundreds in cash which he had previously 
 intended to pay. 
 
 By this time, the light had so far died 
 away, that the faint flame arising from the 
 Kiln promised to be useful in making the 
 necessary memoranda of the account; and Ken- 
 rick, for this purpose, seated himself on a low 
 parapet wall, bounding a platform level with 
 the mouth of the pit, that formed an approach 
 for the carts used in throwing in the limestone ; 
 Smuggleton stood at a little distance before 
 him with his back to the light, and in such 
 a way as to watch his friend^ whose hesitation 
 he had already remarked. 
 
 " Let me see,'' said Kenrick ; — " we made 
 the balance * Two Thousand Five Hundred ? ' "
 
 THE PICAROON. 229 
 
 " Yes, yes, — and the wliole of which you 
 will pay me now in * cash ! ' " 
 
 " Softly, my good fellow : — now, listen : — I 
 will make two thousand two hundred of the 
 payment, in a way more for your advantage. 
 Cash would entail a needless risk on your 
 journey, and luckily, I have a claim on a house 
 at New York, that, when transferred, will ex- 
 actly suit your purpose, and cannot admit of 
 loss. Come nearer to the light, and I will 
 show you names on this paper that would 
 satisfy the Bank of England ! — The Three 
 Hundred, and in Gold, my boy, are here." 
 
 As it happened, in withdrawing the so- 
 vereigns from the cash-bag, the canvas, which 
 was time-worn, gave way, and before Kenrick 
 could avoid it, a large packet of Fifty Pound 
 Bank Notes had fallen out, and were only 
 rescued from rolling into the Kiln, by the 
 quick eye and ready foot of Smuggleton. 
 
 In the consternation of the moment, Ken-
 
 230 THE PICAROON. 
 
 rick unwittingly held the American Bill of 
 Exchange open and loosely in one hand, while 
 eagerly stretching out the other, to recover the 
 fallen notes from Simon, when it was suddenly 
 snatched by the latter. 
 
 " What, villain, is it come to this ? " — 
 growled Kenrick, from betwixt his half-closed 
 teeth, and in a voice almost inaudible from 
 rage, and at the same time thrusting his 
 knuckles under the cravat of Smuggleton, with 
 a fierce and throttling violence — '^ Come, Sir, 
 is it your pleasure now to rob or murder ? — 
 Hell, and the Fiend ! — stand off the notes ; let 
 go the bill, or my gripe shall choke the life- 
 breath out of thee at once ! — let go !" 
 
 The mandate might have been obeyed in 
 accordance with that instinct that makes the 
 merely cunning man to quail and shrink into 
 his native insignificance, before the one more 
 violent and audacious, though equally unprin- 
 cipled ; but that in the bosom of Smuggleton, 
 to the newly awakened lust of plunder, was
 
 THE PICAROON. 231 
 
 now added the malice of revenge, with the 
 fearful accessaries of time and opportunity. 
 
 The fiery mouth of the Kihi, hot, red, and 
 glowing, as the pit of Tartarus, had caught 
 his eye, — and a thought still more infernal, 
 burnt in his heart and brain ! 
 
 Reo-ardino- his assailant with a smile of 
 well affected indignation, Smuggleton now held 
 the American bill of exchange over the rising 
 flames, and at the same time, intimated with a 
 reckless nod, that the fate of the hostage in 
 his hand depended on his own release. 
 
 Baffled with the threatened loss, Kenrick 
 relaxed his hold ; and scarcely had he done 
 so, when his arm was palsied by a blow, and 
 at the next moment, the wily Smuggleton had 
 thrown him off his equipoise, and as his 
 outstretched arms were extended convulsively 
 in the air, in vain, but frantic efforts to 
 catch at some neighbouring object, he found 
 himself hoisted on the shoulders of his dwarf 
 companion, and hurried, without a chance of
 
 232 THE PICAROON. 
 
 escape, towards the sulphurous verge of the 
 flaming pit. 
 
 The fumes of the lime gained fresh volume; 
 — they gathered heavily, (for it was a dead 
 calm,) and hung in a suffocating fog: — sud- 
 denly the cloud grew overcharged, and rolled 
 over the edge of the Kiln. Caught by the 
 stifling blast, Smuggleton staggered, and in- 
 stinctively retreated ; — Kenrick, too, had con- 
 trived to thrust his right knee on one side of 
 his throat with a strangling force ; and pre- 
 sently, as the subtle vapour rose still more 
 dense and pungent, both sunk upon the earth 
 half choked, overpowered, and insensible. 
 
 Kenrick recovered first from this death- 
 like lethargy ; but still as the outraged powers 
 of nature began to resume their wonted play, a 
 horrible consciousness arose before the faculty 
 of motion was regained : — the mind was all 
 awake to dread and suffering, but the ex- 
 hausted body still lay as it were inanimate, 
 nerveless, and dead. The weight of Smuggleton
 
 THE PICAROON. 233 
 
 who remained as yet insensible, was partially 
 upon him; and the villain's grasp still held upon 
 his limbs, — cold and griping as a vice ! 
 
 The night was sad and strangely silent. 
 The air hushed and motionless, grew oppres- 
 sive in its stillness : — not a leaf stirred, nor a 
 rustle of an insect, or a ripple on the river 
 could be heard. The stars, too, were hid in a 
 sullen gloom, — while the smoke of the Kiln, 
 luminous in the reflected lio;ht of the lambent 
 flames beneath, rose pale, thin, and shadowy in 
 the darkness. 
 
 As the function of respiration strengthened, 
 Kenrick felt more revived, and struggling up- 
 wards, he thought to disengage himself from 
 the grasp of his companion. But the effort 
 was in vain ; the weight of Smuggleton, and 
 the mode in which his arms had been crossed in 
 falling, rendered the task beyond his strength, 
 and escape seemed as hopeless as before. With 
 all his sternness and chicanery, Kenrick was 
 not ferocious ; and as he gazed on his remorse-
 
 234 THE PICAROON. 
 
 less enemy, his heart sickened at the awful 
 alternative, that ' self-preservation ' began to 
 w^hisper. 
 
 Smuggleton now heaved a deep sigh ; and 
 quick successive shudders gave notice that 
 the fit might soon depart : — a moment 
 more, and every chance for life might be lost 
 for ever I — Kenrick felt this, and, with a 
 dizzy brain, took a penknife from his 
 pocket; — it was his only weapon, and as 
 his hand grew firm in the fury of despair, 
 with half averted eyes he raised it over the 
 gasping throat of the still entranced and 
 prostrate wretch before him. 
 
 "Murder!" 
 
 Whence came that cry? — was it an in- 
 voluntary exclamation, or had the menaced 
 deed of blood a witness ! — Kenrick knew not ; 
 his bewildered senses, in that sudden fear, 
 were not self cognizant, — and — " Murder, 
 murder ! " — re-echoed from his heart and 
 brain !
 
 THE PICAROON. 235 
 
 Palsied, as in the hangman's gripe ! — his 
 wild eyes glared on the vacant gloom of 
 night, with a long and searching glance, — but 
 all was emptiness and overpowering silence, 
 save, indeed, the deep and stertorous breath- 
 ing of Smuggleton, and the slow but audible 
 throbs of his own heart. 
 
 The dark and dangerous man he dreaded 
 recovered fast ; his swarthy features were 
 already convulsed with pangs of returning 
 life, and as if impelled by an instinctive malice, 
 the iron grasp of his arms and hands became 
 more painful and resistless. Kenrick had 
 dropped the knife, and, without hope or de- 
 fence, had steeled his soul to a dogged en- 
 durance of the worst ; — and yet, strangely 
 true to the ruling passion of his life, his glance 
 still lino;ered with a miser's fondness on the 
 scattered notes and gold that lay in heaps 
 upon the sand. 
 
 This reverie was broken by the muttered 
 oaths of Smuggleton, who had nearly re-
 
 236 TFIE PICAROON. 
 
 covered, and who, in rising to a half re 
 cumbent posture, had allowed Kenrick's body 
 to fall rudely backwards, though still retaining 
 the limbs upon his shoulders, while he 
 steadied himself beneath the weight, by 
 clutching at the roots of a bush opportunely 
 within his reach. Suddenly he started, and 
 shuddering, dropped his load : — his hand had 
 pressed upon a viper, which having bitten, 
 still hung coiled around his wrist. 
 
 Bruised by the fall, Kenrick arose slowly, 
 and in the mean time Smuggleton, having 
 shaken off the hissing reptile, both stood con- 
 fronted, and lowering at each other in all 
 the horror of mutual dread, mingled with a 
 wary watchfulness, and an unquenched thirst 
 for vengeance. At this juncture, the eye of 
 Smuggleton chanced to rest on the fallen 
 knife, as it glittered at a little distance on 
 the ground, and in an unguarded moment 
 he stooped to reach it. Kenrick, but too 
 conscious of his fatal purpose, rushed wildly
 
 THE PICAROON. 237 
 
 forward, and, driving his clenched fists with 
 all the impetus of weight and fury on the 
 exposed side of his adversary, he drove him 
 staggering towards the fiery kiln : — a second 
 blow, and the hapless wretch toppled head- 
 long over the verge : — the blue flame flashed 
 higher for a moment, and then arose a frantic 
 shriek of agony, shrill as the outcries of the 
 damned ! It echoed through the dim thick 
 wreaths of eddying smoke, into the vague 
 black shadows of the night, — and all again 
 was silent. 
 
