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 Latest Date stamped below. 
 
 University of Illinois Library 
 
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 A MODEEN TELEMACHUS 
 
A MODEEN TELEMACHUS 
 
 BY 
 
 CHARLOTTE M. YONGE 
 
 AUTHOR OF 'the HEIR OF REDCLYFFE,' 'UNKNOWN TO HISTORY,' ETC. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES 
 VOL. I 
 
 MACMILLAN AND CO. 
 
 AND NEW YORK 
 1886 
 
 All rights reserved 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2010 with funding from 
 
 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/moderntelemachus01yong 
 

 V> 
 
 
 PEEFACE 
 
 '^^ The idea of this tale was taken from The 
 J Mariners' Chronicle, compiled by a person 
 named Scott early in the last century — a 
 curious book of narratives of maritime ad- 
 ventures, with exceedingly quaint illustra- 
 tions. Nothing has ever shown me more 
 plainly that truth is stranger than fiction, 
 for all that is most improbable here is the 
 
 actual fact. 
 
 ■> 
 
 The Comte de Bourke was really an Irish 
 Jacobite, naturalised in France, and married 
 to the daughter of the Marquis de Varennes, 
 
 in as well as in high favour with the Marshal 
 
 4 Duke of Berwick. 
 
 ~ In 1719, just when the ambition of 
 
 S^ Elizabeth Farnese, the second wife of 
 
vi PREFACE 
 
 Philip V. of Spain, had involved that 
 country in a war Avith England, France, 
 and Austria, the Count was transferred from 
 the Spanish Embassy to that of Sweden, 
 and sent for his wife and two elder children 
 to join him at a Spanish port. 
 
 This arrangement was so strange that I 
 can only account for it by supposing that 
 as this was the date of a feeble Spanish 
 attempt on behalf of the Jacobites in Scot- 
 land, Comte de Bourke may not have ven- 
 tured by the direct route. Or it may not 
 have been etiquette for him to re-enter 
 France when appointed ambassador. At 
 any rate, the poor Countess did take this 
 route to the South, and I am inclined to 
 think the narrative must be correct, as 
 all the side-lights I have been able to gain 
 perfectly agree with it, often in an un- 
 expected manner. 
 
 The suite and the baggage were just as 
 related in the story — the only liberty I 
 have taken being the bestowal of names. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 Vll 
 
 'M. Arture' was really of the party, but I 
 liave made him Scotch instead of Irish, and 
 I have no knowledge that the lackey was 
 not French. The imbecility of the Abbe is 
 merely a deduction from his helplessness, 
 but of course this may have been caused by 
 illness. 
 
 The meeting with M. de Varennes at 
 Avignon, Berwick's offer of an escort, and 
 the Countess's dread of the Pyrenees, are 
 all facts, as well as her embarkation in the 
 Genoese tartane bound for Barcelona, and 
 its capture by the Algerine corsair com- 
 manded by a Dutch renegade, who treated 
 her well, and to whom she gave her watch. 
 
 Algerine history confirms what is said of 
 his treatment. Louis XIV. had bombarded 
 the pirate city, and compelled the Dey to 
 receive a consul and to liberate French 
 prisoners and French property ; but the lady 
 having been taken in an Italian ship, the 
 Dutchman was afraid to set her ashore 
 without first taking her to Algiers, lest he 
 
viii PREFACE 
 
 should fall under suspicion. He would not 
 venture on taking so many women on board 
 his own vessel, being evidently afraid of his 
 crew of more than two hundred Turks and 
 Moors, but sent seven men on board the 
 prize and took it in tow. 
 
 Curiously enough, history mentions the 
 very tempest which drove the tartane apart 
 from her captor, for it also shattered the 
 French transports and interfered with 
 Berwick's Spanish campaign. 
 
 The circumstances of the wreck have 
 been closely followed. ' M. Arture ' actually 
 saved Mademoiselle de Bourke, and placed 
 her in the arms of the mattre d' hotel, who 
 had reached a rock, together with the Abbe, 
 the lackey, and one out of the four maids. 
 The other three were all in the cabin with 
 their mistress and her son, and shared their 
 fate. 
 
 The real ' Arture ' tried to swim to the 
 shore, but never was seen again, so that his 
 adventures with the little boy are wholly 
 
PREFACE ix 
 
 imaginary. But the little girl's conduct is 
 perfectly true. When in the steward's arms 
 she declared that the savages might take 
 her life, but never should make her deny 
 her faith. 
 
 The account of these captors was a great 
 difficulty, till in the old Universal History 
 I found a description of Algeria which 
 tallied wonderfully with the narrative. It 
 was taken from a survey of the coast made 
 a few years later by English officials. 
 
 The tribe inhabiting Mounts Araz and 
 Couco, and bordering on Djigheli Bay, were 
 really wild Arabs, claiming high descent, 
 but very loose Mohammedans, and savage in 
 their habits. Their name of Cabeleyzes is 
 said — with what truth I know not — to mean 
 ' revolted,' and they held themselves inde- 
 pendent of the Dey. They were in the 
 habit of murdering or enslaving all ship- 
 wrecked travellers, except subjects of 
 Algiers, whom they released with nothing 
 but their lives. 
 
X PREFACE 
 
 All this perfectly explains tlie sufferings 
 of Mademoiselle de Bourke. The history of 
 the plundering, the threats, the savage treat- 
 ment of the corpses, the wild dogs, the 
 councils of the tribe, the separation of the 
 captives, and the child's heroism, is all 
 literally true — the expedient of Victorine's 
 defence alone beino; an invention. It is 
 also true that the little girl and the maitre 
 dlidtel wrote four letters, and sent them by 
 different chances to Algiers, but only the 
 last ever arrived, and it created a o;reat 
 sensation. 
 
 M. Dessault is a real personage, and 
 the kindness of the Dey and of the Moors 
 was exactly as related, also the expedient of 
 sending the Marabout of Bugia to negotiate. 
 
 Mr. Thomas Thompson was really the 
 English Consul at the time, but his share in 
 the matter is imaginary, as it depends on 
 Arthur's adventures. 
 
 The account of the Marabout system 
 comes from the Universal History, but 
 
PREFACE xi 
 
 the arrival, the negotiations, and the desire 
 of the sheyk to detain the young French 
 lady for a wife to his son, are from the 
 narrative. He really did claim to be an 
 equal match for her, were she daughter of 
 the King of France, since he was King of 
 the Mountains. 
 
 The welcome at Algiers and the Te 
 Deum in the Consul's chapel also are re- 
 lated in the book that serves me for 
 authority. It adds that Mademoiselle de 
 
 Bourke finally married a Marquis de B , 
 
 and lived much respected in Provence, dying 
 shortly before the Eevolution. 
 
 I will only mention further that a 
 rescued Abyssinian slave named Fareek 
 (happily not tongueless) was well known 
 to me many years ago in the household 
 of the late Warden Barter of Winchester 
 College. \ 
 
 Since writing the above I have by the 
 kindness of friends been enabled to discover 
 Mr. Scott's authority, namely, a book en- 
 
xii PREFACE 
 
 titled Voyage 'pour la Redemption des 
 captifs aux Royaumes d' Alger et de Tunis, 
 fait en 1720 par les P.P. Franqois 
 Conielin, Philemon de la Motte, et Joseph 
 Bernard, de VOrdre de la Sainte Trinite, 
 dit Mathurine. This Order was established 
 by Jean Matha for the ransom and rescue 
 of prisoners in the hands of the Moors. A 
 translation of the adventures of the Comtesse 
 de Bourke and her daughter was published 
 in the Catholic World, New York, July 
 1881. It exactly agrees with the narration 
 in The Mariners' Chronicle except that, in 
 the true spirit of the eighteenth century, 
 Mr. Scott thought fit to suppress that these 
 ecclesiastics were at Algiers at the time of 
 the arrival of Mademoiselle de Bourke's 
 letter, that they interested themselves 
 actively on her behalf, and that they wrote 
 the narrative from the lips of the mattre 
 dliotel (who indeed may clearly be traced 
 throughout). It seems also that the gold 
 cups were chalices, and that a complete set 
 
PREFACE 
 
 xiu 
 
 of altar equipments fell a prey to the 
 Cabeleyzes, whose name the good fathers 
 endeavour to connect with Cabale — with 
 about as much reason as if we endeavoured 
 to derive that word from the ministry of 
 Charles 11. 
 
 Had I known in time of the assistance 
 of these benevolent brethren I would cer- 
 tainly have introduced them with all due 
 honour, but, like the Abbe Vertot, I have to 
 say, Mon histoire est ecrite, and what is 
 worse — printed. Moreover, they do not 
 seem to have gone on the mission with the 
 Marabout from Bugia, so that their presence 
 really only accounts for the Te Deiim with 
 which the redeemed captives were wel- 
 comed. 
 
 It does not seem quite certain whether 
 M. Dessault was Consul or Envoy : I incline 
 to think the latter. The translation in the 
 Catholic World speaks of Sir Arthur, but 
 Mr. Scott's 'M. Arture' is much more 
 vraisemhlahle. He probably had either a 
 
xiv PREFACE 
 
 surname to be concealed or else unpro- 
 nounceable to French lips. Scott must 
 have had some further information of the 
 after history of Mademoiselle de Bourke 
 since he mentions her marriage, which 
 could hardly have taken place when Pere 
 Comelin's book was published in 1720. 
 
 C. M. YONGE. 
 
CONTENTS OF VOL. I 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Companions of the Voyage .... 1 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 A Jacobite Waif . . . . . .27 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 On the Rhone ...... 59 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 Wrecked . . . . . . .112 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 Captivity . . . '. ... 171 
 
CHAPTER I 
 
 COMPANIONS OF THE VOYAGE 
 
 ' Make mention thereto 
 Touching my much loved father's safe return, 
 If of his whereabouts I may best hear.' 
 
 Odyssey (Musgrave). 
 
 ' Oh ! brother, I wish they had named 
 you Teleniaque, and then it would have 
 been all right ! ' 
 
 ' Why so, sister ? Why should I be 
 called by so ugly a name ? I like Ulysses 
 much better; and it is also the name of 
 my papa.' 
 
 ' That is the very thing. His name is 
 Ulysses, and we are going to seek for him.' 
 
 . VOL. I. B 
 
2 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 ' Oh ! T hope that cruel old Mentor is 
 not coming to tumble us down over a 
 great rock, like Telemaque in the picture.' 
 
 ' You mean Pere le Brun ? ' 
 
 ' Yes ; you know he always says he 
 is our Mentor ! And I wish he would 
 change into a goddess with a helmet and 
 a shield, with an ugly face, and go off in 
 a cloud. Do you think he will, Estelle ? ' 
 
 ' Do not be so silly, Ulick ; there are 
 no goddesses now.' 
 
 'I heard M. de la Mede tell that 
 pretty lady with the diamond butterfly 
 that she was his goddess ; so there are ! ' 
 
 ' You do not understand, brother. 
 That was only flattery and compliment. 
 Goddesses were only in the Greek myth- 
 ology, and were all over long ago ! ' 
 
I COMPANIONS OF THE VOYAGE 3 
 
 ' But are we really going to see our 
 papa V 
 
 ' Oh yes, mamma told me so. He is 
 made Ambassador to Sweden, you know.' 
 
 'Is tliat greater than Envoy to Spain?' 
 
 ' Very, very much greater. They call 
 mamma Madame I'Ambassadrice ; and 
 she is having three complete new dresses 
 made. See, there are la bonne and 
 Laurent talking. It is English, and if 
 we go near with our cups and balls we 
 shall hear all about it. Laurent always 
 knows, because my uncle tells him.' 
 
 ' You must call him La Jeunesse now 
 he is made mamma's lackey. Is he not 
 beautiful in his new livery ? ' 
 
 ^ Be still now, brother ; I want to hear 
 what they are saying.' 
 
4 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 This may sound somewhat sly, but 
 French children, before Eousseau had 
 made them the fashion, were kept in 
 the background, and were reduced to 
 picking up intelligence as best they could 
 without any sense of its being dishonour- 
 able to do so ; and, indeed, it was more 
 neglect than desire of concealment that 
 left them uninformed. 
 
 This was in 1719, four years after 
 the accession of Louis XY., a puny in- 
 fant, to the French throne, and in the 
 midst of the Kegency of the Duke of 
 Orleans. The scene was a broad walk 
 in the Tuileries gardens, beneath a closely- 
 clipped wall of greenery, along which 
 were disposed alternately busts upon 
 pedestals, and stone vases of flowers, 
 
I COMPANIONS OF THE VOYAGE 5 
 
 while beyond la}^ formal beds of flowers, 
 the gravel walks between radiating from 
 a fountain, at present quiescent, for it 
 was only ten o'clock in the forenoon, 
 and the gardens were- chiefly frequented at 
 that hour by children and their attendants, 
 who, like Estelle and Ulysse de Bourke, 
 were taking an early walk on their way 
 home from mass. 
 