 Astounded at the past, and half doubting 
 the evidence of his senses, Kenrick looked 
 over the edge of the kiln: — all below seemed 
 of a hollow deep and fiery redness, as the 
 burning cavern of a crater, — with, ever and 
 anon, a faint and lurid play of purple flame, 
 and swiftly ascending clouds of vapour, that 
 whirling gathered, and dispersed. Of the 
 victim, as yet, not a vestige had been seen, 
 for Kenrick had overlooked the object of his
 
 238 THE PICAROON. 
 
 search : — on a second glance, however, the 
 scorched and desperate wretch appeared; — his 
 clothes on fire, and clambering with bleed- 
 ing lacerated hands the burning boundaries 
 of the kiln ; — an instant more, and one hand 
 was stretched eagerly over the top, when, 
 frenzied with a new fear, Kenrick stamped 
 brutally upon it, and all was over: — his enemy 
 had fallen with a heavy plunge into the 
 crumbling centre of the pit. 
 
 The burning breath of that last fall had 
 lent to agony no sound ! — but, though bereft 
 of utterance, the fell glance of Smuggleton, 
 even as he sunk into the sparkling dust and 
 sulphurous vapour, that buried and consumed, 
 — was one that Kenrick saw for ever ! Alone, 
 in silence, or in the noisy stir of men ; — in 
 blackest night, or in the dazzling glare of day, 
 those glassy eyes seemed still to threaten 
 in the air, while conscience stamped upon his 
 heart the curse and misery of Cain.
 
 THE PICAT^OON. 239 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Peachum. Set your heart at rest, Polly. Your husband is 
 to die to-day ; therefore, if you are not already provided, 'tis 
 high time to look about for another. There's comfort for you, 
 you slut. 
 
 THE beggar's opera. 
 
 The vacuity of mind that follows the fever 
 of excitement serves as a safety valve from 
 madness; the overwrought faculties, sore from 
 the conflict of contending emotions, find re- 
 pose in inanity, and the great healer. Time, 
 puts the first seal on that bond of forget- 
 fulness, that is so far to cancel the intoler-
 
 240 THE PICAROON. 
 
 able past, as may give us patience for the 
 future. 
 
 So felt Kenrick on that fatal spot that 
 had consumed his late guilty confederate to 
 ashes ; and as he gathered up the wealth 
 scattered and trampled in the sand, it was 
 with a strange consciousness of physical insen- 
 sibility, — as if his arms and limbs were those 
 of an automaton ! and he reeled and staggered 
 as one overcome with the sudden stupor of a 
 coup de soleil. Hollow sounds, as of unreal 
 voices, rung in his ears ; the dry sand seemed 
 changed to a bloody red, and clung to his 
 hands with a sense of heat, that he knew to 
 be delusive, and yet could not avoid; and at 
 last, half maddened, he hurried off with a 
 desperate effort, — as if the avenger of blood 
 might be eluded by change of place, and self- 
 abandonment. 
 
 Regardless, and altogether forgetful of the 
 lapse of time, he was still wandering at ran- 
 dom through the deep embowered lanes and
 
 THE PICAROON. 241 
 
 woodland hollows, when, as the dawn began 
 to gild the topmost branches, the raw and 
 chilling morning air awoke liim so far into 
 consciousness, that he became apprehensive 
 of the surprise that his absence would excite 
 in the breast of his nephew ; and arousing 
 himself for the task, he resolved to brave 
 what were now become his greatest sources 
 of alarm, — viz. old associations, and familiar 
 faces. 
 
 The knocker of his own door seemed 
 strangely heavy : — the chill of the iron shot 
 through his nerves with the icy coldness of 
 a corpse ; and, as the first blow sounded hol- 
 low on his ear, he actually felt afraid to raise 
 it for a second. He sickened equally at 
 the voice of Peter, and passed forward to his 
 chamber without having given any order for, 
 or even thought of refreshment ; he was care- 
 ful, however, to secure the door, and then, 
 looking round with a shudder, he cast him- 
 self upon the bed, shut his eyes to the light, 
 
 VOL. I. M
 
 242 THE PICAEOON. 
 
 and at last, from mere exhaustion, sunk into 
 a deep but troubled sleep. 
 
 For the rest of the day, Kenrick avoided 
 all intercourse, under the plea of illness ; 
 but as the hour drew near, at which, on 
 the previous evening, he had kept the fatal 
 appointment, — the scene of the homicide 
 rushed back upon his mind with a strange 
 reality ! The withering glance of the dying 
 Smuggleton, fierce in his fiery speechless agony, 
 now fading to a half transparent mystic 
 shadow, — and then threatening near at hand, 
 as if a real presence, and tangible to touch ! 
 even so, — it came and passed, a sight of torment 
 and of fear, as Kenrick, although aware of its 
 fictitious nature, could not divest himself of 
 the idea, but that others besides himself must 
 witness, and be deceived by the illusion. 
 
 With this conceit, even on the next day, 
 the presence of Peter became intolerable ; and, 
 although the fellow affected an obsequious in- 
 terest in his indisposition, he drove him harshly
 
 THE PICAROON. 243 
 
 from his presence, and soon after, with the view 
 of being quite alone, he retired unobserved into 
 the remote and silent vaults of the warehouse. 
 Here, seated on some bales of cotton, Ken- 
 rick deemed himself free at least from the 
 danger of observation ; and, as employment 
 might best dissipate the horrible phantas- 
 magoria of the hour, he set himself about a 
 deep and difficult calculation. 
 
 This engagement had been continued for 
 some time, and he had become far more 
 composed, when his attention was excited 
 by a low sound of voices from above ; — put- 
 ting aside the light, he advanced cautiously 
 to an open grating looking out upon the yard, 
 when he observed his servant Peter in ear- 
 nest conversation with a stranger, who had 
 much the appearance of an Officer of the 
 Excise. 
 
 " The coculus indicus," — said the latter, 
 " would have realized a handsome sum ; — 
 that is, in his own hands, and shirking the
 
 244 THE PICAROON. 
 
 duty : — but for our purpose the silks are bet- 
 ter. Well, shall we make the seizure to-night, 
 or take the morning for the job ?" 
 
 " The night, the night ! — when all is on 
 the hush, and black as hell ! — By good luck, 
 too, the grim old bear, my master, is sick, — 
 queer, at least, as a hen with the pip, so that 
 there'll be the less chance of a rumpus, — and 
 as to his escape ! say not a word, — he shall 
 find his own doors locked fast enough for 
 once ! Yes, you shall have him under bolt 
 and bar, snug as a rat in a trap." 
 
 " Very well, Mr. Peter ; but mind that 
 you keep on the alert, — we shall have a 
 plaguy job to get hands sufficient, and keep 
 the matter private too :— and yet, on the se- 
 cret hangs the profit, remember that !'' 
 
 After a nod of acquiescence, Mr, Peter 
 led the way, and both departed by a back 
 gate, only used for the admission of waggons, 
 and which, as it fastened on the inside, Peter 
 was obliged to leave insecure.
 
 THE PICAROON. 245 
 
 At any other time, the rage and morti- 
 fication of Kenrick at such a betrayal had 
 been past utterance ; but now, as violent pain 
 renders a mortal dose of opium innocuous, 
 so the past calamity gave him philosophy 
 to meet the present with perfect self-posses- 
 sion. The outrage of the yesterday had done 
 more ; it had left his feelings callous, and 
 his heart remorseless. The resolution, coolly 
 taken on the moment, was as coolly exe- 
 cuted ; and, in less time than this page may 
 occupy in reading, all the lower part of the 
 warehouse had been fired ! This crime ac- 
 complished, Kenrick hurried to his bed, there 
 to await in ' seeming slumber ' the alarm, and 
 consequent rescue, which he felt assured 
 would soon occur : — the probable fate of his 
 nephew, who slept immediately over the part 
 already on fire, was not forgotten, but Ken- 
 rick's object was, * to save appearances,'- — to 
 be thought to sleep himself, and not to arouse 
 another.
 
 246 THE PICAROON. 
 
 In less than twenty minutes, the wild 
 and fearful cry of *^ Fire !" resounded through 
 the streets : — anon, the hollow rumble of the 
 engines was heard ; and swift as thought, they 
 were dashing ptle mele through the crowd : — 
 jets of water shot whizzing through the air; 
 while the flambeaus and pole-axes of the 
 firemen flashed fearfully amid the smoke and 
 darkness. 
 
 The din increased, — and as the gathering 
 multitude grew denser every moment, the 
 lower ranks became over pressed ; and that 
 dangerously, towards the deep water of the 
 basin : — at once dire oaths and execra- 
 tions commingled with wilder screams and 
 outcries. Now, louder than the roaring of 
 the tumult, arose a shout of" Ladders ! — 
 Ladders !" — and in an instant all was hushed ; 
 the crowd were conscious of the human sa- 
 crifice that threatened. 
 
 The scene darkened as the smoke increased, 
 while the windows of the warehouse, few and
 
 THE PICAROON. 247 
 
 small, had given but little vent to the com- 
 bustion that raged and glowed within. The 
 smothering clouds of murky vapour came 
 rolling thicker and faster, — hovering over the 
 neighbouring shipping, and wrapping the ad- 
 vance of the fire itself in a dangerous obscurity. 
 Again was heard the anxious cry for ' lad- 
 ders;' — and now the firemen, assisted by a 
 gang of sailors, who were on the ruins of a 
 high and tottering wall, had hoisted them 
 over the heads of the people, — and thus the 
 desired means of escape, but perchance too 
 late, were rendered. 
 
 As the common inquiries passed, it was 
 very soon understood, that Kenrick " had been 
 found ' sleeping ' in his bed, unconscious of the 
 danger," but that his nephew, Mr. Blandford, 
 and his servant Peter, were both supposed 
 to have perished. 
 
 Presently a sudden crash, accompanied 
 with a storm of fiery dust, gave notice that 
 the building was giving way. The sea of
 
 248 THE PICAROON. 
 
 human heads in front receded like a billow, 
 swept by the whirlwind, while cries and groans 
 resounded from the crushed and fallen. At 
 this crisis, the firemen, all blackened and wet, 
 and some scorched fearfully, came rushing by, 
 like so many hunted demons, from amid the 
 whirling clouds of smoke ! — they were hardly 
 seen, when with an awful blast, the pent up 
 flames and rarified air exploding, tore up the 
 roof, and burst aloft in sudden radiance, fierce 
 and dazzling as the atmosphere of hell ! 
 