 They were a miniature lady and gentle- 
 man of the period in costume, with the 
 single exception that, in consideration of 
 their being only nine and seven years old, 
 their hair was free from powder. Estelle's 
 light, almost flaxen, locks were brushed back 
 from her forehead, and tied behind with a 
 rose-coloured ribbon, but uncovered, except 
 by a tiny lace cap on the crown of her head ; 
 
6 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 Ulick's darker hair was carefully arranged 
 in great curls on his back and shoulders, 
 as like a full-bottomed wig as nature would 
 permit, and over it he wore a little cocked 
 hat edged with gold lace. He had a rich 
 laced cravat, a double-breasted waistcoat of 
 pale blue satin, and breeches to match, a 
 brown velvet coat with blue embroidery on 
 the pockets, collar, and skirts, silk stockings 
 to match, as well as the knot of the tiny 
 scabbard of the semblance of a sword 
 at his side, shoes with silver buckles, and 
 altogether he might have been a full- 
 grown Comte or Vicomte seen through a 
 diminishing glass. His sister was in a 
 full-hooped dress, with tight long waist, 
 and sleeves reaching to her elbows, the 
 under skirt a pale pink, the uj^per a 
 
I COMPANIONS OF THE VOYAGE 7 
 
 deeper rose colour ; but stiff as was the 
 attire, she had managed to give it a 
 slight general air of disarrangement, to 
 get her cap a little on one side, a stray 
 curl loose on her forehead, to tear a bit 
 of the dangling lace on her arms, and to 
 splash her robe with a puddle. He was 
 in air, feature, and complexion a perfect 
 little dark Frenchman. The contour of 
 her face, still more its rosy glow, were 
 more in accordance with her surname ^ 
 and so especially were the large deep 
 blue eyes with the long dark lashes and 
 pencilled brows. And there was a lively 
 restless air about her full of intelligence, 
 as she manoeuvred her brother towards 
 a stone seat, guarded by a couple of 
 cupids reining in sleepy -looking lions in 
 
8 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 stone, where, under the shade of a lime- 
 tree, her little petticoated brother of two 
 years old was asleep, cradled in the lap 
 of a large, portly, handsome woman, in 
 a dark dress, a white cap and apron, and 
 dark crimson cloak, loosely put back, as 
 it was an August day. Native costumes 
 were then, as now, always worn by French 
 nurses ; but this was not the garb of any 
 province of the kingdom, and was as 
 Irish as the brogue in which she was 
 conversing with the tall fine young man 
 who stood at ease beside her. He w^as 
 in a magnificent green and gold livery 
 suit, his hair powdered, and fastened in 
 a queue, the whiteness contrasting with 
 the dark brows, and the eyes and com- 
 plexion of that fine Irish type that it 
 
I COMPANIONS OF THE VOYAGE g 
 
 is the fashion to call Milesian. He 
 looked proud of his dress, which was 
 viewed in those days as eminently be- 
 coming, and did in fact display his 
 well-made figure and limbs to great 
 advantage ; but he looked anxiously about, 
 and his first inquiry on coming on the 
 scene in attendance upon the little boy 
 had been — 
 
 ' The top of the morning to ye, mother ! 
 And where is Victorine ? ' 
 
 'Arrah, and what would ye want with 
 Victorine 'i ' demanded the bonne. ' Is 
 not the old mother enough for one 
 while, to feast her eyes on her an' 
 Lanty Callaghan, now he has shed the 
 marmiton's slough, and come out in old 
 Ireland's colours, like a butterfly from a 
 
lo A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 palmer ? La Jeunesse, instead of Laurent 
 here, and Laurent there.' 
 
 La Pierre and La Jeunesse were the 
 stereotyped names of all pairs of lackeys 
 in French noble houses, and the title 
 was a mark of promotion ; but Lanty 
 winced and said, ' Have done mth that, 
 mother. You know that never the pot 
 nor the kettle has blacked mv fins^ers 
 since Master Phelim went to the crood 
 fathers' school with me to carry his books 
 and insinse him with the larninof. 'Tis 
 all one, as his own body-servant that I 
 have been, as was fitting for his own 
 foster-brother, till now, when not one 
 of the servants, barrino^ mvself and 
 Maitre Hebert, the steward, will follow 
 Madame la Comtesse bevond the four 
 
I COMPANIONS OF THE VOYAGE ii 
 
 walls of Paris. " Will you desert us 
 too, Laurent % " says the lady. "And is 
 it me you mane, Madame," says I, 
 " Sorrali a Callaghan ever deserted a 
 Burke ! " " Then," says she, " if you 
 will go with us to Sweden, you shall 
 have two lackey's suits, and a couple of 
 louis dJor to cross your pocket with by 
 the year, forbye the fee and bounty 
 of all the visitors to M. le Comte." " Is 
 it M. TAbbe goes with Madame ? " says 
 I. ''And why not," says she. "Then," 
 says I, " 'tis myself that is mightily 
 obliged to your ladyship, and am ready 
 to put on her colours and do all in 
 reason in her service, so as I am free 
 to attend to Master Phelim, that is M. 
 I'Abbe, whenever he needs me, that am 
 
12 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 in duty bound as his own foster-brother." 
 ^' Ah, Laurent," says she, " ^tis you that 
 are the faithful domestic. We shall all 
 stand in need of such good offices as 
 we can do to one another, for we shall 
 have a long and troublesome, if not 
 dangerous journey, both before and after 
 we have met M. le Comte." ' 
 
 Estelle here nodded her head with 
 a certain satisfaction, while the nurse 
 replied — 
 
 ' And what other answer could the 
 son of your father make — Heavens be 
 his bed — that was shot through the head 
 by the masther's side in the weary wars 
 in Spain ? and whom could ye be bound 
 to serve barring Master Phelim, that's 
 lain in the same cradle with yees ' 
 
I COMPANIONS OF THE VOYAGE 13 
 
 ' Is not Victorine here, mother ? ' still 
 restlessly demanded Lanty. 
 
 ' Never you heed Victorine,' replied 
 she. ' Sure she may have a little arrand 
 of her own, and ye might have a word 
 for the old mother that never parted 
 with you before.' 
 
 * You not going, mother ! ' he ex- 
 claimed. 
 
 ' 'Tis my heart that will go with you 
 and Masther Phelim, my jewel ; but 
 Madame la Comtesse will have it that 
 this weeny little clarlint '—caressing the 
 child in her lap — ^ could never bear the 
 cold of that bare and dissolute place in 
 the north you are bound for, and old 
 Madame la Marquise, her mother, would 
 be mad entirely if all the children left 
 
14 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 her ; but our own lady can't quit the 
 little one without leaving his own nurse 
 Honor with him ! ' 
 
 ' That's news to me intirely, mother,' 
 said Lanty ; ' bad luck to it ! ' 
 
 Honor laughed that half-proud, half- 
 sad lauo^h of mothers when their sons 
 outgrow them. ' Fine talking ! Much he 
 cares for the old mother if he can see 
 the young girl go with him.' 
 
 For Lanty's eyes had brightened at 
 sight of a slight little figure, trim to the 
 last degree, with a jaunty little cap on 
 her dark hair, gay trimmings to the 
 black apron, dainty shoes and stockings 
 that came tripping down the path. His 
 tongue instantly changed to French from 
 what he called English, as in pathetic 
 
I COMPANIONS OF THE VOYAGE 15 
 
 insinuating modulations lie demanded 
 how she could be making him weary 
 his very heart out. 
 
 ' Who bade you ? ' she retorted. ' I 
 never asked you to waste your time 
 here ! ' 
 
 ' And will ye not give me a glance of 
 the eyes that have made a cinder of my 
 ]30or heart, when I am going away into 
 the desolate north, among the bears and 
 the savages and the heretics ? ' 
 
 ' There will be plenty of eyes there 
 to look at your fine green and gold, for 
 the sake of the Paris cut; though a great 
 lumbering fellow like you does not know 
 how to show it off ! ' 
 
 ' And if I bring back a heretic hru 
 to break the heart of the mother, will 
 
i6 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 it not be all the fault of the cruelty 
 of Mademoiselle Victorine ? ' 
 
 Here Estelle, unable to withstand 
 Lanty's piteous intonations, broke in, 
 'Never mind, Laurent, Victorine goes 
 with us. She went to be measured for 
 a new pair of shoes on purpose ! ' 
 
 ' Ah ! I thought I should disembarrass 
 myself of a great troublesome Irishman !' 
 
 ' No ! ' retorted the boy, ' you knew^ 
 Laurent was going, for Maitre Hebert had 
 just come in to say he must have a lackey's 
 suit!' 
 
 * Yes,' said Estelle, ' that was when you 
 took me in your arms and kissed me, and 
 said you would follow Madame la Comtesse 
 to the end of the world/ 
 
 The old nurse laughed heartily, but 
 
I COMPANIONS OF THE VOYAGE 17 
 
 Victorine cried out, ^ Does Mademoiselle 
 think I am going to follow naiiglity little 
 girls who invent follies ? It is still free 
 to me to change my mind. Poor Simon 
 Claquette is gnawing his heart out, and he 
 is to be left concierge V 
 
 The clock at the palace chimed eleven,. 
 Estelle took her brother s hand. Honor rose 
 with little Jacques in her arms, Victorine 
 paced beside her, and Lanty as La Jeunesse 
 followed, puffing out his breast, and wield- 
 ing his cane, as they all went home to 
 dejeuner. 
 
 Twenty -nine years before the 023ening 
 
 of this narrative, just after the battle of 
 
 Boyne Water had ruined the hopes of the 
 
 Stewarts in Ireland, Sir Ulick Burke had 
 
 attended James 11. in his flight from 
 VOL. I. C 
 
1 8 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 Waterford ; and his wife had followed him, 
 attended by her two faithful servants, 
 Patrick Callaghan, and his wife Honor, 
 €arrying her mistress's child on her bosom, 
 and her own on her back. 
 
 Sir Ulick, or Le Chevalier Bourke, as 
 the French called him, had no scruple in 
 taking service in the armies of Louis XIV. 
 Callaghan followed him everywhere, while 
 Honor remained a devoted attendant on her 
 lady, doubly bound to her by exile and 
 sorrow. 
 
 Little Ulick Burke's foster-sister died, 
 perhaps because she had alw^ays been made 
 second to him through all the hardships 
 and exposure of the journey. Other babes 
 of both lady and nurse had succumbed to 
 the mortality which beset the children of 
 
COMPANIONS OF THE VOYAGE 19 
 
 tliat generation, and the only survivors 
 besides tlie eldest Burke and one daughter 
 were the two youngest of each mother, and 
 they had arrived so nearly at the same 
 time that Honor Callaghan could again be 
 foster-mother to Phelim Burke, a sickly 
 child, reared with great difficulty. 
 
 The family were becoming almost 
 French. Sir Ulick was an intimate friend 
 of one of the noblest men of the day, James 
 Fitz-James, Marshal Duke of Berwick, who 
 united military talent, almost equal to that 
 of his uncle of Marlborough, to an un- 
 swerving honour and integrity very rare in 
 those evil times. Under him. Sir Ulick 
 fought in the campaigns that finally estab- 
 lished the House of Bourbon upon the 
 throne of Spain, aud the younger Ulick or 
 
20 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 Ulysse, as liis name had been classicalised 
 and Frenchified, was making his first cam- 
 paign as a mere boy at the time of the 
 battle of Almanza, that solitary British 
 defeat, for which our national consolation 
 is that the French were commanded by an 
 Englishman, the Duke of Berwick, and the 
 English by a Frenchman, the Huguenot 
 Eubigne, Earl of Galway. The first 
 English charge was, however, fatal to 
 the Chevalier Bourke, who fell mortally 
 wounded, and in the endeavour to carry 
 him off the field, the faithful Callao-han 
 likewise fell. Sir Ulick lived lonej enouoh 
 to be visited by the Duke, and to commend 
 his children to his friend's protection. 
 
 Berwick was held to be dry and stiff, 
 but he was a faithful friend, and well re- 
 
I COMPANIONS OF THE VOYAGE 21 
 
 deemed his promise. The eldest son, young 
 as he was, obtained as wife the daughter of 
 the Marquis de Varennes, and soon distin- 
 guished himself both in war and policy, so 
 as to receive the title of Comte de Bourke. 
 
 The French Church was called on to 
 provide for the other two children. The 
 daughter, Alice, became a nun in one of 
 the Parisian convents, with promises of 
 promotion. The younger son, Phelim, was 
 weakly in health, and of intellect feeble, if 
 not deficient, and was almost dependent on 
 the devoted care and tenderness of his foster- 
 brother, Laurence Callaghan. Nobody was 
 startled when Berwick's interest procured 
 for the dull boy of ten years old the Abbey 
 of St. Eudoce in Champagne. To be sure 
 the responsibilities were not great, for the 
 
22 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 Abbey had been burnt down a century and 
 a half ago by the Huguenots, and there had 
 never been any monks in it since, so the 
 only effect was that little Phelim Burke 
 went by the imposing title of Monsieur 
 TAbbe de St. Eudoce, and his family en- 
 joyed as much of the revenues of the 
 estates of the Abbey as the Intendant 
 thought proper to transmit to them. He 
 was, to a certain degree, ecclesiasticallv 
 educated, having just memory enough to 
 retain for recitation the tasks that Lanty 
 helped him to learn, and he could copy the 
 themes or translations made for him by his 
 faithful companion. Neither boy had the 
 least notion of unfairness or deception in 
 this arrangement : it was only the natural 
 service of the one to the other, and if it 
 
I COMPANIONS OF THE VOYAGE 23, 
 
 were perceived in the Fathers of the Semi- 
 nary, whither Lanty daily conducted the 
 young Abbot, they winked at it. Nor, 
 though the quick-witted- Lanty thus ac- 
 quired a considerable amount of learning, 
 no idea occurred to him of availing himself 
 of it for his own advantage. It sat outside 
 him, as it were, for ' Masther Phelim's ' 
 use ; and he no more thought of applying 
 it to his own elevation than he did of 
 wearing the soutane he brushed for his 
 young master. 
 
 The Abbe was now five -and -twenty, 
 had received the tonsure, and had been 
 admitted to minor Orders, but there was no 
 necessity for him to proceed any farther 
 unless higher promotion should be accorded 
 to him in recompense of his brother's ser- 
 
24 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 vices. He was a gentle, amiable beicg, not 
 at all fit to take care of himself ; and since 
 tlie death of his mother, he had been the 
 charge of his brother and sister-in-law, or 
 perhaps more correctly speaking, of the 
 Dowager Marquise de Varennes, for all the 
 branches of the family lived together in the 
 Hotel de Yarennes at Paris, or its chateau 
 in the country, and the fine old lady ruled 
 over all, her son and son-in-law" being often 
 absent, as was the case at present. 
 
 A fresh European war had been pro- 
 voked by the ambition of the second wife of 
 Philip V. of Spain, the Prince for whose 
 cause Berwick had fought. This Queen, 
 Elizabeth Farnese, wanted rank and do- 
 minion for her own son ; moreover, Philip 
 looked with longing eyes at his native 
 
I COMPANIONS OF THE VOYAGE 25 
 
 kingdom of France, all claim to which he 
 had resigned when Spain was bequeathed 
 to him ; but now that only a sickly child, 
 Louis XV., stood between him and the 
 succession in right of blood, he felt his 
 rights superior to those of the Duke of 
 Orleans. Thus Spain was induced to be- 
 come hostile to France, and to commence 
 the war known as that of the Quadruple 
 Alliance. 
 
 While there was still hope of accommo- 
 dation, the Comte de Bourke had been sent 
 as a special envoy to Madrid, and there 
 continued even after the w^ar had broken 
 out, and the Duke of Berwick, resigning all 
 the estates he had received from the grati- 
 tude of Philip v., had led an army across 
 the frontier. 
 
26 A ^fODERN TELEMACHUS chap, i 
 
 The Count had, however, just been 
 appointed Ambassador to Sweden, and was 
 anxious to be joined by his family on the 
 way thither. 
 
 The tidings had created great commo- 
 tion. Madame de Varennes looked on 
 Sweden as an Ultima Thule of frost and 
 snoW; but knew that a lady's presence was 
 essential to the display required of an am- 
 bassador. She strove, however, to have 
 the children left with her ; but her daughter 
 declared that she could not part with 
 Estelle. who was already a companion and 
 friend, and that Ulysse must be with his 
 father, who lono-ed for his eldest son, so 
 that only little Jacques, a delicate child, 
 was to be left to console his orrandmother. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 A JACOBITE WAIF 
 
 * Sae now he's o'er the floods sae gray, 
 And Lord Maxwell has ta'en his good-night.' 
 
 Lord Maxwell's Goodriiight. 
 
 ]\L\DAME LA COMTESSE DE BOURKE WaS 
 
 by no means a helpless fine lady. She 
 had seyeral times accompanied her hus- 
 band on his expeditions, and had only 
 not o-oue with him to ^ladrid because 
 he did not expect to be long absent, 
 and she sorely rued the separation. 
 
 She was very busy in her own room, 
 superintending the packing, and assisting 
 in it, when her own clever finders were 
 
28 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 more effective than those of her maids. 
 She was in her robe de cliamhre^ a dark 
 blue wrapper, embroidered with white, 
 and put on more neatly than was always 
 the case with French ladies in deshabille. 
 The hoop, long stiff stays, rich brocade 
 robe, and fabric of powdered hair were 
 equally unsuitable to ease or exertion, 
 and consequently were seldom assumed 
 till late in the day, when the toilette 
 was often made in public. 
 
 So Madame de Bourke's hair was 
 simply rolled out of her way, and she 
 appeared in her true colours, as a little 
 brisk, bonny woman, with no actual 
 beauty, but very expressive light gray eyes, 
 furnished with intensely long black lashes, 
 and a sweet, mobile, lively countenance. 
 
II A JACOBITE WAIF 29 
 
 Estelle was trying to amuse little 
 Jacques, and prevent him from trotting 
 between the boxes, putting all sorts of 
 undesirable goods into them ; and Ulysse 
 had collected his toys, and was pleading 
 earnestly that a headless wooden horse 
 and a kite, twice as tall as himself, 
 of Lanty's manufacture, might go with 
 them. 
 
 He was told that another cerf-volant 
 should be made for him at the journey's 
 end; but was only partially consoled, 
 and his mother was fain to compound 
 for a box of woolly lambs. Estelle 
 winked away a tear when her doll was 
 rejected, a wooden, highly painted lady, 
 bedizened in brocade, and so dear to her 
 soul that it was hard to be told that 
 
30 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 she was too old for such toys, and that 
 the Swedes would be shocked to see the 
 Ambassador's dauohter embracinsf a doll. 
 She had, however, to preserve her char- 
 acter of a reasonable child, and tried to 
 derive consolation from the permission 
 to bestow ' Mademoiselle ^ upon the con- 
 cierges little sick daughter, who would 
 be sure to cherish her duly. 
 
 ' But, oh mamma, I pray you to let 
 me take my book ! ' 
 
 * Assuredly, my child. Let us see ! 
 What? Telemaque? Not '' Prince Per- 
 cinet and Princess Gracieuse ? " ' 
 ' I am tired of them, mamma.' 
 ' Nor Madame d'Aulnoy's Fairy Tales ? ' 
 ' Oh no, thank you, mamma ; I love 
 nothing so well as Telemaque.' 
 
II A JACOBITE WAIF 31 
 
 ' Thou art a droll child ! ' said her 
 mother. 
 
 *Ah, but we are going to be like 
 Telemaque/ 
 
 ' Heaven forfend ! ' said the poor lady. 
 
 'Yes, dear mamma, I am glad you 
 are going with us instead of staying at 
 home to weave and unweave webs. If 
 Penelope had been like you, she would 
 have gone ! ' 
 
 'Take care, is not Jaccjues acting 
 Penelope ? ' said Madame de Bourke, 
 unable to help smiling at her little 
 daughter's glib mythology, while going 
 to the rescue of the embroidery silks, 
 in which her youngest son was en- 
 tano:lino' himself. 
 
 At that moment there was a knock at 
 
32 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 the door, and a message was brought 
 that the Countess of Nithsdale begged 
 the favour of a few minutes' conversa- 
 tion in private with Madame. The 
 Scottish title fared better on the lips of 
 La Jeunesse than it would have done on 
 those of his predecessor. There was con- 
 siderable intimacy among all the Jacobite 
 exiles in and about Paris ; and Winifred, 
 Countess of Nithsdale, though living a 
 very quiet and secluded life, was held in 
 high estimation among all who recollected 
 the act of wifely heroism by which she 
 had rescued her husband from the block. 
 
 Madame de Bourke bade the maids 
 carry off the little Jacques, and Ulysse 
 followed; but Estelle, who had often 
 listened with rapt attention to tlie story 
 
II A JACOBITE WAIF :^^ 
 
 of the escape, and longed to f^ast her 
 eyes on the heroine, remained in her 
 corner, usefully employed in disentangling 
 the embroilment of silks, and with the 
 illustrations to her beloved Telemaque as 
 a resource in case the conversation should 
 be tedious. Children who have hundreds 
 of picture-books to rustle through can 
 little guess how their predecessors could 
 once dream over one. 
 
 Estelle made her low reverence un- 
 noticed, and watched with eager eyes as 
 the slight figure entered, clad in the 
 stately costume that was regarded as 
 proper respect to her hostess ; but the 
 long loose sacque of blue silk was faded, 
 the feuille-morte velvet petticoat frayed, 
 the lace on the neck and sleeves washed 
 
 VOL. I. D 
 
34 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 and mended ; tliere were no jewels on 
 the sleeves, though the long gloves fitted 
 exquisitely, no gems in the buckles of 
 the high-heeled shoes, and the only 
 ornament in the carefully rolled and 
 powdered hair, a white rose. Her face 
 was thin and worn, with pleasant brown 
 eyes. Estelle could not think her as 
 beautiful as Calypso inconsolable for 
 Ulysses, or Antiope receiving the boar's 
 head. ' I know she is better than either,' 
 thous^ht the little maid ; ' but I wish 
 she was more like Minerva.' 
 
 The Countesses met with the lowest 
 of curtseys, and apologies on the one 
 side for intrusion, on the other for deslia- 
 hille, so they concluded with an embrace 
 really affectionate, though consideration for 
 
II A JACOBITE WAIF 35 
 
 powder made it necessarily somewhat theat- 
 rical in appearance. 
 
 These were the stiff est of days, just 
 before formality had become unbearable, 
 and the reaction of simplicity had set 
 in ; and Estelle had undone two desperate 
 knots in the green and yellow silks before 
 the preliminary compliments were over, 
 and Lady Nithsdale arrived at the point. 
 
 'Madame is about to rejoin Monsieur 
 son MariJ 
 
 ' I am about to have that happi- 
 ness.' 
 
 'That is the reason I have been bold 
 enouo^h to derano^e her.' 
 
 ' Do not mention it. It is always a 
 delight to see Madame la Comtesse.' 
 
 ' Ah ! what will Madame say when 
 
36 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 she hears that it is to ask a great favour 
 of her.' 
 
 ' Madame may reckon on me for what- 
 ever she would command.' 
 
 ' If you can grant it — oh ! Madame,' 
 cried the Scottish Countess, beginning to 
 drop her formality in her eagerness, 'we 
 shall be for ever beholden to you, and 
 you will make a wounded heart to sing, 
 besides perhaps saving a noble young 
 spirit.' 
 
 ' Madame makes me impatient to hear 
 what she would have of me,' said the 
 French Countess, becoming a little on 
 her guard, as the wife of a diplomatist, 
 recollecting, too, that j)eiice with George 
 I. might mean war w^ith the Jacobites. 
 
 * I know not whether a young kins- 
 
II A JACOBITE WAIF zi 
 
 man of my Lord's has ever been pre- 
 sented to Madame. His name is Arthur 
 Maxwell Hope ; but we call him usually 
 by his Christian name.' 
 
 ' A tall, dark, handsome youth, almost 
 like a Spaniard, or a picture by Van- 
 dyke ? It seems to me that I have seen 
 him with M. le Comte.' (Madame de 
 Bourke could not venture on such a 
 word as Nithsdale.) 
 
 ' Madame is right. The mother of 
 the boy is a Maxwell, a cousin not far 
 removed from my Lord, but he could 
 not hinder her from being given in 
 marriage as second wife to Sir David 
 Hope, already an old man. He was 
 good to her, but when he died, the sons 
 by the first wife were harsh and unkind 
 
38 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 to her and to her son, of whom they 
 had always been jealous. The eldest 
 was a creature of my Lord Stair, and 
 altogether a Whig ; indeed, he now holds 
 an office at the Court of the Elector of 
 Hanover, and has been created one of 
 his peers.' (The scorn with which the 
 gentle Winifred uttered those words was 
 worth seeing, and the other noble lady 
 gave a little derisive laugh. ) ' These half- 
 brothers declared that Lady Hope was 
 nurturing the young Arthur in Toryism 
 and disaffection, and they made it a 
 plea for separating him from her, and 
 sending him to an old minister, who 
 kept a school, and who was very severe 
 and even cruel to the poor boy. But 
 I am wearying Madame.' 
 
11 A JACOBITE WAIF 39 
 
 * Oil no, I listen with the deepest 
 interest.' 
 
 'Finally, when the King was expected 
 in Scotland, and men's minds were full 
 of anger and bitterness, as well as hope 
 and spirit, the boy — he was then only 
 fourteen years of age — boasted of his 
 grandfather's having fought at Killie- 
 crankie, and used language which the 
 tutor pronounced treasonable. He was 
 punished and confined to his room ; 
 but in the night he made his escape 
 and joined the royal army. My husband 
 was grieved to see him, told him he 
 had no right to political opinions^ 
 and tried to send him home in time to 
 make his peace before all was lost. Alas ! 
 no. The little fellow did, indeed, pass 
 
40 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 out safely from Preston, but only to join 
 my Lord Mar. He was among the 
 ofentlemen who embarked at Banff; and 
 when my Lord, by Heaven's mercy, had 
 escaped from the Tower of London, and 
 we arrived at Paris, almost the first per- 
 son we saw was little Arthur, whom we 
 thouofht to have been safe at home. We 
 have kept him with us, and I contrived 
 to let his mother know that he is living, 
 for she had mourned him as among the 
 slain.' 
 
 ' Poor mother.' 
 
 'You may well pity her, Madame. 
 She writes to me that if Arthur had 
 returned at once from Preston, as my 
 Lord advised, all would have been passed 
 over as a schoolboy frolic ; and, indeed. 
 
II A JACOBITE WAIF 41 
 
 he lias never been attainted ; but there 
 is nothing that his eldest brother, Lord 
 Burnside as they call him, dreads so much 
 as that it should be known that one of 
 his family was engaged in the campaign, 
 or that he is keeping such ill company 
 as we are. Therefore, at her request, we 
 have never called him Hope, but let him 
 go by our name of Maxwell, which is 
 his by baptism ; and now she tells me 
 that if he could make his way to Scot- 
 land, not as if coming from Paris or 
 Bar-le-Duc, but merely as if travelling 
 on the Continent, his brother would 
 consent to his return.' 
 