 Consumed as swiftly from its own intensity, 
 the wild combustion sunk almost at the instant 
 it had risen : — the air grew thick, with a dull 
 redness, and as the ruins became visible, it 
 appeared that the front of the building was 
 reduced to a mass of ashes and smouldering 
 timbers, while the left wing continued burning 
 as vehemently as ever. On the left wing, 
 therefore, the power of the engines was now 
 concentrated. There, the hissing, rattling, 
 sheets of water, broke like a tempest of molten
 
 THE PICAROON. 249 
 
 silver through volumes of flame, and mingling 
 clouds of steam and smoke. Suddenly, the 
 crash of falling; ruins sounded from within ! 
 and presently as another wall gave way — at 
 a giddy height, and with no better footing 
 than the half consumed and burning rafters, 
 the moving figure of a man was to be descried 
 at intervals. 
 
 The horror-struck spectators grew dumb 
 in the awful interest of the moment : — ^ would 
 the daring fugitive escape V He had bounded 
 over a wide and smoking chasm, and was 
 clambering towards the outer wall, when the 
 cloak in which he was enveloped, and which 
 was the only article of clothing that he had 
 had time to secure, — caught fire from a sud- 
 den burst of sparks, arising from a falling- 
 timber, and with this fatal chance, his long 
 and gallant struggle seemed to have been made 
 in vain : — even hope was lost, — and a long deep 
 groan of sympathy and despair passed through 
 the crowd beneath. 
 
 m2
 
 250 THE PICAROON. 
 
 ^* He will perish now !" — said a weather- 
 beaten tar, mastering the over-gush of feeling 
 that had given a tremor to his voice, and 
 squaring his features into that look of stern 
 resignation, with which he had so often en- 
 countered the death-flashing thunders of war 
 on the ocean. 
 
 No ! — with a desperate effort he has torn 
 away the garment, its burning shreds are 
 sailing on the wind, while all uninjured he 
 has scaled the wall ; an instant more, and 
 with swift and daring steps he mounts its 
 crumbling crest, — and thus beheld, touched 
 with the ruddy gleam, and the outline of his 
 muscular form, contrasted with the hollow 
 void of night, he seems a statue of the 
 ancient world grown animate : — a shape heroic, 
 and nerved in fortitude to brave the whirl- 
 wind storms of destiny unharmed. 
 
 " Now lad, for a bet !" said the very respec- 
 table ' Mr. Figgins,' a retired tallow-chandler, 
 who although no longer a practical purveyor
 
 THE PICAROON. 251 
 
 of light, was still considered as the leading 
 luminary of his parish, under the aspect of a 
 white-washing and reforming churchwarden. 
 
 " I say it's a bet, Tom ! — Will yonder 
 chap die of a broken neck, or a slow roast ? — 
 A rump and a dozen on the first." 
 
 "Done!" — said the other, a jolly pork 
 butcher, with face round and red as a Bromley 
 apple, and a carcase after the mould of a 
 Dutch galliot, — stuffed withal into a skin 
 stretched and sleek as that of a sausage: — 
 " I says 'done and welcome,' says I : — I was 
 always counted lithesome legged as a squirrel ! *' 
 (the butcher out- weighed the fattest hog in 
 the market, and was slow as a broken-winded 
 drag horse in a snow drift) — '* Yes, you knows 
 that, Mr. Figgins : — Well, as I'm a judge of 
 all gymnastics, I knows that yonder chap 
 stands sure on his pegs as a limed hnnet : — 
 yes, you'll lose to a certainty, Mr. Figgins ! — 
 Now the 5/01^ roast is just another look out ; 
 but, zounds ! the smoke has left no chance
 
 252 THE PICAROON. 
 
 for a peep; and right or wrong, he's off in 
 a puff!" 
 
 " Ah ! in the smoke or in the fire ! no 
 matter which, — the sooner he's hid, in any 
 way, the better." 
 
 So said the sallow, frigid Mrs. Pryington, 
 one of those female harpies who infest society, 
 and under the mask of a hyperbolical piety, 
 conceal a mean and sordid self-interest — ^living 
 on the folly they delude. 
 
 " Oh ! shocking : " — she continued, as 
 dropping her eyes with a well practised pru- 
 dery, and relieving her nose from the straddle 
 of the spectacles, she began to rub the glasses 
 to a polish, as if to hide a conscious fidget 
 of offended delicacy. — " Dear me, gentlemen, 
 Tm altogether in a twittiwation : — what a 
 monster to jump about without a cloak ! — I 
 never saw any thing so cool." 
 
 ^* I should fancy you'd find it the reverse. 
 Ma'am. But I say, Tom, — is the property in- 
 sured?"
 
 THE PICAROON. 253 
 
 *' Every bag, case, and wrapper; leave old 
 Kenrick alone for that, — he will not lose a 
 groat." 
 
 " jBe not too sure! — He who banks with 
 the Devil, — may find his balance, when due, 
 rather too hot to be held." 
 
 The interruption came from a meagre figure 
 of a man, muffled up in a great coat, who had 
 hitherto stood at their elbow unobserved, and 
 silent as a ghost, — and who at this moment 
 showed a face as pale : — it was Peter.
 
 254 THE PICAROON. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 " I like the women too, (forgive my folly) 
 From the rich peasant-cheek of ruddy bronze, 
 And large black eyes, that flash on you a volley 
 Of rays that say a thousand tilings at once, 
 To the high dama's brow more melancholy, 
 But clear, and with a wild and liquid glance, 
 Heart on her lips, and soul within her eyes, 
 Soft as her clime, and sunny as her skies." 
 
 BEPPO, A VENETIAN STORY. 
 
 Resigning Blandford to the chances of the 
 bet, so delicately proposed, and so merrily 
 accepted, shall we wander, dear Reader, on 
 a visit to ' Friend' Ephraim, around whose
 
 THE PICAROON. 255 
 
 peaceful domicile all remains serene, and 
 hushed in the drowsy charm of early morning. 
 Hither the wild alarms of the night have not 
 extended ; nor have the sulphurous fumes of 
 the conflagration penetrated so far, as even 
 to taint, however slightly, the breathing sweet- 
 ness of the flowers. All is so quiet, that the 
 very cottage seems to slumber, curtained in 
 the soft shadows of the trees, and fanned by 
 the rising zephyr, — whose cloudy wings are 
 as yet untinged with the blushes of Aurora. 
 
 And all within is as silent as without. — 
 Sleep, a deep sleep, — is on the eyes of man 
 and of maiden. Yes, ' all are nodding,' save 
 and except the worthy master ; who, although 
 not ' troubled with a raging tooth,' lago's 
 apology for watching, is still, despite his 
 wishes, wide awake. 
 
 Perhaps of all the accidental impositions 
 that chain us down to an unwilling silence, 
 none are more tantalizing than the morning 
 slumbers of a charming woman : — she sleeps
 
 256 THE PICAROON. 
 
 beyond her wishes, and yet false tenderness 
 will not awaken her, — and love becomes a 
 weakness. 
 
 Friend Ephraim had long been undergoing 
 this conjugal penance ; — smothering his tickling 
 cough ; breathing gently as a mousing cat, 
 and lying straight as a mummy in its case, 
 while his comely spouse, the fat and fair 
 Jemima, gave audible tokens of the drowsy 
 god's dominion ; her peachy cheek nestled 
 deeply in the downy pillow, and the pouting 
 lips of her sweet mouth, glowing to a deeper 
 hue of coral, — as the fragrant breath came 
 warm, and richer than the perfume of the 
 rose, when stealing from a bud just opening 
 to the sun. 
 
 " I wish that the cocks would crow ; — 
 the rooks caw ; a swallow tumble down the 
 chimney ! — yea, almost any thing, — so that 
 Jemina would awaken!" — Thus sighed the 
 poor disconsolate, as he caught a sidelong 
 glance of the slumbering fair one.
 
 THE PICAROON. 257 
 
 "Heigh oh!" — The interjection was half 
 audible ; and startled at his own temerity, 
 Ephraim, for the next ten minutes, lay quiet 
 as a dormouse. Goading thoughts, and quick 
 teeming fancies, again came thick and fast, 
 until, in utter forgetfulness, he said aloud, — 
 
 *' After all, it's no better than a trap ! — 
 and she shall feel me a tartar in it yet." 
 
 '■'■ For shame, my Dear," — said the half- 
 aroused Jemima, stretching her lily-white arms 
 above the bolster ; — " how canst thou think 
 of a trap ? — Thou art sensible that I dislike 
 the very word : — no, no, let them pilfer the 
 fruit as they list,— we will not have anything 
 to do with such false seeming devices." 
 
 " Pr'ythee, Love, understand ; — I speak of 
 female wiles and blandishments." 
 
 '* Surely thou art prattling in a dream," — 
 rejoined the lady, gently raising the glossy 
 tresses that shaded her eyes, and turning with 
 a melting smile: — "Verily, thou art in a
 
 268 THE PICAROON. 
 
 dream, Ephraim, and one not so pleasant as 
 it might be either." 
 
 Yea ! it was even so, Darling ;" — replied 
 the quaker, sitting up in bed, with a restless 
 start, — " ay, and an ugly dream, as thou wilt 
 affirm : — methought that we had lost Ca- 
 rema !" 
 
 *' That could not be, but by death, or 
 by marriage ; and as thou knowest, we may 
 rejoice in saying that the maiden hath not 
 any ailment ; no, nor hath she smiled on a 
 lover : — believe it not, Ephraim ; the fancy 
 was but a folly ; a delusion of the night : — 
 and yet what meant thou of ' a trap V *' 
 
 The reply was too laconic for the reader's 
 comprehension, but it left the lady as fidgety 
 as her spouse! — we will explain a little 
 farther. 
 