 'Would she be willing that he should 
 live under the usurper ? ' 
 
 ' Madame, to tell you the truth,' said 
 
42 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 Lady Nithsdale, 'the Lady Hope is not 
 one to heed the question of usurpers, 
 so long as her son is safe and a good 
 lad. Nay, for my part, we all lived 
 peaceably and happily enough under 
 Queen Anne ; and by all I hear, so 
 they still do at home under the Elector 
 of Hanover.' 
 
 ' The Eegent has acknowledged him,' 
 put in the French lady. 
 
 ' Well,' said the poor exile, ' I know 
 my Lord felt that it was his duty to 
 obey the summons of his lawful sovereign, 
 and that, as he said when he took up 
 arms, one can only do one's duty and 
 take the consequences ; but oh ! when 
 I look at the misery and desolation that 
 has come of it, when I think of the 
 
II A JACOBITE WAIF 43 
 
 wives not so happy as I am, when I see 
 my dear Lord wearing out his life in 
 banishment, and think of our dear home 
 and our poor people, I am tempted to 
 wonder whether it were indeed a duty, 
 or whether there were any right to call 
 on brave men without a more stead- 
 fast purpose not to abandon them ! ' 
 
 ' It would have been very different if 
 the Duke of Berwick had led the way,' 
 observed Madame de Bourke. ' Then my 
 husband would have gone, but, being 
 French subjects, honour stayed both him 
 and the Duke as long as the Regent 
 made no move.' The good lady, of 
 course, thought that the Marshal Duke 
 and her own Count must secure victory ; 
 but Lady Nithsdale was intent on her 
 
44 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap 
 
 own branch of the subject, and did not 
 jDursue ^ what might have been/ 
 
 ' After all/ she said, ' poor Arthur, 
 at fourteen, could have no true political 
 convictions. He merely fled because he 
 was harshly treated, heard his grandfather 
 branded as a traitor, and had an enthu- 
 siasm for my husband, who had been 
 kind to him. It was a mere boy's 
 escapade, and if he had returned home 
 when my Lord bade him, it would only 
 have been remembered as such. He 
 knows it now, and I frankly tell you, 
 Madame, that what he has seen of our 
 exiled court has not increased his ardour 
 in the cause.' 
 
 ' Alas, no,' said Madame de Bourke. 
 ' If the Chevalier de St. Georo^e were 
 
II A JACOBITE WAIF 45 
 
 other than he is, it would be easier to 
 act in his behalf.' 
 
 * And you agree with me, Madame,' 
 continued the visitor, ' that nothing can 
 be worse or more hopeless for a youth 
 than the life to which we are constrained 
 here, with our whole shadow of hope in 
 intrigue ; and for our men, no occupa- 
 tion worthy of their sex. We women 
 are not so ill off, with our children and 
 domestic affairs ; but it breaks my heart 
 to see brave gentlemen's lives thus 
 wasted. We have done our best for 
 Arthur. He has studied with one of 
 our good clergy, and my Lord himself 
 has taught him to fence ; but we can- 
 not treat him any longer as a boy, 
 and I know not what is to be his future. 
 
46 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 unless we can return him to his own 
 country.' 
 
 ' Our army,' suggested Madame de 
 Bourke. 
 
 ' Ah ! but he is Protestant.' 
 
 ' A heretic ! ' exclaimed the lady, draw- 
 ing herself up. ' But ' 
 
 ' Oh, do not refuse me on that account. 
 He is a good lad, and has lived enough 
 among Catholics to keep his opinions in 
 the background. But you understand 
 that it is another reason for wishing to 
 convey him, if not to Scotland, to some 
 land like Sweden or Prussia, where his 
 faith would not be a bar to his promo- 
 tion.' 
 
 ' What is it you would have me do ? ' 
 said Madame de Bourke, more coldly. 
 
11 A JACOBITE WAIF 47 
 
 * If Madame would permit him to be 
 included in her passport, as about to 
 join the Ambassador's suite, and thus 
 conduct him to Sweden ; Lady Hope 
 would find means to communicate with 
 him from thence, the poor young man 
 would be saved from a ruined career, 
 and the heart of the widow and mother 
 would bless you for ever.' 
 
 Madame de Bourke was touched, but 
 she was a prudent woman, and paused 
 to ask whether the youth had shown any 
 tendency to run into temptation, from 
 which Lady Nithsdale wished to remove 
 him. 
 
 * Oh no,' she answered ; 'he was a 
 perfectly good docile lad, though high- 
 spirited, submissive to the Earl, and a 
 
48 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 kind playfellow to her little girls ; it 
 was his very excellence that made it so 
 unfortunate that he should thus be 
 stranded in early youth in consequence 
 of one boyish folly.' 
 
 The Countess began to yield. She 
 thought he might go as a secretary to 
 her Lord, and she owned that if he was 
 a brave young man, he would be an 
 addition to her little escort, which only 
 numbered two men besides her brother- 
 in-law, the Abbe, who was of almost as 
 little account as his young nephew. ' But 
 I should warn you, Madame,' added 
 Madame de Bourke, 'that it may be a 
 very dangerous journey. I own to you, 
 though I would not tell my poor mother, 
 that my heart fails me when I think of 
 
II A JACOBITE WAIF 49 
 
 it, and were it not for the express com- 
 mands of tlieir father, I would not risk 
 my poor children on it.' 
 
 ' I do not think you will find Sweden 
 otherwise than a cheerful and pleasant 
 abode,' said Lady Nithsdale. 
 
 ' Ah ! if we were only in Sweden, or 
 with my husband, all would be well ! ' 
 replied the other lady ; ' but we have to 
 pass through the mountains, and the 
 Catalans are always ill-affected to us 
 French.' 
 
 ' Nay ; but you are a party of women, 
 and belong to an ambassador ! ' was the 
 answer. 
 
 ^ What do those robbers care for 
 that ? AVe are all the better prey for 
 them ! I have heard histories of Spanish 
 
 VOL. I. E 
 
50 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 cruelty and lawlessness that would make 
 you shudder ! You cannot guess at the 
 dreadful presentiments that have haunted 
 me ever since I had my husband's letter.' 
 
 ' There is danger everywhere, dear 
 friend/ said Lady Nithsdale kindly ; ' but 
 God finds a way for us through all.' 
 
 ' Ah ! you have experienced it/ said 
 Madame de Bourke. ' Let us proceed 
 to the affairs. I only thought I should 
 tell you the truth.' 
 
 Lady Nithsdale answered for the 
 courage of her protege, and it was 
 further determined that he should be 
 presented to her that evening by the 
 Earl, at the farewell reception which 
 Madame de Yarennes was to hold on 
 her daughter's behalf, when it could be 
 
II A JACOBITE WAIF 51 
 
 determined in what capacity he should 
 be named in the passjDort. 
 
 Estelle, who had been listening with all 
 her ears, and trying to find a character 
 in Fenelon's romance to be represented 
 by Arthur Hope, now further heard it 
 explained that the party were to go 
 southward to meet her father at one of 
 the Mediterranean ports, as the English 
 Government were so suspicious of Jaco- 
 bites that he did not venture on taking 
 the direct route by sea, but meant to 
 travel through Germany. Madame de 
 Bourke expected to meet her brother at 
 Avignon, and to obtain his advice as to 
 her further route. 
 
 Estella heard this with great satisfaction. 
 ' We shall go to the Mediterranean Sea and 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 .^^o,-rV OC UMNOIS 
 
52 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 be in danger/ she said to herself, unfolding 
 the map at the beginning of her Telemaque ; 
 ' that is quite right ! Perhaps we shall see 
 Calypso's island.' 
 
 She begged hard to be allowed to sit up 
 that evening to see the hero of the escape 
 from the Tower of London, as well as the 
 travelling companion destined for her, and 
 she prevailed, for mamma pronounced that 
 she had been very sage and reasonable all 
 day, and the grandmamma, who was so soon 
 to part with her, could refuse her nothing. 
 So she was full dressed, with hair curled, 
 and permitted to stand by the tall high- 
 backed chair where the old lady sat to 
 receive her visitors. 
 
 The Marquise de Varennes was a small 
 withered woman, vvith keen eyes, and a sort 
 
II A JACOBITE WAIF 53 
 
 of sparkle of manner, and power of setting- 
 people at ease, that made lier the more 
 charming the older she grew. An experi- 
 enced eye could detect that she retained the 
 costume of the prime of Louis XIV., when 
 headdresses were less high than that which 
 her daughter was obliged to wear. For the 
 two last mortal hours of that busy day had 
 poor Madame de Bourke been compelled to 
 sit under the hands of the hairdresser, who 
 was building up, with paste and powder 
 and the like, an original conception of his, 
 namely, a northern landscape, with snow- 
 laden trees, drifts of snow, diamond icicles, 
 and even a cottage beside an ice-bound 
 stream. She could ill spare the time, and 
 longed to be excused ; but the artist had 
 be2:2:ed so hard to be allowed to carry out 
 
54 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 his brilliant and unique idea, this last time 
 of attending on Madame rAmbassadrice, 
 that there was no resisting him, and perhaps 
 her strange forebodings made her less willing 
 to inflict a disappointment on the poor man. 
 It would have been strange to contrast the 
 fabric of vanity building up outside her 
 head, with the melancholy bodings within 
 it, as she sat motionless under the hair- 
 dresser's fingers ; but at the end she roused 
 herself to smile gratefully, and give the 
 admiration that was felt to be due to the 
 monstrosity that crowned her. Forbearance 
 and Christian patience may be exercised 
 even on a toilette a la Louis XV. Long 
 practice enabled her to walk about, seat 
 herself, rise and curtsey without detriment 
 to the edifice, or bestowing the powder either 
 
II A JACOBITE WAIF 55 
 
 on her neighbours or on the richly-flowered 
 white brocade she wore ; while she received 
 the compliments, one after another, of ladies 
 in even more gorgeous array, and gentlemen 
 in velvet coats, adorned with gold lace, 
 cravats of exquisite fabric, and diamond 
 shoe buckles. 
 
 Phelim Burke, otherwise I'Abbe de St. 
 Eudoce, stood near her. He was a thin, 
 yellow, and freckled youth, with sandy hair 
 and typical Irish features, but without their 
 drollery, and his face was what might have 
 been expected in a half-starved, half-clad 
 gossoon in a cabin, rather than surmounting 
 a silken soutane in a Parisian salon ; but he 
 had a pleasant smile when kindly addressed 
 by his friends. 
 
 Presently Lady Nithsdale drew near. 
 
56 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 accompanied by a tall, grave gentleman, and 
 bringing with them a still taller youth, with 
 the stifFest of backs and the longest of legs, 
 who, when presented, made a bow apparently 
 from the end of his spine, like Estelle's 
 lamented Dutch-jointed doll when made to 
 sit down. Moreover, he was more shabbily 
 dressed than any other gentleman present, 
 with a general outgrown look about his coat, 
 and darns in his silk stockings ; and though 
 they were made by the hand of a Countess, 
 that did not add to their elegance. And as 
 he stood as stiff as a ramrod or as a sentinel, 
 Estelle's good breeding was all called into 
 play, and her mother s heart quailed as she 
 said to herself, * A great raw Scot ! What 
 can be done with him ? ' 
 
 Lord Nithsdale spoke for him, thinking 
 
II A JACOBITE WAIF 57 
 
 he had better go as secretary, and showing 
 some handwriting of good quality. ' Did 
 he know any languages V ' French, English, 
 Latin, and some Greek.' ' And, Madame,' 
 added Lord Nithsdale, 'not only is his 
 French much better than mine, as you would 
 hear if the boy durst open his mouth, but 
 our broad Scotch is so like Swedish that he 
 will almost be an interpreter there.' 
 
 However hopeless Madame de Bourke 
 felt, she smiled and professed herself 
 rejoiced to hear it, and it was further 
 decided that Arthur Maxwell Hope, aged 
 eighteen, Scot by birth, should be mentioned 
 among those of the Ambassador's household 
 for whom she demanded passports. Her 
 position rendered this no matter of difficulty, 
 and it was wiser to give the full truth to the 
 
58 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap, ir 
 
 home authorities ; but as it was desiraljle 
 that it should not be reported to the English 
 Government that Lord Burnside's brother 
 was in the suite of the Jacobite Comte de 
 Bourke, he was only to be known to the 
 public by his first name, which was not 
 much harder to French lips than Maxwell 
 or Hope. 
 
 ' Tall and black and awkward/ said 
 Estelle, describing him to her brother. ' I 
 shall not like him — I shall call him Phalante 
 instead of Arthur.' 
 
 ' Arthur/ said Ulysse ; ' King Arthur was 
 turned into a crow ! ' 
 
 ' AVell, this Arthur is like a crow — a 
 great black skinny crow with torn feathers.' 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 ON THE RHONE 
 
 ' Fairer scenes the opening eye 
 Of the day can scarce descry, 
 Fairer sight he looks not on 
 Than the pleasant banks of Rhone.' 
 
 Aechbishop Trench. 
 