 In awakening the attention of their foster 
 child towards the land of her birth, the Hag- 
 glestones had simply sought Carema's amuse- 
 ment, though, as they now feared, at the
 
 THE PICAROON. 259 
 
 expense of her welfare ; — and if so, to their 
 own infinite concern. 
 
 The sympathies of youth respond to the 
 touch of pleasure, as suddenly, and as surely, 
 as stricken steel flaslies and sparkles on the 
 flint. Thus, with her imagination fired by a 
 thousand vivid pictures of the future, the 
 ardent Carema already yearned for the softer 
 skies, and brighter flowers of that delicious 
 clime, where language is itself a music, and 
 life moves joyous as a poet's dream. 
 
 While such ideas remained as girlish fan- 
 cies, all was well ; — they v/ere as a ready 
 garland, where enthusiasm might hang its 
 trophies ; but, when an accident, as now, gave 
 them a bearing on every day existence, they 
 acquired an interest, that it might be equally 
 impossible to check, or to gratify. 
 
 This accident, that was to prove the * mar- 
 plot ' of their hopes, had passed ; was irre- 
 trievable ! — and yet, strange to say, it had not 
 before awakened a single doubt : — it was the 
 visit of the fair Italian, Madalena.
 
 260 THE PICAROON. 
 
 On her first arrival, Carema appeared to 
 have been so readily, and so completely, re- 
 signed by her Sicilian friends, that Ephraim, 
 partly from pique, and still more from a 
 reciprocal indifference, had made but few in- 
 quiries about them. The letters too, of the 
 Count Montrano, were few and cold ; and 
 yet, on points of business, so simple and direct, 
 as not to admit of question. Year after year, 
 and the reference to " the child," (for the 
 Count still seemed to deem her but an infant) 
 was wound up with a pithy moral sentence, 
 evidently copied from some old volume of 
 homilies, and used in the absence of any per- 
 sonal or real feeling in the matter. 
 
 At last, more from mortified pride than 
 any thing else, Ephraim forwarded a picture 
 of Carema, and merely inscribing it with her 
 name and age, left it to be neglected, or ad- 
 mired, without a farther reference. 
 
 Strangely, and quickly, there came an an- 
 swer : a letter from the Count ; — not the dull 
 and frigid thing the others had been, but
 
 THE PICAROON. 261 
 
 couched in words of burning eloquence : — 
 yet wild, — as avowing rapturous feelings and 
 affections, that neither time nor circumstance 
 might warrant. This letter was accompanied 
 with a superb set of jewels forCarema; and 
 it was soon followed by the visit of Madalena, 
 who was introduced by the Count as a cousin 
 of Carema's, and sent " to re-unite the golden 
 links of kindred ties too long forgotten, — but 
 now grown doubly dear, as a rich recovered 
 treasure." — So said the letter, — and well did 
 the fair envoy enforce the spirit of her in- 
 structions. 
 
 Endowed with Beauty's own sweet ma- 
 jesty ; with accomplishments and fervency of 
 heart, she soon inspired the friendly senti- 
 ments she sought ; and as quickly Carema 
 had learnt to love her as a sister. In the 
 sweet communion of kindred studies, and in 
 the outpourings of the bosom's gentle load of 
 tender musings ; — and still more in the utter- 
 ance of those shy ecstatic thoughts, that shun
 
 262 THE PICAROON. 
 
 the common-place, low coarseness of the world ; 
 and all too often, die, unknown and unsus- 
 pected in woman's ' heart of hearts,' as violets 
 in the shade, enshrined and stifled in their 
 own exceeding fragrance. All this was friend- 
 ship, or something almost dearer ; the deep 
 hushed breathings of a love, all spiritual, — 
 divine. 
 
 Yet, after all, — this tenderness was not so 
 reciprocal as it might seem ! Carema was all 
 sincerity, her heart had felt no warmer im- 
 press : — and friendship, such as this, to her 
 was satiating delight ! — but the fair Italian 
 had drunk still deeper in the cup of human 
 sympathies, and with her the memory of a 
 bliss beyond had left all else insipid. 
 
 Love ! — triumphant Love ! — when once it 
 nestles in a woman's heart can never be sup- 
 planted. The very memory of passion's sighs 
 are sweeter far than friendship's best realities : 
 — they fill the dry and dusty walks of common 
 intercourse with a deep harmony, that none
 
 THE PICAROON. 263 
 
 may hear besides ; and dreams, that echo 
 them, — give to the silent lonehness of night a 
 charm beyond the converse of the day. 
 
 Yet, to her, who thus has tasted the en- 
 trancing draught of passion, ^ friendship ' may 
 yield the satisfactions of esteem ; — that calm 
 regard, which, like the moonlight sheen, is 
 beautiful, but warms not ; and so felt Mada- 
 lena. The fond enthusiasm that sparkled in 
 Carema's eyes ; the lingering pressure of her 
 hand ; the kiss of mute affection that heralded 
 the day, and sealed the coming night, — these 
 were valued by Madalena more as tokens of 
 the influence she had gained, than for them- 
 selves, — for she had come to win Carema's 
 friendship for another. 
 
 With this ulterior view, — as method is said 
 to show in madness, so was there a craftiness 
 in what might seem the spontaneous effusions 
 of regard ; and the magic scenery of the South, 
 with the high qualities of Lord Montrano, were 
 themes repeated in a thousand ways, but
 
 264 THE PICAROON. 
 
 always coloured with those rays of romantic 
 interest that best allure the young, — until Ca- 
 rema was already, in heart, an exile from the 
 quiet home that once had bounded all her 
 wishes. This proneness to speak of Italy had 
 seemed so natural, and accorded so well with 
 the ' national feeling' that Hagglestone had de- 
 sired to foster in his ward, that no shadow of 
 suspicion, until the present night, had crossed 
 his brain, — and even now it arose from another 
 cause. 
 
 However frank and fair, — a man of business 
 gains a morbid sensibility in all cases in which 
 money becomes a matter of profitable calcu- 
 lation. He may ' give ' with princely munifi- 
 cence, — but, in the way of barter, feel dis- 
 quietude at the least shadow of a loss. This 
 last was exactly the case with Ephraim, in 
 reference to the loan advanced to Kenrick, on 
 the joint security of Blandford. He had 
 pledged his word to do so, partly under the 
 advice of Dr. M^Mara, who thought it a plan.
 
 THE PICAROON. 265 
 
 that would render Keiirick, to some extent, 
 responsible for his nephew's property : — but 
 the security, when given, was not what the 
 quaker liked, either in quality or manner : — 
 it was not direct ; and Blandford had seemed 
 to shun all personal intercourse in the nego- 
 ciation ; — in this last particular, his unfortu- 
 nate ramble to the Limekilns, and the artful 
 arrangements of his uncle, had given a 
 doubtful cast to his conduct, but as Haggle- 
 stone knew nothing of either, the conclusion 
 seemed but too just; and though unwillingly, 
 yet he began to view Blandford's character in 
 a light almost as dubious as his uncle's. 
 
 With the swift infection of suspicion, the 
 uneasiness excited by the seeming neglect of 
 Blandford was extended to Madalena ; and no 
 sooner were the * green glasses ' of distrust as- 
 sumed, than the conduct of the Italian seemed 
 to darken into something: sinister and strano-e. 
 The letter of Montrano, which had been viewed 
 as a burst of innocent enthusiasm, was now 
 
 VOL. I. N
 
 266 THE PICAROON. 
 
 deemed of mysterious import ; and the simu- 
 lated warmth, and insinuating converse of 
 Madalena, seemed to the mortified Ephraim 
 as proofs of some intended stratagem, to allure 
 Carema into the power of the Count : — and if 
 so, it was a consummation already beyond his 
 power to avert, for as he now remembered with 
 bitter chagrin, a clause existed in her father's 
 will, securing to Carema the power of re- 
 visiting her native land, if with the concur- 
 rence, and under the protection, of Mon- 
 trano. 
 
 The ready acquiescence of the meek Mrs. 
 Hagglestone rendered these angry suspicions 
 certainties at once, in the estimation of her 
 husband, when a fresh parley arose as to the 
 line of conduct to be immediately adopted. 
 Ephraim was for the candid and direct ; in 
 other words, for an explanation, which would 
 at once expel the foreign interloper ; but his 
 helpmate advocated more lenient measures, 
 and very justly too, on the plea, that the
 
 THE PICAROON. 267 
 
 unconscious and unoffending Carema would 
 be shocked by an occurrence which could 
 not but appear to her harsh and unpro- 
 voked. 
 
 Though conscious that he held the weaker 
 end of the ' staff argumentative/ yet Ephraim 
 grew hot and restive. The contention, as we 
 all know, must be vain, where both love too 
 well to be out of humour in earnest ; and in 
 due time, the all-persuasive Jemima had found 
 means to assuage even his most prominent 
 asperities, so far that on their appearance 
 at the breakfast table, no token of the past 
 remained, save that the lordly ' he,' seemed 
 rather odd, sleepy, and owlish ; — aspects, 
 perchance, not vei-y unusual at such an 
 hour ; — and * she,' his smiling Eve, with 
 downcast eyes cowered like a shy and flut- 
 tered dove, and strove to hide her conscious- 
 ness in a hunied fluster of amiable atten- 
 tions. The ' conjugal telegraph ' of nods 
 and glances, that ' family freemasonry,' that
 
 268 THE PICAROON. 
 
 tells unutterable things, was seldom ven- 
 tured into play ; — but still, in their efforts 
 to seem perfectly at ease, the worthy pair 
 giew strangely ceremonious, — and a conta- 
 gious taciturnity crept insensibly around, 
 until the whole party sunk one by one into 
 a silence, sad, strange, and ominous. 
 