 Long legs may be in the abstract an ad- 
 vantage, but scarcely so in what was called 
 in France une grande Berline, This was 
 the favourite travelling carriage of the 
 eighteenth century, and consisted of a 
 close carriage or coach proper, with 
 arrangements on the top for luggage, 
 and behind it another seat open, but 
 
6o A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 provided with a large leathern hood, 
 and in front another place for the coach- 
 man and his companions. Each seat was 
 wide enough to hold three persons, and 
 thus within sat Madame de Bourke, her 
 brother-in-law, the two children, Arthur 
 Hope, and Mademoiselle Julienne, an 
 elderly woman of the artisan class, 
 femme de chamhre to the Countess. 
 Victorine, who was attendant on the 
 children, would travel under the hood 
 with two more maids ; and the front 
 seat would be occupied by the coach- 
 man, Laurence Callaghan — otherwise La 
 Jeunesse, and Maitre Hebert, the maitre 
 dliotel. Fain would Arthur have shared 
 their elevation, so far as ease and com- 
 fort of mind and body went, and the 
 
Ill ON THE RHONE 6i 
 
 Countess's wishes may have gone the 
 same way ; but besides that it would 
 have been an insult to class him with 
 the servants, the horses of the home 
 establishment, driven by their own coach- 
 man, took the party the first stage out 
 of Paris ; and though afterwards the 
 post - horses or mules, six in number, 
 would be ridden by their own postilions, 
 there was such an amount of luggage as 
 to leave little or no space for a third 
 person outside. 
 
 It had been a perfect sight to see 
 the carriage packed ; when Arthur, con- 
 voyed by Lord Nithsdale, arrived in the 
 courtyard of the Hotel de Varennes. 
 Madame de Bourke was takino^ with 
 her all the paraphernalia of an ambas- 
 
62 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 sador — a service of plate, in a huge 
 chest stowed under the seat, a portrait 
 of Philip v., in a gold frame set with 
 diamonds, being included among her 
 jewellery — and Lord Nithsdale, standing 
 by, could not but drily remark, ' Yonder is 
 more than we brought with us, Arthur.' 
 
 The two walked up and dow^n the 
 court too^ether, unwillins^ to intrude on 
 the parting which, as they well knew, 
 would be made in floods of tears. Sad 
 enough indeed it was, for Madame de 
 Yarennes was advanced in years, and 
 her daughter had not only to part with 
 her, but with the baby Jacques, for an 
 unknown space of time ; but the self- 
 command and restraint of grief for the 
 sake of each other was absolutely un- 
 
Ill ON THE RHONE 63 
 
 known. It was a point of honour and 
 sentiment to Aveep as much as possible, 
 and it would have been regarded as frigid 
 and unnatural not to go on crying too 
 much to eat or speak for a whole day 
 beforehand, and at least two afterwards. 
 
 So when the travellers descended the 
 steps to take their seats, each face was 
 enveloped in a handkerchief, and there 
 were passionate embraces, literal pressings 
 to the breast, and violent sobs, as each 
 victim, one after the other, ascended the 
 carriage steps and fell back on the seat ; 
 while in the background, Honor Callaghan 
 was uttering Irish wails over the Abbe 
 and Laurence, and the lamentable sound 
 set the little lap-dog and the big watch- 
 dog howling in chorus. Arthur Hope, 
 
64 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 probably as miserable as any of tbem in 
 parting with his friend and hero, was 
 only standing like a stake, and an em- 
 barrassed stake (if that be possible), and 
 Lord Nithsdale, though anxious for him, 
 heartily pitying all, was nevertheless 
 haunted by a queer recollection of Lance 
 and his dog, and thinking that French 
 dogs were not devoid of sympathy, and 
 that the part of Crab was left for Arthur. 
 
 However, the last embrace was given, 
 and the ladies were all packed in, while 
 the Abbe, with his breast heaving wdth 
 sobs, his big hat in one hand, and a huge 
 silk pocket-handkerchief in the other, 
 did not forget his manners, but waved 
 to Arthur to ascend the steps first. 
 ' Secretary, not guest. You must re- 
 
Ill ON THE RHONE 65 
 
 member that another time,' said Lord 
 Nithsdale. ^ God bless you, my dear 
 lad, and bring you safe back to bonny 
 Scotland, a true and leal heart.' 
 
 Arthur wrung his friend's hand once 
 more, and disappeared into the vehicle ; 
 Nurse Honor made one more rush, and 
 uttered another ^ Ohone ' over Abbe 
 Phelim, who followed into the carriage ; 
 the door was shut ; there was a last wail 
 over ' Lanty, the sunbeam of me heart,' 
 as he climbed to the box seat ; the 
 harness jingled ; coachman and postilions 
 cracked their whips, the impatient horses 
 dashed out at the _29or^(? cochere ; and 
 Arthur, after endeavouring to dispose of 
 his legs, looked about him, and saw, 
 opposite to him, Madame de Bourke 
 
 VOL. I. F 
 
66 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 lying back in the corner in a transport of 
 grief, one arm round lier daughter, and 
 her little son lying across her lap, both 
 sobbing and crying ; and on one side of 
 him the Abbe, sunk in his corner, his 
 yellow silk handkerchief over his face ; 
 on the other. Mademoiselle Julienne, who 
 was crying too, but with more modera- 
 tion, perhaps more out of propriety or 
 from infection than from actual grief : 
 at any rate she had more of her senses 
 about her than any one else, and man- 
 aged to dispose of the various loose articles 
 that had been thrown after the travellers, 
 in pockets and under cushions. Arthur 
 would have assisted, but only succeeded 
 in treadinsf on various toes and elicitinor 
 
 o o 
 
 some small shrieks, which disconcerted 
 
Ill ON THE RHONE 67 
 
 him all the more, and made Mademoiselle 
 Julienne look daggers at him, as she 
 relieved her lady of little Ulysse, lifting 
 him to her own knee, where, as he was 
 absolutely exhausted with crying, he fell 
 asleep. 
 
 Arthur hoped the others would do 
 the same, and perhaps there was more 
 dozing than they would have confessed ; 
 but whenever there was a movement, 
 and some familiar object in the streets 
 of Paris struck the eye of Madame, the 
 Abbe, or Estelle, there was a little cry, 
 and they went off on a fresh score. 
 
 ' Poor wretched weak creatures ! ' hu 
 said to himself, as he thought over the 
 traditions of Scottish heroic women on 
 whose heroism he had gloated. And yet 
 
68 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 he was wrong; : Madame de Bourke was 
 capable of as much resolute self-devotion 
 as any of the ladies on the other side 
 of the Channel, but tears were a tribute 
 required by the times. So she gave way 
 to them — ^just as no doubt the women 
 of former days saw nothing absurd in 
 bottlino; them. 
 
 Arthur's position among all these 
 weeping figures was extremely awkward, 
 all the more so that he carried his 
 sword upright between his legs, not 
 daring to disturb the lachrymose com- 
 pany enough to dispose of it in the 
 sword case appropriated to weapons. He 
 longed to take out the little pocket 
 Yiroil, which Lord Nithsdale had oiven 
 him, so as to have some occupation for 
 
Ill ON THE RHONE 69 
 
 his eyes, but lie durst not, lest he should 
 be thought rude, till, at a halt at a 
 cabaret to water the horses, the striking 
 of a clock reminded the Abbe that it was 
 the time for reading the Hours, and 
 when the breviary was taken out, Arthur 
 thought his book might follow it. 
 
 By and by there was a halt at Cor- 
 beil, where was the nunnery of Alice 
 Bourke, of whom her brother and sister- 
 in-law were to take leave. They, with 
 the children, were set down there, while 
 Arthur went on with the carriage and 
 servants to the inn to dine. 
 
 It was the first visit of Ulysse to 
 the convent, and he was much amazed 
 at peeping at his aunt's hooded face 
 through a grating. However, the family 
 
-JO A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 were admitted to dine in the refector}' ; 
 but poor Madame de Bourke was fit for 
 nothing but to lie on a bed, attended 
 affectionately by her sister-in-law, Soeur 
 Ste. Madeleine. 
 
 * sister, sister,' was her cry, ' I must 
 say it to you — I would not to my poor 
 mother — that I have the most horrible 
 presentiments I shall never see her again, 
 nor my poor child. No, nor my hus- 
 band ; I knew it when he took leave 
 of me for that terrible Spain.' 
 
 ' Yet you see he is safe, and you will 
 be with him, sister,' returned the nun. 
 
 'Ah! that I knew I should! But 
 think of those fearful Pyrenees, and the 
 bandits that infest them — and all the 
 valuables we carry with us.' 
 
Ill ON THE RHONE 71 
 
 ' Surely I heard that Marshal Ber- 
 wick had offered you an escort. 
 
 ' That will only attract the attention 
 of the brigands and bring them in greater 
 force. sister, sister, my heart sinks at 
 the thought of my poor children m the 
 hands of those savages ! I dream of 
 them every night.' 
 
 ^ The suite of an ambassador is sacred.' 
 
 ' Ah ! but what do they care for that, 
 the robbers ? I know destruction lies that 
 way ! ' 
 
 ^ Nay, sister, this is not like you. 
 You always were brave, and trusted 
 Heaven, when you had to follow Ulick.' 
 
 ' Alas ! never had I this sinking of 
 heart, which tells me I shall be torn from 
 my poor children and never rejoin him.' 
 
72 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 Sister Ste. Madeleine caressed and 
 prayed witli the poor lady, and did lier 
 utmost to reassure and comfort her, pro- 
 mising a neuvaine for her safe journey 
 and meeting ^Yith her husband. 
 
 'For the children,' said the poor 
 Countess. ' I know I never shall see him 
 more.' 
 
 However, the cheerfulness of the bright 
 Irishw^oman had done her some good, and 
 she w\^s better by the time she rose to 
 pursue her journey. Estelle and Ulysse 
 had been much petted by the nuns, and 
 when all met again, to the great relief 
 of Arthur, he found continuous weeping 
 was not de rigiieur. When they got 
 in again, he was able to get rid of 
 his sword, and only trod on two jxair 
 
Ill ON THE RHONE 73 
 
 of toes, and got his legs twice tumbled 
 over. 
 
 Moreover, Madame de Bourke had re- 
 covered the faculty of making pretty 
 speeches, and when the weapon was put 
 into the sword case, she observed with 
 a sad little smile, 'Ah, Monsieur! we 
 look to you as our defender ! ' 
 
 ' And me too ! ' cried little Ulysse, 
 making a violent demonstration with his 
 tiny blade, and so nearly poking out his 
 uncle's eye that the article was relegated 
 to the same hiding -|)lace as ' Monsieur 
 Arture's,' and the boy was assured that 
 this was a proof of his manliness. 
 
 He had quite recovered his spirits, 
 and as his mother and sister w^ere still 
 exhausted with weeping, he was not easy 
 
74 A MODERN 7ELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 to manao;e, till Arthur took heart of 
 grace, and offering him a perch on his 
 knee, let him look out at the window, 
 explaining the objects on the way, which 
 were all quite new to the little Parisian 
 boy. Fortunately he spoke French well, 
 with scarcely any foreign accent, and 
 his answers to the little fellow's eao-er 
 questions interspersed w^ith observations 
 on ' What they do in my country,' not 
 only kept Ulysse occupied, but gained 
 Estelle's attention, though she was too 
 weary and languid, and perhaps, child as 
 she was, too much bound by the require- 
 ments of sympathy to manifest her in- 
 terest, otherwise than by moving near 
 enouo'h to listen. 
 
 That evening the party reached the 
 
Ill ON THE RHOAE 75 
 
 banks of one of the canals whicli connected 
 the rivers of France, and which was to con- 
 vey them to the Loire and thence to the 
 Ehone, in a huge flat-bottomed barge, called 
 a coche d/eait, a sort of ark, with cabins, 
 where travellers could be fairly comfortable, 
 space where the berlin could be stowed 
 away in the rear, and a deck with an awning 
 where the passengers could disport them- 
 selves. From the days of Sully to those of 
 the Revolution, this was by far the most 
 convenient and secure mode of transport, 
 esj)ecially in the south of France. It was 
 very convenient to the Bourke party, who 
 were soon established on the deck. The 
 lady's dress was better adapted to travelling 
 than the full costume of Paris. It was 
 what she called en Amazone — namely, a cloth 
 
76 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 riding-habit faced with blue, with a short 
 skirt, with open coat and waistcoat, like a 
 man's, hair unpowdered and tied behind, 
 and a large shady feathered hat. Estelle 
 wore a miniature of the same, and rejoiced 
 in her freedom from the whalebone stiffness 
 of her Paris life, skipping about the deck 
 with her brother, like fairies, Lanty said, or, 
 as she preferred to make it, ' like a nymph.' 
 
 The water coach moved only by day, 
 and was already arrived before the land one 
 brought the weary party to the meeting- 
 place — a picturesque water-side inn with a 
 high roof, and a trellised passage down to 
 the landing-place, covered by a vine, hung 
 with clusters of ripe grapes. 
 
 Here the travellers supped on omelettes 
 and vin ordinaire^ and went off to bed — 
 
Ill ON THE RHONE 77 
 
 Madame and Iter child in one bed, with the 
 maids on the floor, and in another room the 
 Abbe and secretary, each in a grahat, the two 
 men-servants in like manner, on the floor. 
 Such was the privacy of the eighteenth 
 century, and Arthur, used to waiting on 
 himself, looked on with wonder to see the 
 Abbe like a baby in the hands of his faith- 
 ful foster-brother, who talked away in a 
 queer mixture of Irish-English and French 
 all the time until they knelt down and said 
 their prayers together in Latin, to which 
 Arthur diligently closed his Protestant ears. 
 Early the next morning the family em- 
 barked, the carriage having been already 
 put on board ; and the journey became very 
 agreeable as they glided slowly, almost 
 dreamily along, borne chiefly by the cur- 
 
78 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 rent, although a couple of horses towed the 
 barge by a rope on the bank, in case of 
 need, in places where the water was more 
 sluggish, but nothing more was wanting in 
 the descent towards the Mediterranean. 
 
 The accommodation was not of a high 
 order, but whenever there was a halt near 
 a good inn, Madame de Bourke and the 
 children landed for the nio;ht. And in the 
 fine days of early autumn the deck was 
 delightful, and to dine there on the pro- 
 visions brought on board was a perpetual 
 feast to Estelle and Ulysse. 
 
 The weather was beautiful, and there 
 was a constant panorama of fair sights and 
 scenes. Harvest first, a perfectly new 
 spectacle to the children, and then, as they 
 went farther south, the vintage. The 
 
Ill ON THE RHONE 79 
 
 beauty was great as they glided along the 
 pleasant banks of Khone. 
 
 Tiers of vines on the hillsides were 
 mostly cut and trimmed like currant bushes, 
 and disappointed Arthur, who had expected 
 festoons on trellises. But this was the 
 special time for beauty. The whole popula- 
 tion, in picturesque costumes, were filling 
 huge baskets with the clusters, and snatches 
 of their merry songs came pealing down to 
 the coche cVeau, as it quietly crept along. 
 Towards evening groups were seen with 
 piled baskets on their heads, or borne 
 between them, youths and maidens crowned 
 with vines, half-naked children dancing like 
 little Bacchanalians, which awoke classical 
 recollections in Arthur, and delighted the 
 children 
 
8o A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 Poor Madame cle Bourke was still mucli 
 depressed, and would sit dreaming half the 
 day, except when roused by some need of 
 her children, some question, or some appeal 
 for her admiration. Otherwise, the lovely 
 heights, surmounted with tall towers, ex- 
 tinguisher-capped, of castle, convent, or 
 church, the clear reaches of river, the 
 beautiful turns, the little villages and towns 
 gleaming white among the trees, seemed to 
 pass unseen before her eyes, and she might 
 be seen to shudder w^hen the children 
 pressed her to say how many days it 
 would be before they saw their father. 
 
 An observer with a mind at ease miorht 
 have been much entertained with the airs 
 and graces that the two maids, Eosette and 
 Babette, lavished upon Laurence, their 
 
Ill ON THE RHONE 8i 
 
 only squire ; for Maitre Hebert was far too 
 distant and elderly a person for their little 
 coquetries. Kosette dealt in little terrors, 
 and, if he was at hand, durst not step 
 across a plank without his hand, was sure 
 she heard wolves howling in the woods, and 
 that every peasant was ^ce harhare;' while 
 Babette, who in conjunction with Maitre 
 Hebert acted cook in case of need, plied 
 him with dainty morsels, which he was only 
 too apt to bestow on the beggars, or the 
 lean and hungry lad who attended on the 
 horses. Victorine, on the other hand, bv 
 far the prettiest and most sprightly of 
 the three, afiected the most supreme in- 
 difference to him and his attentions, and 
 hardly deigned to give him a civil word, or 
 to accept the cornflowers and late roses he 
 
 VOL. I. G 
 
82 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 brought her from time to time. ' Mere 
 weeds/ she said. And the grapes and 
 Queen Claude plums he brought her were 
 always sour. Yet a something deej) blue 
 might often be seen peeping above her trim 
 little apron. 
 
 Not that Lanty had much time to disport 
 himself in this fashion, for the Abbe was 
 his care, and was perfectly hajopy with a 
 rod of his arrang-ino:, with which to fish 
 over the side. Little Ulysse was of course 
 fired with the same emulation, and dangled 
 his line for an hour too;ether. Estelle 
 would have liked to do the same, but her 
 mother and Mademoiselle Julienne con- 
 sidered the sport not convenaUe for a 
 demoiselle. Arthur was once or twice 
 induced to try the Abbe's rod, but he 
 
in ON THE RHONE S3 
 
 found it as mere a toy as that of the boy ; 
 and the mere action of throwing it made 
 his heart so sick with the contrast with the 
 'paidling in the burns' of his childhood, 
 that he had no inclination to continue the 
 attempt, either in the slow canal or the 
 broadening river. 
 
 He was still very shy with the Countess, 
 who was not in spirits to set him at ease ; 
 and the Abbe puzzled him, as is often 
 the case when inexperienced strangers en- 
 counter unacknowledged deficiency. The 
 perpetual coaxing chatter, and undis- 
 guised familiarity of La Jeunesse with 
 the young ecclesiastic did not seem to 
 the somewhat haughty cast of his young 
 Scotch mind quite becoming, and he held 
 aloof; but with the two children he was 
 
84 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 quite at ease, and was in truth their 
 great resource. 
 
 He made Ulysse's fishing-rod, baited it, 
 and held the boy when he used it — nay, he 
 once even captured a tiny fish with it, to the 
 ecstatic pity of both children. He played 
 quiet games with them, and told them stories 
 — conversed on Telemaque with Estelle, or 
 read to her from his one book, which was 
 Eobinson Crusoe — a little black copy in pale 
 print, with the margins almost thumbed 
 away, which he had carried in his pocket 
 when he ran away from school, and nearly 
 knew by heart. 
 
 Estelle was deeply interested in it, and 
 varied in opinion whether she should prefer 
 Calypso's island or Crusoe's, which she took 
 for as much matter of fact as did, a century 
 
Ill 
 
 ON THE RHONE 85 
 
 later, Madame Talleyrand, when, out of 
 civility to Mr. Eobinson, site inquired after 
 ' ce hon VendredV 
 
 She inclined to think she should prefer 
 Friday to the nymphs. 
 
 * A whole quantity of troublesome 
 womenfolk to fash one,' said Arthur, who 
 had not arrived at the age of gallantry. 
 
 *You would never stay there!' said 
 Estelle ; ' you would push us over the rock 
 like Mentor. I think you are our Mentor, 
 for I am sure you tell us a great deal, and 
 you don't scold.' 
 
 'Mentor was a cross old man,' said 
 Ulysse. 
 
 To which Estelle replied that he was a 
 goddess ; and Arthur very decidedly dis- 
 claimed either character, especially the 
 
86 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 pushing over rocks. knA thus they glided 
 on, spending a night in the great, busy, 
 bewildering city of Lyon, already the centre 
 of silk industry ; but more interesting to the 
 travellers as the shrine of the martyrdoms. 
 All went to pray at the Cathedral except 
 Arthur. The time was not come for heeding 
 church architecture or primitive history ; 
 and he only wandered about the narrow 
 crooked streets, gazing at the toy piles of 
 market produce, and looking at the stalls of 
 merchandise, but as one unable to purchase. 
 His mother had indeed contrived to send 
 him twenty guineas, but he knew that he 
 must husband them well in case of emer- 
 gencies, and Lady Nithsdale had sewn them 
 all up, except one, in a belt which he wore 
 under his clothes. 
 
in ON THE RHONE 87 
 
 He had arrived at the front of the 
 Cathedral when the party came out. 
 Madame de Bourke had been weeping, but 
 looked more peaceful than he had yet 
 seen her, and Estelle was much excited. 
 She had bought a little book, which 
 she insisted on her Mentor's reading 
 with her, though his Protestant feelings 
 recoiled. 
 
 'Ah!' said Estelle, 'but you are not 
 Christian.' 
 
 ' Yes, truly, Mademoiselle. 
 
 ' And these died for the Christian faith. 
 Do you know mamma said it comforted her 
 to pray there ; for she was sure that what- 
 ever happened, the good God can make us 
 strong, as He made the young girl who sat 
 in the red-hot chair. We saw her picture, 
 
88 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 and it was dreadful. Do read about her, 
 Monsieur Arture.' 
 
 They read, and Arthur had candour 
 enough to perceive that this was the simple 
 primitive narrative of the death of martyrs 
 struggling for Christian truth, long ere the 
 days of superstition and division. Estelle's 
 face lighted with enthusiasm. 
 
 ' Is it not noble to be a martyr?' she 
 asked. 
 
 ' Oh ! ' cried Ulysse ; ' to sit in a red-hot 
 chair ? It would be w^orse than to be 
 thrown off a rock I But there are no 
 martyrs in these days, sister V he added, 
 pressing up to Arthur as if for protection. 
 
 ' There are those who die for the right,' 
 said Arthur, thinking of Lord Derwentwater, 
 who in Jacobite eyes was a martyr. 
 
Ill ON THE RHONE 89 
 
 * And the good God makes them strong,' 
 said Estelle, in a low voice. ' Mamma told 
 me no one could tell how soon we might be 
 tried, and that I was to pray that He would 
 make us as brave as St. Blandina ! What 
 do you think could harm us, Monsieur, 
 when we are going to my dear papa V 
 
 It was Lanty who answered, from behind 
 the Abbe, on whose angling endeavours he 
 was attending. ' Arrah then, nothing at all, 
 Mademoiselle. Nothing in the four corners 
 of the world shall hurt one curl of your 
 blessed little head, while Lanty Callaghan 
 is to the fore.' 
 
 * Ah ! but you are not God, Lanty,' said 
 Estelle gravely ; ' you cannot keep things 
 from happening.' 
 
 ' The Powers forbid that I should spake 
 
90 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 such blasphemy !' said Lanty, taking off his 
 hat. ' 'Twas not that I meant, but only 
 that poor Lanty would die ten thousand 
 deaths — worse than them as was thrown to 
 the beasts — before one of them should harm 
 the tip of that little finger of yours !' 
 
 Perhaps the same vow was in Arthur's 
 heart, though not spoken in such strong 
 terms. 
 
 Thus they drifted on till the old city of 
 Avignon rose on the eyes of the travellers, a 
 dark pile of buildings where the massive 
 houses, built round courts, with few external 
 windows, recalled that these had once been 
 the palaces of cardinals, accustomed to the 
 Italian city feuds, which made every house 
 become a fortress. 
 
 On the wharf stood a gentleman in a 
 
Ill ON THE RHONE 91 
 
 resplendent uniform of blue and gold, whom 
 the children hailed with cries of joy and 
 outstretched arms, as their uncle. The 
 Marquis de Varennes was soon on board, 
 embracing his sister and her children, and 
 conducting them to one of the great palaces, 
 where he had rooms, being then in garrison. 
 Arthur followed, at a sign from the lady, 
 who presented him to her brother as 
 'Monsieur Arture ' — a young Scottish 
 gentleman who will do my husband the 
 favour of acting as his secretary. 
 
 She used the word gentilhomme, which 
 conveyed the sense of nobility of blood, 
 and the Marquis acknowledged the intro- 
 duction with one of those graceful bows 
 that Arthur hated, because they made 
 him doubly feel the stiffness of his own 
 
92 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 limitation. He was glad to linger with 
 Lanty, who was looking in wonder at the 
 grim buildings. 
 
 ' And did the Holy Father live here ? ' 
 said he. * Faith, and 'twas a quare taste he 
 must have had ; I wonder now if there 
 would be vartue in a bit of a stone from his 
 palace. It would mightily please my old 
 mother if there were.' 
 
 * I thought it was the wrong popes that 
 lived here/ suggested Arthur. 
 
 Lanty looked at him a moment as if in 
 doubt whether to accept a heretic sugges- 
 tion, but the education received through the 
 Abbe came to mind, and he exclaimed — 
 
 * May be you are in the right of it, sir ; 
 and I'd best let the stones alone till I can 
 tell which is the true and which is the false. 
 
Ill ON THE RHONE 93 
 
 By the same token, little is the difference it 
 would make to her, unless she knew it ; and 
 if she did, she'd as soon I brought her a 
 hair of the old dragon's bristles.' 
 
 Lanty found another day or two's jour- 
 ney bring him very nearly in contact with 
 the old dragon, for at Tarascon was the cave 
 in which St. Martha was said to have 
 demolished the great dragon of Provence, 
 with the sign of the cross. Madame de 
 Bourke and her children made a devout 
 pilgrimage thereto ; but when Arthur 
 found that it was the actual Martha of 
 Bethany to whom the legend was appended, 
 he grew indignant, and would not accompany 
 the party. ' It was a very different thing 
 from the martyrs of Lyon and Vienne ! 
 Their history was credible, but this ' 
 
92 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 limitation. He was e^lacl to lincj-er with 
 Lanty, who was looking in wonder at the 
 grim buildings. 
 
 ' And did the Holy Father live here ? ' 
 said he. 'Faith, and 'twas a quare taste he 
 must have had ; I wonder now if there 
 would be vartue in a bit of a stone from his 
 palace. It would mightily please my old 
 mother if there were.' 
 
 ' I thought it was the wrong popes that 
 lived here,' suggested Arthur. 
 
 Lanty looked at him a moment as if in 
 doubt whether to accept a heretic sugges- 
 tion, but the education received through the 
 Abbe came to mind, and he exclaimed — 
 
 ' May be you are in the right of it, sir ; 
 and I'd best let the stones alone till I can 
 tell which is the true and which is the false. 
 
Ill ON THE RHONE 93 
 
 By the same token, little is the difference it 
 would make to her, unless she knew it ; and 
 if she did, she'd as soon I brought her a 
 hair of the old dragon's bristles.' 
 