 Carema was the first to break the spell, 
 by asking Ephraim, in a playful tone, to 
 account for the absence of Blandford, who 
 had not called for the last three days. The 
 question, as she imagined, was singularly 
 pleasing, and likely to delight her guar- 
 dian ; but, to her utter astonishment, his 
 countenance darkened at the name, and drop- 
 ping the sugar beside his cup, he had half 
 stammered out some ungracious reply, when 
 the door was suddenly thrown open, and in 
 bounced the Doctor. 
 
 *' Sit still, good people, and don't be 
 frightened, — you shall hear it all directly ,* 
 only pray have patience, and don't give way
 
 THE PICAROON. 269 
 
 to unnecessary alarm ! — Come, come, — sit 
 still ! " 
 
 " Ah ! what ! — art thou at it again, Doc- 
 tor ? — Angling for * simpletons * with one of 
 thy wicked waggeries ; — but I can tell thee, 
 that it will not avail ! The girls are wise 
 enough in their generation to cherish the 
 tangible, — and will hold fast to the warm 
 substance of comfort, when, as now, they 
 have it in the hand, rather than listen to 
 frightful words and idle bugbears. The fears 
 of the night give place to the joys of the 
 morning." 
 
 "Thank God! then all is over !"— ex- 
 claimed the Doctor, misled by Ephraiin's 
 common-place allusion, — " they have dug 
 him out alive ! " 
 
 '' Alive ! — dug out ! — What ?" — cried 
 the Quaker, starting from his seat, and 
 looking at the Doctor all aghast : — " I know 
 not thy meaning, M'Mara : — dug out ! — 
 speak, man ! — yea, speak quickly."
 
 270 THE PICAROON. 
 
 ** Why, — if they have dug out poor 
 Blandford from the ruins, ^ the joy of the 
 morning ' is great indeed ! — I perceive, that 
 you have had news of the fire sooner than 
 I thought for ; and what is far better, that 
 your version of the affair has been hap- 
 pier than my own." 
 
 Again he was mistaken ; the awful in- 
 telUgence came with a mournful shock to 
 all ; but on the heart of Carema, it fell 
 sudden and stunning, as the pale blue flash 
 of heaven. For a moment her eyes dilated 
 on the Doctor, and staggering towards him, 
 with supplicating arms she seemed to ques- 
 tion without the power of utterance ; but 
 then as swiftly, her lips grew colourless, a 
 fearful shade gave to her countenance a 
 deathly change, — and in an instant she had 
 fallen, cold and senseless. 
 
 How mysterious, even to herself, is the 
 growth of tenderness in woman's breast ; — 
 but a few moments before, and the idea of
 
 THE PICAROON. 271 
 
 Blandford was with Carema nothing more 
 than a theme for idle badinage; and it had 
 lain as harmless on her fancy as the subtle 
 chemical affinities, that form the power of 
 combustion, rest coldly in the darkness of 
 the mine : — a match, — a single spark ! and 
 that, grown hot as ^tna, bursts bright and 
 fiery on the sky ! — and so with female love ; 
 misfortune calls its latent being forth, and 
 the adverse fate that threatens to repel, 
 inspires but energy and life. 
 
 Fortunately for Carema, her feelings were 
 not fully comprehended, and her having 
 fainted was ascribed to fear. A little time, 
 and a glass of water, had nearly sufficed 
 for her restoration, when Madelena, who 
 had been most sedulous in the tender minis- 
 trations of the moment, suddenly relinquished 
 the still languid hand of her friend, and 
 passing hastily to the open window, gazed 
 eagerly and long. 
 
 Aroused by the abruptness of the action,
 
 272 THE PICAROON. 
 
 the still pallid Carema, raising herself slowly 
 from the sofa, at first regarded the fair deserter 
 with a look almost reproachful : — but as sud- 
 denly, with returning recollection, she was 
 suffused in one bright rosy glow of female 
 consciousness ; and burying her face in her 
 hands, she sunk upon the pillow, as if anxious 
 for concealment ; and sobbing wildly, she 
 sought relief in tears. 
 
 Regardless of this emotion, or indeed of 
 aught beside, Madalena remained as one ab- 
 sorbed in some ecstatic trance ; and as she 
 stood beneath the soft and dreamy shadow, 
 cast from the deep depending foliage of that 
 embowered window, she seemed some mystic 
 incarnation of ancient fable : — a form of 
 breathing loveliness, too strange and fanciful 
 to be a daughter of our common destiny. And 
 yet, there was a human pathos in the tumul- 
 tuous throbs of that fair heaving breast; a 
 humid tenderness in those love-flashing eyes ; 
 an eagerness, mixed with a fixed intensity.
 
 THE PICAROON. 273 
 
 in every limb and feature, that awakened 
 more of sympathy than wonder. 
 
 " * The air hatli bubbles as the water 
 hath, and these are of them ! ' — What means 
 our fair enchantress?" — So said the Doctor 
 in a whisper to the Italian, and at the same 
 time observing the landscape on which she 
 seemed to gaze, but which to his uninstructed 
 eye, presented nothing more than common. 
 
 The reply of Madalena was equally con- 
 fidential, and given in the under tone of a 
 sweet, low, mournful voice, broken and wild, 
 for her feehngs were so far hurried, that her 
 recollection of English failed her, and the 
 imperfect words fell all disjointed with a 
 strange, amusing emphasis. 
 
 " Dare ! — dare ! — me see ! — you see ! " — 
 her finger pointed to the lofty, and gracefully 
 tapering sails of a Xebec that gleamed in the 
 sunshine, far away over the distant foliage 
 of the garden. 
 
 *' Dare, Sar, — dare she glides, de beauty 
 n2
 
 274 THE PICAROON. 
 
 of de Ocean — de bird of de storm ! — safe in 
 de tempest ! — Oh ! me love de gleam of her 
 white wings, bright as de moon-lit cloud ! — 
 Ah, she, de pride of my heart, de glory of 
 
 de sea! But Sar! Sar! say she safe; say 
 
 dare no danger ! " — rand clasping her hands, 
 the Italian looked in M^Mara's face with a 
 strange mysterious interest. 
 
 Surprised, and equally displeased, at her 
 childish, fond, and as he thought, misplaced 
 enthusiasm, the Doctor replied gravely, but 
 kindly. 
 
 " I see no more, lady, than the sails of 
 a vessel, common enough in the Mediterra- 
 nean, but seldom seen in British seas : — like 
 yourself, she is a stranger, and doubtless, if 
 as honest as she should be, a welcome one : — 
 I mean, if a ' fair trader;' the case indeed were 
 different were she like many of her class, 
 owned by a Picaroon." 
 
 " Hush, no say de word \" — and with 
 woman's quick intelligence, Madalena sought
 
 THE PICAROON. 275 
 
 to conceal the tremor of her feelings with a 
 smile of rich seductive sweetness, as she con- 
 tinued, *' Ah ! me love de ship of mine own 
 country: — ah, me speak prophetic, — she de 
 Serena, Capitano, de brave Anselmo." 
 
 Puzzled with the past and the present, 
 the name sounded to M'Mara as the echo 
 of an omen, and turning from Madalena with 
 a bow, he gave some advice to the invalid, 
 whom both had too long forgotten, and then 
 sought a private interview with Hagglestone, 
 in reference to the fire of the previous night, 
 and the events that it had involved.
 
 276 THE PICAROON. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 " He's gone: I wonder how the earth can bear him ! 
 
 I that have lived a soldier, — 
 
 And stood the enemy's violent charge undaunted, 
 
 To hear this horrid monster, am all bath'd 
 
 In a cold sweat : yet, like a mountain, he 
 
 Is no more shaken than Olympus is 
 
 When angry Boreas loads his double head 
 
 With sudden drifts of snow." 
 
 MASSINGER. 
 
 At the very moment when the reforming- 
 churchwarden, and the sleek purveyor of 
 swineVflesh, were so abruptly disturbed by 
 the half-disguised Peter, he was himself re- 
 cognised in a manner not very congenial with 
 his wishes.
 
 THE PICAROON. 277 
 
 "Peter! — Master Peter!" — cried a shrill 
 small voice from that ungainly mimic of a 
 man with whom the reader has already scraped 
 acquaintance as ' Turnspit Jack' in the Lime- 
 kiln adventure, and who now had cunningly 
 contrived to begrime himself from head to foot, 
 so as to wear the semblance of having been 
 really useful at the fire, — which indeed, had 
 it been a fact instead of a fiction, had been 
 no more than his duty; as deputy of that all 
 puissant conservator of the public peace, the 
 redoubtable Ben ! But Jack, like his name- 
 sake of canine celebrity, had a sort of in- 
 stinctive love for a fire — that of ' the kitchen,' 
 be it understood, — and so he had passed the 
 greater part of the previous night in the 
 chimney-corner of a neighbouring tap. 
 
 "Holloa!" — D'y^ hear, you Sir? — yovHre 
 wanted, Master Peter ! " 
 
 Now Peter had a glimmering, that the 
 term * wanted, from the mouth of Jack, had 
 a meaning too official to be pleasant, and
 
 278 THE PICAROON. 
 
 therefore affecting a convenient deafness, he 
 slouched his hat still lower on his face, and 
 thrust his way into the thickest of the mob. 
 
 Still, " You're wanted, Master Peter ! "— 
 rang dismally in his ear, — nor was the omen 
 false ; for notwithstanding that he had dodged, 
 and zigzagged, in every possible direction ; 
 yet, with as sure an instinct as that with 
 which a ferret tails a rat, the myrmidon of 
 Justice was at his heels ; and scarcely had 
 he ensconced himself in a dark corner, ankle- 
 deep in water, and half hid by an engine, 
 than the broad bony hand of the afore- 
 mentioned Jack had fastened on his shoulder. 
 Resistance was out of the question; and look- 
 ing as demure as an impounded donkey, 
 Peter prepared to follow, — but not without 
 popping out a few questions by the way. 
 