 Lanty found another day or two's jour- 
 ney bring him very nearly in contact with 
 the old dragon, for at Tarascon was the cave 
 in which St. Martha was said to have 
 demolished the great dragon of Provence, 
 with the sign of the cross. Madame de 
 Bourke and her children made a devout 
 pilgrimage thereto ; but when Arthur 
 found that it was the actual Martha of 
 Bethany to whom the legend was appended, 
 he grew indignant, and would not accompany 
 the party. ' It was a very different thing 
 from the martyrs of Lyon and Vienne ! 
 Their history was credible, but this ' 
 
96 A MODERN TELEMACHUS CHAr. 
 
 way to encounter Berwick. The expense 
 .and difficulty of the journey on the mount- 
 ain roads would likewise be great, and it 
 seemed advisable to avoid these dangers by 
 going by sea. Madame de Bourke eagerly 
 acceded to this plan, her terror of the wild 
 Pyrenean passes and wilder inhabitants had 
 always been such that she was glad to catch 
 at any means of avoiding them, and she had 
 made more than one voyage before. 
 
 Estelle was gratified to find they were 
 to go by sea, since Telemachus did so in a 
 Phoenician ship, and, in that odd dreamy 
 way in which children blend fiction and 
 reality, wondered if they should come on 
 Calypso's island ; and Arthur, who had read 
 the Odyssey, delighted her and terrified 
 Ulysse with the cave of Polyphemus. M. 
 
Ill ON THE RHONE 97 
 
 de Yarennes could only go with his sister 
 as far as Montpelier. Then he took leave 
 of her, and the party proceeded along the 
 shores of the lagoons, in the carriage to the 
 seaport of Cette, one of the old Greek towns 
 of the Gulf of Lyon, and with a fine harbour 
 full of ships. Maitre Hebert was sent to 
 take a passage on board of one, while his 
 lady and her party repaired to an inn, and 
 waited all the afternoon before he returned 
 with tidiness that he could find no French 
 vessel about to sail for Spain, but that there 
 was a Genoese tartane, bound for Barcelona, 
 on which Madame la Comtesse could secure 
 a passage for herself and her suite, and 
 which would take her thither in twenty- four 
 hours. 
 
 The town was full of troops, waiting a 
 
 VOL. I. H 
 
98 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 summons to join Marshal Berwick's army. 
 Several resplendent officers had already paid 
 their respects to Madame I'Ambassadrice, 
 and they concurred in the advice, unless she 
 would jDrefer waiting for the arrival of one 
 of the French transports which were to take 
 men and provisions to the army in Spain. 
 
 This, however, she declined, and only 
 accepted the services of the gentlemen so 
 far as to have her passports renewed, as was 
 needful, since they were to be conveyed by 
 the vessel of an independent power, though 
 always an ally of France. 
 
 The tartane was a beautiful object, a 
 one-decked, single-masted vessel, with a. 
 long bowsprit, and a huge lateen sail like a 
 wins;, and the children fell in love with her 
 at first sight. Estelle was quite sure that 
 
in ON THE RHONE 99 
 
 slie was just such a ship as Mentor borrowed 
 for Telemachus ; but the poor maids were 
 horribly frightened, and Babette might be 
 heard declarino; she had never engaged 
 herself to be at the mercy of the waves, 
 like a bit of lemon peel in a glass of eau 
 sucree. 
 
 ' You may return/ said Madame de 
 Bourke. ' I compel no one to share our 
 dangers and hardships.' 
 
 But Babette threw herself on her knees, 
 and declared that nothing should ever 
 separate her from Madame ! She was a 
 good creature, but she could not deny 
 herself the luxury of the sobs and tears 
 that showed to all beholders the extent 
 of her sacrifice. 
 
 Madame de Bourke knew that there 
 
loo A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 would be considerable discomfort in a 
 vessel so little adapted for passengers, 
 and with only one small cabin, wliicli the 
 captain, who spoke French, resigned to her 
 use. It would only, however, be for a 
 short time, and though it was near the 
 end of October, the blue expanse of sea 
 w^as calm as only the Mediterranean can 
 be, so that she trusted that no harm 
 would result to those who would have to 
 spend the night on deck. 
 
 It was a beautiful evening when the 
 little Genoese vessel left the harbour and 
 Cette receded in the distance, lookino- 
 fairer the farther it was left behind. 
 The children were put to bed as soon as 
 they could be persuaded to cease from 
 watching the lights in the harbour, and 
 
Ill ON THE RHONE loi 
 
 the phosphorescent wake of the vessel in 
 the water. 
 
 That night and the next day were 
 pleasant and peaceful ; there was no rough 
 weather, and little sickness among the 
 travellers. Madame de Bourke conOTatu- 
 lated herself on having escaped the 
 horrors of the Pyrenean journey, and the 
 Genoese captain assured her that unless 
 the weather should change rapidly, they 
 would wake in sight of the Spanish coast 
 the next mornino;. If the sea were not 
 almost too calm, they would be there 
 already. The evening was again so 
 delightful that the children were glad 
 to hear that they would have again to 
 return by sea, and Arthur, who some- 
 what shrank from his presentation to 
 
I02 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 the Count, regretted that the end of 
 the voyage was so near, though Ulysse 
 assured him that ' Mon papa would love 
 him, because he could tell such charm- 
 ing stories,' and Lanty testified that 
 'M. le Comte was a mighty friendly 
 gentleman.' 
 
 Arthur was lying asleep on deck, 
 wrapped in his cloak, when he was 
 awakened by a commotion among the 
 sailors. He started up and found that 
 it was early morning, the sun rising- 
 above the sea, and the sailors all gazing 
 eagerly in that direction. He eagerly 
 made his way to ask if they were in 
 sight of land, recollecting, however, as he 
 made the first step, that Spain lay to 
 the west of them — not to the east. 
 
Ill ON THE RHONE 103 
 
 He distinguished the cry from the 
 Genoese sailors, * II Moro — II Moro,' in 
 tones of horror and consternation, and 
 almost at the same moment received a 
 shock from Maitre Hebert, who came 
 stumbling against him. 
 
 * Pardon, pardon, Monsieur ; I go to 
 prepare Madame ! It's the accursed 
 Moors. Let me pass — misericorde, what 
 will become of us ? ' 
 
 Arthur struggled on in search of 
 such of the crew as could speak French, 
 but all were in too much consternation 
 to attend to him, and he could only watch 
 that to which their eyes were directed, 
 a white sail, bright in the morning light, 
 coming up with a rapidity strange and 
 fearful in its precision, like a hawk 
 
I04 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 pouncing on its prey, for it did not 
 depend on its sails alone, but was pro- 
 pelled by oars. 
 
 The next moment Madame de Bourke 
 was on deck, lioldins; bv tke Abbe's arm, 
 and Estelle, lier bair on her shoulders, 
 clinging to her. She looked very pale, 
 but her calmness was in contrast to the 
 Italian sailors, who were throwing them- 
 selves with gestures of despair, scream- 
 ing out vows to the Madonna and saints, 
 and shouting imprecations. The skipper 
 came to speak to her. ^ Madame,' he 
 said, ' I implore you to remain in your 
 cabin. After the first, you and all yours 
 will be safe. They cannot harm a 
 French subject ; alas ! alas ! would it 
 were so with us.' 
 
Ill ON THE RHONE 105 
 
 ' How tlien will it be witli you 1 ' she 
 asked. 
 
 He made a gesture of deprecation. 
 
 ' For me it will be ruin ; for my poor 
 fellows slavery ; that is, if we survive 
 the onset. Madame, I entreat of you, 
 take shelter in the cabin, yourself and 
 all yours. None can answer for what 
 the first rush of these fiends may be ! 
 Diavoli ! veri diavola ! Ah ! for which 
 of my sins is it that after fifty voyages 
 I should be condemned to lose my all ? ' 
 
 A fresh outburst of screams from the 
 crew summoned the captain, ' They are 
 putting out the long-boat,' was the 
 cry ; ' they will board us ! ' 
 
 ' Madame ! I entreat of you, shut 
 yourself into the cabin.' 
 
io6 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 And the four maids in various 
 stages of deshahille, adding their cries 
 to those of the sailors, tried to drao- 
 her in, but she looked about for 
 Arthur. ' Come with us, Monsieur/ she 
 said quietly, for after all her previous 
 depressions and alarms, her spirit rose 
 to endurance in the actual stress of 
 danger. ' Come with us, I entreat of 
 you,' she said. ^ You are named in 
 our passports, and the treaties are such 
 that neither French nor English subjects 
 can be maltreated nor enslaved by these 
 wretches. x\s the captain says, the 
 danger is only in the first attack.' 
 
 ' I will protect you, Madame, with 
 my life,' declared Arthur, drawing his 
 sword, as his cheeks and eyes lighted. 
 
Ill ON THE RHONE 107 
 
 ' Ah, put that away. What could 
 you do but lose your own ? ' cried the 
 lady. ' Eemember, you have a 
 mother ' 
 
 The Genoese captain here turned to 
 insist that Madame and all the women 
 should shut themselves instantly into 
 the cabin. Estelle dras^t^ed hard at 
 Arthur's hand, with entreaties that he 
 would come, but he lifted her down 
 the ladder, and then closed the door 
 on her, Lanty and he being both left 
 outside. 
 
 ' To be shut into a hole like a rat 
 in a trap when there's blows to the fore, 
 is more than flesh could stand,' said 
 Lanty, who had seized on a handspike 
 and was waving it about his head, true 
 
io8 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 shillelagh fashion, by hereditary instinct in 
 one who had never beheld a faction fight, in 
 what ouo:ht to have been his native land. 
 
 The Genoese captain looked at him as a 
 madman, and shouted in a confused mixture 
 of French and Italian to lay down his 
 weapon. 
 
 ' Quel cattivi — ces scelerats were armed 
 to the teeth — would fire. All lie flat on 
 the deck.' 
 
 The gesture spoke for itself. With a 
 fearful howl all the Italians dropped flat ; 
 but neither Scotch nor Irish blood brooked to 
 follow their example, or perhaps fully per- 
 ceived the urgency of the need, till a volley 
 of bullets were whistling about their ears, 
 though happily without injury, the mast 
 and the rigging having protected them, for 
 
Ill ON THE RHONE 109 
 
 the sail was riddled with holes, and the 
 smoke dimmed their vision as the report 
 sounded in their ears. In another second 
 the tnrbaned, scimitared figures were leaping 
 on board. The Genoese still lay flat offering 
 no resistance, but Lanty and Arthur stood 
 on either side of the ladder, and hurled 
 back the two who first approached ; but 
 four or five more rushed upon them, and 
 they would have been instantly cut down, 
 had it not been for a shout from the 
 Genoese, ' Franchi ! Franchi ! ' At that 
 magic word, which was evidently under- 
 stood, the pirates only held the two youths 
 tightly, vituperating them no doubt in bad 
 Arabic, — Lanty grinding his teeth with 
 rage, though scarcely feeling the pain of 
 the two sabre cuts he had received, and 
 
no A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 pouring forth a volley of exclamations, 
 chiefly, however, directed against the white- 
 livered spalpeens of sailors, who had not 
 lifted so much as a hand to help him. 
 Fortunately no one understood a word he 
 said but Arthur, who had military experi- 
 ence enouo:h to know there was nothinoj 
 for it but to stand still in the grasjD of his 
 captor, a wiry-looking Moor, with a fez and 
 a striped sash round his waist. 
 
 The leader, a sturdy Turk in a dirty 
 white turban, with a huge sabre in his 
 hand, was listening to the eager words, 
 poured out with many gesticulations by 
 the Genoese captain, in a language utterly 
 incomprehensible to the Scot, but which was 
 the lingua Franca of the Mediterranean 
 ports. 
 
Ill ON THE RHONE in 
 
 It resulted in four men being placed on 
 guard at the hatchway leading to the cabin, 
 while all the rest, including Arthur, Hebert, 
 Laurence, were driven toward the prow, 
 and made to understand by signs that they 
 must not move on peril of their lives. A 
 Turk was placed at the helm, and the 
 tartane's head turned towards the pirate 
 captor ; and all the others, who were not 
 employed otherwise, began to ransack the 
 vessel and feast on the provisions. Some 
 hams were thrown overboard, with shouts 
 of evident scorn as belono^insr to the unclean 
 beast, but the wine was eagerly drank, and 
 Maitre Hebert uttered a wail of dismay as 
 he saw ^y^ Moors gorging large pieces of 
 his finest 'pate. 
 
CHAPTEK IV 
 
 WRECKED 
 
 ' They had na sailed upon the sea 
 A day but barely three, 
 "When the lift grew dark and the wind blew cauld 
 And gurly grew the sea. 
 
 ' Oh where will I find a little wee boy 
 Will tak my helm in hand, 
 Till I gae up to my top mast 
 And see for some dry land.' 
 
 Sir Patrick Spexs. 
 
 It was bad enougli on the deck of the 
 unfortunate Genoese tartane, but far worse 
 below, where eight persons were shut into 
 the stifling atmosphere of the cabin, de- 
 prived of the knowledge of what was going 
 on above, except from the terrific souuds 
 
CHAP. IV WRECKED 113 
 
 they heard. Estelle, on being shut into 
 the cabin, announced that the Phoenician 
 ship was taken by the vessels of Sesostris, 
 but this did not afford any one else the 
 same satisfaction as she appeared to derive 
 from it. Babette and Rosette were echoing 
 every scream of the crew, and quite certain 
 that all would be massacred, and little 
 Ulysse, wakened by the hubbub, rolled 
 round in his berth and began to cry. 
 