 Perfectly aware that ' the dignity of office ' 
 is best preserved by ' silence,' Jack was ob- 
 durate as a lap-stone, and mute as a fish ! 
 until a small bribe had qualified his rigour
 
 THE PICAROON. 279 
 
 to the extent of informing his prisoner, that 
 " the worthy Mr. Kenrick," and " their Ho- 
 nours the Magistrates," were then convened, 
 for the purpose of investigating the origin 
 of the fire; and that as he, "Master Peter," 
 had absented himself from the premises at 
 so critical a juncture, leaving open doors 
 usually secured, " the Gentlemen," very natu- 
 rally, wished to hear his own version of a 
 matter so suspicious. 
 
 " A bad affair," — thought Peter, and he 
 thought truly ; for the evidence in his favour 
 which might have been rendered by the Ex- 
 cise Officer, and which the Reader's fancy 
 would so easily supply, — in sober earnest was 
 not available. The Excise Officer had himself 
 transgressed, in keeping the intended seizure 
 a secret from his superiors, and self-interest, 
 as Peter knew, would keep him silent. 
 
 " Yes ! " thought the prisoner, as a doleful 
 sigh escaped his lips, — " Yes, the old rogue 
 will hang me to hide his own villany ; —
 
 280 THE PICAROON. 
 
 every proof of his guilt has perished in the 
 fire, and the insurance will make him twice 
 the man he was : — yes, I must be hung be- 
 yond all doubt, — and so I'll answer not a 
 word." 
 
 " Make way there for the prisoner ! " — cried 
 some dozen busy-bodies, who themselves had 
 chocked up the passage, and who took especial 
 care not to budge an inch. 
 
 '* Oh ! the black-faced villain," — whispered 
 a puritanical, straight haired fellow at the 
 door, — " no reasonable man in the world would 
 doubt of his guilt for a moment! — to turn a 
 viper on his kind and pious master : — ay ! 
 I say that hanging is too good by half! — let 
 me be on the jury, that's all." 
 
 " Room for the prisoner ! " — shouted big 
 Ben at the top of his voice, and in a mo- 
 ment Peter found himself confronted with the 
 Bench. 
 
 " With your permission, Gentlemen, — and 
 Brother Magistrates ! — I would address a ques-
 
 THE PICAROON. 281 
 
 tioii or so to the * incendiary ' before us." — 
 Thus spoke a lanky, weasel- faced man, of 
 most saturnine aspect, who having the gout 
 of a connoisseur for all things criminal, had 
 tacked on the magisterial office to the clerical 
 duties. 
 
 *' Prisoner, — attend to the observations I 
 am about to make ; they are intended for your 
 instruction and advantage. Although ' your 
 guilt,' my unfortunate friend, is so ' self-ap- 
 parent,' that even charity cannot whisper a 
 doubt : — yet, let me seriously and sincerely 
 caution and admonish you, that in this free 
 and happy land of impartial justice, you are 
 not called upon to utter a single syllable, 
 that can in any way legally criminate your- 
 self;— or that can in any way lead us into 
 a pre-judgment of your ' melancholy' case, 
 on imperfect, or on ex-parte evidence : — there- 
 fore,"- 
 
 '' May it please your Worship," — cried a
 
 282 THE PICAROON. 
 
 young fellow, jostling through the court, — 
 '* May it please your Worship, I'm sent to 
 report, that the Engineer that heads the work- 
 ing gang in the ruins, is certain sure that 
 the gentleman's safe off! — and that without 
 having singed so much as a whisker." 
 
 '' It does ' please His Worship,' "—replied 
 the mayor, chuckUng to himself at so bright 
 a specimen of civic wit. — "And now, Mr. 
 Kenrick, let me congratulate your worthy self 
 on the happy escape of your worthy nephew! — 
 Odd's fish, man, I thought he'd been baked 
 to a cinder." 
 
 The congratulation seemed to fall very 
 queerly on Kenrick, who turned suddenly pale, 
 and casting a furtive glance on the prisoner, 
 exclaimed with a pious twang, — 
 
 " Strange and wonderful are the ways of 
 Providence ! — Gentlemen, may I request that 
 the prisoner may be searched." 
 
 This was immediately attended to; and
 
 THE PICAROON. 283 
 
 among sundry other trifles, three large keys 
 were extracted from the pockets of Peter, 
 and placed on the table. 
 
 " Mr. Kenrick," said the mayor, " are 
 those keys your property ?" 
 
 "Whether the keys are mine, or whether 
 the keys are not mine, — are questions that 
 I do not feel myself at liberty to answer, — 
 that is, not until after mature consideration ; 
 and, in the mean time. Gentlemen, I would 
 request leave to speak with my servant Peter 
 in private ; a favour, I can assure you, that 
 may much accelerate the solemn duties of 
 this inquiry." 
 
 Now, * the thing ' was not * the thing :' — 
 that is, nothing could be more improper 
 than such an interruption to a public exami- 
 nation ; yet so great was the deference shown 
 to the supposed sanctity of the false-hearted 
 Kenrick, that after a few looks of surprise, 
 the point was at once conceded. 
 
 No sooner did Kenrick find himself alone.
 
 284 THE PICAROON. 
 
 and within four walls with Peter, than, call- 
 ing him up to the corner of the room far- 
 thest from the door, he took out his watch, 
 and said in an under-tone, — 
 
 " Now, man, mark the hour ! — before the 
 next is half spent, your doom will be sealed, 
 either for this world or the next; — and that, 
 by yourself alone ! — yes, the ' choice ' shall 
 be wholly yours : — not a word, villain ! — I 
 know your plots, — yes, the Excise Officer, 
 the intended seizure, and the rest ! — but let 
 that pass. Thou art a reptile, Peter, — and if 
 a stamp could crush thee into dust, it were 
 no matter ! — Villain, I will use thee as men 
 do a dunghill snake ; — to cure the viper's 
 bite, they scoop out the writhing creature's 
 fat, and use it as an ointment ; — so will 1 
 rip thy conscience from thy soul, and if it 
 damn thee, force thee to ruin the serpent 
 that bites home ; my Nephew, man, the 
 soft and dainty Mr. Blandford ! — I know 
 that thou art innocent of the fire, but what
 
 THE PICAROON. 285 
 
 of that; either thou, or he shall hang for*t! — 
 Now, hark ye, Peter, — thou shalt own thy- 
 self an accessary; — thou shalt turn King's 
 witness ! — yes, and bear such evidence, that 
 he sliall liang ! — hang ! Peter, — and thou 
 shalt live and be rewarded!" 
 
 Peter trembled and consented, — or rather 
 seemed to consent, for at the moment he 
 was not sufficiently master of himself to find 
 a voice. His only idea was, to seem to yield, 
 and so to gain time ; but the first admis- 
 sion of the falsehood, the first guilty con- 
 nivance, w^as dangerous, if not fatal. 
 
 On their re-appearance in the court, every 
 eye was fixed on Peter, who seemed as if 
 transformed into a man at least thirty years 
 older than before. His features were all at 
 once grown shrunk, dry, and bloodless ; and 
 his eyes hollow, dull, and leaden, as those of 
 a corpse ! Feebly and slowly he trembled 
 forward, and would have fallen, had he not 
 been supported by an officer at hand. The
 
 286 THE PICAROON. 
 
 Step of Kenrick was, as usual, firm and 
 heavy, — but he kept his face strangely con- 
 cealed, and hung his head upon his breast, 
 as one in sore distress, and burthened with 
 heavy tidings. 
 
 " With you. Reverend Sir," — (addressing 
 the clerical magistrate,) — " and with you, 
 Mr. Mayor, I must presently request a pri- 
 vate audience, in connexion with this pain- 
 ful affair ; and, in the mean time, I would 
 say publicly to both of you, and to the other 
 gentlemen present, that a fearful duty seems 
 to impend over me, — and one that will force 
 me to bring ^ a capital charge' against a 
 near and dear relative now absent. It is 
 proper for me to add, that, for the ends of 
 public justice, I must request that the pri- 
 soner be remanded, as there is no doubt but 
 that you will find it necessary to take such 
 legal steps, as may induce him to become 
 King's Evidence on this dreadful occa- 
 sion !" Having thus spoken, Kenrick dropped
 
 THE PICAROON. 287 
 
 his arms on the desk as one sick at heart, 
 and exhausted with emotion. 
 
 " Constable, — bring a glass of water," — 
 cried the Mayor ; — *^ poor dear gentleman, 
 his kind feelings have quite ovei'powered 
 him. Take the prisoner away immediately. 
 Yes, it shall be all as he wishes ; and now, 
 Gentlemen, good day : — you know we shall 
 discover more, by and by, — good morning. 
 But stay a moment:— Mr. Kenrick said that 
 it was . a relation, — yes, surely ; — well, let us 
 save him the pain of the request, by order- 
 ing the police to look out after the young 
 fellow who was lost, as we supposed, in the 
 fire ; — it can be none other, and doubtless he 
 is a sad, determined, and atrocious charac- 
 ter ! — Let him be hunted out, Ben, without 
 a moment's delay ; vigilance in these mat- 
 ters is all in all." 
 
 Leaving Kenrick to the officious hospi- 
 tality of the Mayor ; and Peter to -that of 
 the King's * free quarters,' established for
 
 288 THE PICAROON. 
 
 the reception of those exalted spirits who 
 have shaken off the trammels of the law, — 
 it may be more interesting to follow up the 
 history of the intended victim of the vile 
 machinations we have just unfolded. 
 
 In firing the warehouse, — Kenrick had 
 done his work but too well. Every com- 
 bustible in the lower range had been ignited ; 
 and the flames, bursting from a dozen sources 
 at once, were roaring, and raging with the 
 fury of a volcano, when the pungency of 
 the smoke first awakened Blandford to the 
 horrors of his situation. 
 
 Starting from his bed, — he found himself 
 surrounded with a darkness that seemed al- 
 most palpable ; while the thick and fast in- 
 creasing vapour grew suffocating, and the heat 
 past bearing. In desperation he pressed his 
 hands upon his face, and, holding his breath, 
 strove to escape the instant death that me- 
 naced. His ears rang with strange sounds, — 
 his temples throbbed, as if hammers were
 
 THE PICAROON. 289 
 
 beating on the brain beneath, and a fast per- 
 vading faintness had soon left him an un- 
 resisting victim to the flames, when the idea 
 of throwing himself on the floor, and thus 
 inhaling a purer atmosphere, fortunately oc- 
 curred, and proved the means of safety. 
 
 The darkness was as great as ever, but 
 the power of breathing was recovered ; and, 
 having dashed out the lower panel of the 
 door, he crept forward in the flat. Presently, 
 the pent-up fire had forced an entrance, 
 flashing in momentary tongues of flame 
 through a boarded partition at the further end, 
 and he was thus enabled to see,— but the 
 objects revealed were but new shapes of 
 terror. The staircase was unapproachable, 
 and the whirling streams of dun smoke 
 that filled the upper space, pressed down- 
 wards heavier and faster, in suflbcating clouds. 
 The only possible mode of egress was by 
 some folding doors in the outward wall, 
 
 VOL. I. O
 
 290 THE PICAROON. 
 
 used when goods were hoisted in, and these 
 were now fast bolted ! 
 
 The fastenings of these doors were with 
 the thought removed ; but when about to throw 
 them open, Blandford paused, with the chilhng 
 recollection, that they were so high from the 
 ground, that a leap would be fatal ; — and that 
 when opened, the force of the fire having thus 
 a new vent, would burst through them in a 
 blast of death. 
 
 Still what better choice remained ? It w^ere 
 death to stay ! and with a desperate arm, he 
 threw them open. — The apprehension proved 
 but too well founded : the old doors had 
 scarcely creaked upon their hinges, and his 
 eye had hardly rested on the cold, calm aspect 
 of the night, when the cloudy storm of smoke 
 from behind, broke through with thundering 
 rush. — Before he had drawn a second breath, 
 the swift pursuing flames had gathered in a 
 roaring blast of dazzling death, and hur- 
 rying on, had left him but a scorched and
 
 THE PICAIJOON. 291 
 
 blackened corpse, had he not in the instant, 
 seized on a cord depending from the crane 
 above, and swung himself into the air. 
 
 In the battle and in the tempest — there 
 are moments of instinctive effort, of which the 
 mind of him who struggles retains no trace, 
 and so with Blandford ; his next recollection 
 was that of clambering over the burning ruins 
 in the way before described. The wall which 
 he had mounted with so much difficulty, 
 seemed, when won, but the path to greater 
 peril, and the fire-drift that concealed him 
 from the crowd below, had blinded and be- 
 wildered, until he must have perished where 
 he was, or thrown himself amid the smoulder- 
 ing wreck beneath, when a strong hand was 
 on his arm, and a friendly voice sounded in 
 his ear, bidding him take heed and comfort. 
 
 This timely assistance came from Anselmo, 
 who had led on the gang of sailors previously 
 mentioned, and who, having noticed the peril 
 of Blandford, had gallantly rushed beyond the
 
 292 THE PICAROON. 
 
 others to his rescue. With a seaman's fore 
 sight, the Italian had carried a coil of line 
 upon his arm. One end of this was soon at- 
 tached to the end of a beam, and with its 
 assistance, both were enabled to descend in 
 safety to an open court beneath. Here Bland- 
 ford's lack of clothing first occurred to his 
 mind, and the want having been in some 
 measure supplied by the loan of a boat- 
 cloak, he was about to request his pre- 
 server to accompany him in search of the 
 necessary shelter, when, in the stranger's 
 thanks and refusal, he was startled to recog- 
 nize the very tone and voice of the dreaded 
 marauder, whom he imagined to have been 
 drowned, in attempting to escape from the 
 midnight hunt of the myrmidons of the law, 
 under the cliffs of the Avon. The doubt when 
 avowed was as frankly answered by Anselmo, 
 who, in his turn, offered to show the way to 
 a place of safety, and accompanied his offer 
 ^with some hints relative to the affairs of Ken-
 
 THK PICAROON. 293 
 
 rick, which still further excited the curiosity 
 of Blandford, and rendered him anxious to 
 follow his mysterious guide in the way pro- 
 posed, 
 
 A short and rapid walk through the most 
 dark and obscure ways soon brought them to 
 the bank of the river, where Anselmo, having 
 unchained a skiff, both were immediately afloat, 
 and as Blandford thought, passing down the 
 stream ; but of this he could only guess, as his 
 companion had directed him to lie out of sight 
 in the bottom of the vessel, while he was him- 
 self rowing, with a degree of violence that 
 rendered any attempt at conversation impos- 
 sible. 
 
 As the boat jerked, heaved, and trembled 
 under the energetic strokes of the bold ma- 
 riner, Blandford began to remember, that the 
 velocity and secrecy of their passage bespoke 
 a, dread of interruption; and that if any thing 
 of that sort occurred, it was very possible 
 that he himself might appear in no very
 
 294 THE PICAROON. 
 
 enviable light; it was, however, too late to 
 retreat, and making a virtue of necessity, he 
 awaited the result in that state of * enforced 
 patience ' which makes every moment seem an 
 hour. 
 
 After an age of this sort, a heavy bump at 
 the bottom of the boat gave Blandford a hint, 
 that a stoppage of some sort had taken place ; 
 and presently, a low and cautious whistle from 
 his companion, showed him that it was time 
 to be up and moving. On starting to his 
 feet, he found that the boat had grounded in 
 the nook of a high bank under a willow, while 
 a thin whifF of smoke beyond gave a token of 
 the promised shelter. 
 
 "My good friend, Mrs. Marlin," said An- 
 selrao — *' this gentleman needs refreshment; he 
 has had rather a rough handling, both by fire 
 and water : — a slice of that ham, with some 
 eggs, and a glass of brandy, with a quiet 
 snooze, either here or above for an hour or so, 
 will refit him altogether. — Pooh, nonsense, I
 
 THE PICAROON. 295 
 
 see you are blushing * blue lights/ at his naked 
 feet, as if you had never seen a man's great 
 toe in your life, Meg ! — Well, to cut the matter 
 short, suppose you get up aloft, and to bed at 
 once, Mr. Blandford, you will find some fresh 
 toggery of mine completely at your service 
 when you wish to arise. And now, my very 
 simple, pretty Mrs. Marlin, just listen to one 
 word : you must not give your husband even 
 a wink of the matter — there is a time for all 
 things, and I shall be back soon enough for 
 that. Yes, Sir, it is even so ; I must away, 
 but remember that you are tolerably safe here, 
 — that is so long as all is silent ; and that you 
 keep out of sight/' 
 
 Blandford was too hungry to venture the 
 loss of time that an explanation would have 
 taken, — and he thought that it might not be 
 prudent either, in the presence of the o])ser- 
 vant hostess ; still he felt the thirst of a curio- 
 sity verging on suspicion. 
 
 It seemed to Blandford, that as if in every
 
 296 THE PICAROON. 
 
 incident of his life, he was to be the passive 
 child of circumstance without the chance of 
 free agency, or the choice of reason ; and as 
 the cue was now * to go to bed,' he wrapt the 
 cloak still closer, and mounted the step-ladder 
 that served as a staircase, with much the same 
 grace of sullen endurance, as that with which 
 a felon ascends the fatal drop, — or a wilful 
 schoolboy prepares for horsing and the rod. 
 
 Having passed the square opening in the 
 floor that formed the entrance, Bland ford 
 found himself in a small loft, that bore in no 
 other sense the aspect of a bedroom, than that 
 of having a hammock swung to the rafters at 
 the further end. The place had been origi- 
 nally used as a receptacle for stowing away 
 provisions, Marlin sometimes doing a turn of 
 business in the line of a dry-salter, with a 
 captain or so of his acquaintance ; and there 
 still remained a goodly show of hung bacon 
 in flitches and hams, with rows of skippered 
 salmon, piles of double Gloucester, and barrels
 
 THE PICAROON. 297 
 
 of Yarmouth bloaters. There were sundry 
 pickles, and tongues beside ; the whole ex- 
 haling the raw quintessence of their peculiar 
 savours in lively fumes, till the very air was 
 redolent with fattening sweets: — so at least 
 a Greenlander would have said, — Bland ford 
 thought of terms less delicate, but more ap- 
 propriate. 
 
 O ! the luxury of popping into bed without 
 the trouble of undressino- ! So thought 
 Frank, as casting off his only incumbrance, 
 the cloak, he slipped at once betwixt the 
 sheets. The notes of preparation from be- 
 neath, as the eggs began to frizzle in the 
 pan, were equally delightful. The * hand- 
 some' Dame Marlin too seemed doubly so to 
 Bland ford, as he watched her rising through 
 the floor, smiling demurely, and mounting 
 slowly as the spectral vision in Macbeth ! 
 the delicious viands steaming like a caldron 
 from the dish she bore : — he thought of Ru- 
 bens and of Titian, and wished her made a 
 o2
 
 298 THF, PICAROON. 
 
 picture. How often, dear Reader, have you 
 and I — desired precisely the reverse ; and could 
 we have conjured with a wish, would have 
 transformed the glowing beauties of those 
 masters into the bright realities they seemed. 
 
 But enough of these " creature comforts," 
 as the old Puritans so quaintly term them ; 
 and the phrase, be it noted, is an under- 
 standing one, and smacks of a foregone con- 
 clusion : — Well then, we say, enough! and 
 let the Reader's fancy paint the rest. 
 
 How the considerate Mrs. Marlin, judg- 
 ing from circumstantial evidence, viz. the 
 cloak, — fancied that her extraordinary guest 
 had gone to bed without undressing: — her 
 charitable expostulation on the want of re- 
 freshment thereby incurred : — Frank's delicate 
 hesitation, at the equivocation necessary to 
 avoid a direct explanation : — the lady's sus- 
 picion : — her confusion in arrest of judgment, 
 with all the et cetera, odd and singular ! — the 
 supreme satisfaction of taking a full meal when
 
 THE PICAROON. 299 
 
 the stomach prompts manfully, and the appe- 
 tite ratifies as heartily ! Yes, most kind and 
 accommodating Reader, fancy all these matters 
 as thou wilt, — I avoid troubling thee with 
 aught so light and trivial, and to pass on to 
 the important and the interesting, I will tell 
 thee, ' confidentially,' that Blandford fell fast 
 asleep. 
 
 Sound sleep so naturally follows excite- 
 ment, that it is not altogether necessary to 
 explain the fact by the show of argument, or 
 the analogy of simile, — viz. of a pig before a 
 rising gale, — or the wisdom, whispered by 
 Shakespeare, of the slumbers of a bride. 
 
 Blandford was wearied, and he slept so 
 soundly, that it was actually evening before 
 he had rubbed his eyes half open, and then 
 lici lay bewildered, and fortunately silent. 
 
 The brown congregation of dead pigs, in 
 the questionable shapes of fat sides and de- 
 tached hind-quarters, all modestly veiled in 
 the fast fading light : — the shght swinging of
 
 300 THE PICAROON. 
 
 the hammock, which by the bye, he had for- 
 gotten to be one, all served to puzzle ; and 
 besides, he was just sufficiently conscious to 
 be aware, that a conversation was going on 
 somewhere in the darkness underneath, in 
 which his own name was often used, without 
 his being at the same time sufficiently awake 
 to understand its purport: — this confusion of 
 mind was tormenting, and he awoke. 
 
 " Read the paper again," was said in a 
 voice, which as Blandford now listened with 
 ears and eyes both open, he immediately re- 
 cognized to be Anselmo's. 
 
 " Well, then," — was responded in the manly 
 bass of Mat the Pilot, — Meg, girl, bear a 
 hand with the light, and here goes — 
 
 * Five Hundred Pounds Reward. 
 
 ' Whereas, the Warehouse, Dwelling-house, 
 and other Premises, situated on the Back, in 
 the City of Bristol, late in the occupation of 
 Ralph Kenrick, Esq., were last night wilfully
 
 THE PICAROON. 301 
 
 and maliciously set on fire. And whereas, 
 there is strong testimony that the above wicked 
 and detestable crime of Arson, was committed 
 by Francis Blandford, late of the same place, — 
 Notice is hereby given, that any person who 
 shall cause the said Incendiary to be appre- 
 hended, and lodged in any one of His Ma- 
 jesty's gaols, shall, on the conviction of such 
 Oli'ender, receive the above reward, on due 
 
 application. 
 
 God save the King. 
 
 ' N. B. The said suspected Felon is about 
 twenty years of age ; five feet seven inches 
 high, or thereabouts; of a dark complexion, 
 hazel eyes, with black eye-brows, and hand- 
 some features : — has much the appearance of 
 a military man, and had on a dark-blue boat 
 cloak when last observed.' 
 
 " Zounds, wench ! " — cried Mat, accompa- 
 nying the exclamation with a smack that told 
 handsomely, judging at least by the percusi^
 
 302 THE PICAROON. 
 
 sion, — " Zounds ! Five Hundred Pounds ! — 
 God send the rogue may give me the chance 
 of a grapple ; — I'd vest the money in a sloop 
 for the Welsh coast trade, and turn a skipper 
 on my own account : it w^ould be the making 
 of us, Darling." 
 
 " You need not talk so loud. Mat," — was 
 Meg's reply, and one that sounded like a 
 knell in the ear of Blandford, as it implied 
 a caution that boded him no good ; still pru- 
 dence bade him lie quiet in silent endurance ; 
 for although he felt his situation dangerous and 
 degrading, yet there was no alternative ; and 
 with the cold sweat of dread and stifled anger 
 gathering like death drops on his brow, he 
 continued to listen in breathless anxiety. 
 
 *' Now, husband," — rejoined the woman, in 
 a low and earnest tone, — "just suppose that 
 I had this gentleman-rogue, all snug and 
 handy as a rat in a trap, and could count 
 the money out into my own lap only for the 
 asking ? "
 
 THE PIC AHOOiN'. 303 
 
 "And just suppose y' — said Anselmo, in 
 hasty interruption, and in a tone as well 
 understood by Blandford as by Meg, — "just 
 suppose that this Outlaw was my friend ! — 
 or less than that, — say he were nothing more 
 than a man I choose to serve, because even 
 like myself, the false and hollow-hearted 
 tricksters of the world woul4 hunt him to 
 the death ! — Say it were so, and that the 
 hundreds were changed into thousands, w^ho, 
 for their lives ! would lay the weight of but 
 a finger in his way ? " '^ 
 
 " Why you're blowing great guns to cool 
 your broth. Captain : — Zounds, what a coil 
 is here for nought! — And yet for that, — now 
 hark ye, Captain, I'll not eat my words on the 
 matter: — why, Meg, you're looking pale as 
 a hunted witch; cheer up, girl! — I say again, 
 I'd wish no better sport than such a chance; 
 not the best man that ever faced a gun should 
 stop me there ! — Master Ken rick's my friend,
 
 304 THE PICAROON. 
 
 too, and one that comes down with the rhino 
 for an odd job, as handsome as the best, — 
 I'd gloiy in the sport ! " 
 
 " Do you happen to notice what I have 
 in my hand ? " — said Anselmo, in a tone of 
 bitter irony. 
 
 " Yes, for the matter of that," — replied 
 the other gravely, — " as the stage-actor said 
 the other night, ' Miching Mallecho,' — you're 
 full of mischief with the naughty boy's play- 
 thing, the heated poker." 
 
 '* And that locker contains half a barrel 
 of gunpowder, eh, Marlin?" 
 
 ** Stop, for heaven's sake, Captain ! — What, 
 would you blow us up like a nest of hornets 
 for a word:— for nothing but a joke?" 
 
 '^ It is one that might soon have proved 
 bitterly in earnest : — but we'll change the 
 subject; what's afloat in our own line, Marlin; 
 is there news from King's Road ?" 
 
 '* Perchance too much as the wind sits ; —
 
 THE PICAROON. 305 
 
 the Serena has run up the river, she should 
 be looked too." 
 
 " You say right, Marlin ; and now, under 
 cover of the night, would be the time." 
 
 *^ I'll be off on the word, Captain ; you shall 
 hear more within an hour." 
 
 Some few words passed besides, and soon 
 after, to Blandford's infinite satisfaction, Mar- 
 lin had departed. 
 
 Anselmo paused to say something to the 
 fair, but dangerous hostess, which was uttered 
 in too low a tone to be overheard, and imme- 
 diately afterwards he came up to Blandford ; 
 and having removed a sack, concealing the 
 open end of a cask which contained a strange 
 medley of apparel, he selected from the con- 
 tents a disguise for himself, so satisfactory 
 in its oddness, that Blandford could hardly 
 recognize him, although he saw it assumed. 
 The one assigned to Frank was more common- 
 place ; an Asiatic vest of mazarene blue, a
 
 306 THE PICAROON. 
 
 crimson cap, loose trousers, and yellow slip- 
 pers. The trousers were confined above with 
 a shawl, twisted into folds, so as to serve 
 for pockets. Into one of these Blandford 
 found he was to stow a short dagger-like 
 knife, and into that on the other side, some 
 writing materials and a purse. The latter 
 surprised him, as it evidently contained gold 
 to a considerable amount, and he would have 
 returned it, but that the Italian motioned 
 him not, with a haughty impatience, and at 
 the same time muffling him up in the boat 
 cloak, hurried him below. 
 
 As they passed forward, Frank noticed 
 that Meg looked fiercely on his companion ; 
 and as Anselmo, who had not spoken, was 
 about to latch the door, she said, her coun- 
 tenance flushing deeply with emotion, 
 
 " Captain, the man who builds upon a 
 woman's feavj is like the fool that nursed 
 the frozen snake; his safety hangs upon a
 
 THK i'lCAKOON. 307 
 
 circumstance that prudence should have told 
 him must shortly pass away. For your own 
 security, Marlin's interest is sufficiently staked ; 
 and what is equal, hold it as lightly as you 
 may ! — my own free word ! — but. Sir, remem- 
 ber, — that we are pledged no farther, and let 
 the stranger depend upon ' himself ;' — beyond 
 these walls, your threats of violence will prove 
 a sorry passport." 
 
 " She speaks too truly," remarked Anselmo, 
 as he shut the door, and the gray shadow 
 of the night fell on them : — " yes, it might 
 have been better to have tried to win her 
 confidence, but methought the temptation 
 went too far. May your fortune prove hap- 
 pier than my fears predict. Sir," he rejoined, 
 and addressing Blandford, more directly, 
 added : 
 
 " I will remain at the door to prevent your 
 being observed : — conceal yourself among that 
 clump of trees to the left; I will follow, and
 
 308 THL PICAROON. 
 
 point you out a path beyond, and then we 
 part : — our fortunes, believe me, Sir, are grown 
 too desperate for the boat to live that carries 
 both." 
 
 END OF VOL. I. 
 
 C. W hittingham, Tooks Court, Chancery Lane. 
 
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