 Madame de Bourke, very white, but 
 quite calm, insisted on silence and then 
 said, ' I do not think the danger is very 
 great to ourselves if you will keep silence 
 and not attract attention. But our hope 
 is in Heaven. My brother, will you lead 
 our prayers ? Recite our office.' Obedi- 
 ently the Abbe fell on his knees, and 
 
 VOL. I. I 
 
114 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 bis example was followed by the others. 
 His voice went mouotonously on through- 
 out with the Latin. The lady, no doubt, 
 followed in her heart, and she made the 
 responses as did the others, fitfully ; but 
 her hands and eyes were busy, looking to 
 the priming of two small pistols, which she 
 took out of her jewel case, and the sight of 
 which provoked fresh shrieks from the 
 maids. Mademoiselle Julienne meantime 
 was dressing Ulysse, and standing guard 
 over him, Estelle watchino^ all with eaoer 
 bright eyes, scarcely frightened, but burning 
 to ask questions, from which her uncle's 
 prayers debarred her. 
 
 At the volley of shot, Eosette was 
 reduced to quiet by a swoon ; but Victorine, 
 screaming that the wretches would have 
 
IV WRECKED 115 
 
 killed Laurent, would have rushed on deck, 
 had not her mistress forcibly withheld her. 
 There ensued a prodigious yelling and 
 howling, trampling and scuffling, then the 
 sounds of strange languages in vituperation 
 or command, steps coming down the ladder, 
 sounds of altercation, retreat, splashes in 
 the sea, the feeling that the ship was put 
 about — and ever the trampling, the wild 
 cries of exultation, which over and over 
 again made the prisoners feel choked with 
 the horror of some frightful crisis close at 
 hand. And all the time they were in 
 ignorance, their little window in the stern 
 showed them nothing but sea ; and even 
 if Madame de Bourke's determination had 
 not hindered Victorine from peeping out of 
 the cabin, whether prison or fortress, the 
 
ii6 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 Moorisli sentries outside kept the door 
 closed. 
 
 How long this continued was scarcely 
 to be guessed. It was hours by their own 
 feelings ; Ulysse began to cry from hunger, 
 and his mother gave him and Estelle some 
 cakes that were within reach. Made- 
 moiselle Julienne begged her lady to share 
 the repast, reminding her that she would 
 need all her strengtli. The Abbe, too, was 
 hungry enough, and some wine and pre- 
 served fruits coming to light, all the 
 prisoners made a meal which heartened 
 most of them considerably ; although the 
 heat was becoming terrible, as the sun rose 
 higher in the sky, and very little air could 
 be obtained through the window, so that 
 poor Julienne could not eat, and Eosette 
 
IV WRECKED 117 
 
 fell into a heavy sleep in the midst of her 
 sighs. Even Estelle, who had got out her 
 Telemaque, like a sort of oracle in the 
 course of being verified, was asleep over it, 
 when fresh noises and grating sounds were 
 heard, new steps on deck, and there were 
 steps and voices. The Genoese captain w^as 
 heard exclaiming, ' Open, Madame ! you 
 can do so safely. This is the Algerine 
 captain, who is bound to protect you.' 
 
 The maids huddled together behind 
 their lady, who stood forward as the door 
 opened to admit a stout, scpiarely-built man 
 in the typical dress of a Turk — white turban, 
 purple coat, broad sash crammed wdth 
 weapons, and ample trousers — a truculent- 
 looking figure which made the maids 
 shudder and embrace one another with 
 
ii8 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 suppressed shrieks, but which somehow, 
 even in the midst of his Eastern salaam, 
 gave the Countess a sense that he was 
 acting a comedy, and carried her involun- 
 tarily back to the Moors whom she had 
 seen in the Old on the stage. And looking 
 again, she perceived that though brown 
 and weather-beaten, there was a certain 
 Northern ruddiness inherent in his com- 
 plexion ; that his eyes were gray, so far as 
 they were visible between the surrounding 
 puckers ; and his eyebrows, moustache, and 
 beard not nearly so dark as the hair of the 
 Genoese who stood cringing beside him as 
 interpreter. She formed her own conclu- 
 sions and adhered to them, though he 
 spoke in l^ad Arabic to the skipper, who 
 proceeded to explain that El Eeis Hamed 
 
IV WRECKED 119 
 
 would offer no injury to Madame la Com- 
 tesse, her suite or property, being bound by 
 treaty between the Dey and the King of 
 France, but that he required to see her 
 passport. There was a little blundering in 
 the Italian's French rendering, and Madame 
 de Bourke was quick to detect the percep- 
 tion of it in the countenance of the Eeis, 
 stolid though it was. She felt no doubt that 
 he was a renegade of European birth, and 
 watched, with much anxiety as well as 
 curiosity, his manner of dealing with her 
 passports, which she would not let out of 
 her own hand. She saw in a moment that 
 though he let the Genoese begin to inter- 
 pret them, his eyes were following intel- 
 ligently ; and she hazarded the observation, 
 'You understand, sir. You are Frank.' 
 
120 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 He turned one startled glance towards 
 the door to see if there were any listeners, 
 and answered, ' Hollander, Madame.' 
 
 The Countess had travelled with diplo- 
 matists all her life, and knew a little of the 
 vernacular of most languages, and it was in 
 Dutch — broken indeed, but still Dutch — 
 that she declared that she was sure that she 
 might rely on his protection — a security 
 which in truth she was far from feeling ; for 
 while some of these unfortunate men, rene- 
 gades only from weakness, yearned after 
 their compatriots and their lost home and 
 faith, others out-heroded the Moors them- 
 selves in ferocity, especially towards the 
 Christian captives ; nor was a Dutchman 
 likely to have any special tenderness in his 
 composition, above all towards the French. 
 
IV WRECKED 121 
 
 However, there was a certain smile on the 
 lips of Reis Hamecl, and he answered with a 
 very hearty, ' Ja ! ja ! Madame. U23on my 
 soul I will let no harm come to you or the 
 pretty little ones, nor the young vrouwkins 
 either, if they will keep close. You are safe 
 by treaty. A Reis would have to pay a heavy 
 reckoning with Mehemed Dey if a French 
 ambassador had to complain of him, and you 
 will bear me witness, Madame, that I have 
 not touched a hair of any of your heads ! ' 
 
 *I am sure you wish me well, sir,' said 
 Madame de Bourke in a dignified way, ' but 
 I require to be certified of the safety of the 
 rest of my suite, my steward, my lackey, and 
 my husband's secretary, a young gentleman 
 of noble birth.' 
 
 ' They are safe, Madame. This Italian 
 
122 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 slave can bear me witness that no creature 
 has been harmed since my crew boarded 
 this vesseL' 
 
 ' I desire then that they may be released, 
 as being named in my passport/ 
 
 To this the Dutchman consented. 
 
 Whereupon the skipper began to wring 
 his hands, and piteously to beseech Madame 
 to intercede for him, but the Dutchman cut 
 him short before she could speak. * Dog of 
 an Italian, the lady knows better ! You 
 and your fellows are our prize — poor enough 
 after all the trouble you have given us in 
 chasing you.' 
 
 Madame de Bourke spoke kindly to the 
 poor man, telling him that though she could 
 do nothing for him now, it was possible that 
 she might when she should have rejoined 
 
IV WRECKED 123 
 
 her husband, and she then requested the 
 Keis to land her and her suite in his long 
 boat on the Spanish coast, which could be 
 seen in the distance, promising him ample 
 reward if he would do so. 
 
 To this he replied : ' Madame, you ask 
 what would be death to me.' 
 
 He went on to explain that if he landed 
 her on Christian ground, without first pre- 
 senting her and her passport to the Dey and 
 the French Consul, his men might represent 
 him as acting in the interests of the 
 Christians, and as a traitor to the Algerine 
 power, by taking a bribe from a person 
 belonging to a hostile state, in which case 
 the bowstring would be the utmost mercy 
 he could expect ; and the reigning Dey, 
 Mehemed, having been only recently chosen, 
 
124 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 it was impossible to guess how he might 
 deal with such cases. Once at Algiers, he 
 assured Madame de Bourke that she would 
 have nothing to fear, as she would be under 
 the protection of the French Consul ; and 
 she had no choice but to submit, though 
 much concerned for the continued anxiety 
 to her husband, as well as the long delay 
 and uncertainty of finding him. 
 
 Still, when she perceived that it w^as 
 inevitable, she complained no more, and the 
 Dutchman went on with a certain bluff 
 kindness — as one touched by her courtesy — 
 to offer her the choice of remainino; in the 
 tartane or comino; on board his laro-er vessel. 
 The latter he did not recommend, as he had 
 a crew of full two hundred Turks and 
 Moors, and it would be necessary to keep 
 
IV WRECKED 125 
 
 herself and all her women as closely as 
 possible secluded in the cabins ; and even 
 then, he added, that if once seen he could 
 hardly answer for some of these corsairs not 
 endeavouring to secure a fair young Frank 
 girl for his harem ; and as his eye fell on 
 Rosette, she bridled and hid herself behind 
 Mademoiselle Julienne. 
 
 He must, he said, remove all the 
 Genoese, but he would send on board the 
 tartane only seven men on whom he could 
 perfectly depend for respectful behaviour, so 
 that the captives would be able to take the 
 air on deck as freely as before. There was 
 no doubt that he was in earnest, and the 
 lady accepted his offer with thanks, all the 
 stronger since she and all around her were 
 panting and sick for want of fresh air. 
 
126 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 It was a oreat relief when he took her 
 on deck with him that she might identify 
 the three men whom she claimed as be- 
 longing to her suite. Arthur, Lanty, and 
 Hebert, who, in their vague knowledge of 
 the circumstances, had been dreading the 
 oar for the rest of their lives, could hardly 
 believe their good fortune when she called 
 them up to her, and the Abbe gripped 
 Lanty's arm as if he would never let him 
 go again. The poor Italians seemed to feel 
 their fate all the harder for the deliverance 
 of these three, and sobbed, howled, and 
 wept so piteously that Arthur wondered 
 how strong men could so give way, while 
 Lanty's tears sprang forth in sympathy, and 
 he uttered assurances and made signs that 
 he would never cease to pray for their rescue. 
 
IV WRECKED 127 
 
 ' Though,' as he observed, ' they were 
 poor creatures that hadn't the heart of 
 a midge, when there was such a chance 
 of a fight wliile the haythen spalpeens 
 were comino: on board.' 
 
 Here Lanty was called on to assist 
 Hebert in identifying his lady's bales of 
 goods, when all those of the unfortunate 
 Genoese were put on board the corsair's 
 vessel. A sail-cloth partition was ex- 
 tended across the deck by the care of 
 the Dutchman, ' who ' — as Lanty said — 
 ' for a haythen apostate was a very dacent 
 man.' He evidently had a strong com- 
 passion and fellow-feeling for the Christian 
 lady, and assured her that she might 
 safely take the air and sit on deck as 
 much as she pleased behind its shelter ; 
 
128 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 and he likewise carefully selected the 
 seven of his crew whom he sent on 
 board to work the ship, the chief being 
 a heavy-looking old Turk, wdth a choco- 
 late-coloured visag:e between a huo^e wdiite 
 beard and eyebrow^s, and the others mere 
 lads, except one, wdio, from an indefinable 
 European air about him, w^as evidently 
 a renegade, and could speak a sort of 
 French, so as to hold communication with 
 the captives, especially Lanty, wdio w^as 
 much quicker than any of the rest in 
 picking up languages, perhaps from having 
 from his infancy talked French and English 
 (or rather Irish), and likewise learnt 
 Latin with his foster-brother. This man 
 was the only one permitted to go astern 
 of the partition, in case of need, to 
 
IV WRECKED 129 
 
 attend to the helm ; but the vessel was 
 taken in tow by the corsair, and needed 
 little management. The old Turk seemed 
 to regard the Frankish women like so 
 many basilisks, and avoided turning a 
 glance in their direction, roaring at his 
 crew if he only saw them approaching 
 the sail-cloth, and keeping a close watch 
 upon the lithe black-eyed youths, whose 
 brown limbs carried them up the mast 
 with the agility of monkeys. There was 
 one in especial, — a slight, well-made fellow 
 about twenty, with a white turban cleaner 
 than the rest, — who contrived to cast 
 wonderful glances from the masthead 
 over the barrier at Eosette, who actually 
 smiled in return at ce jpauvre gargon, 
 and smiled the more for Mademoiselle 
 
 VOL. I. K 
 
I30 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 Julienne's indignation. Suddenly, how- 
 ever, a shrill shout made him descend 
 hastily, and the old Turk's voice might 
 be heard in its highest key, no doubt 
 shrieking out maledictions on all the 
 ancestry of the son of a dog who durst 
 defile his eyes with gazing at the shame- 
 less daughters of the Frank. Little 
 Ulysse was, however, allowed to disport 
 himself wherever he pleased ; and after 
 once, under Arthur's protection, going 
 forward, he found himself made very 
 welcome, and offered various curiosities, 
 such as shells, coral, and a curious dried 
 little hippocampus or seahorse. 
 
 This he brought back in triumph, to 
 the extreme deliQ:ht of his sister's classical 
 mind. * Oh ! mamma, mamma,' she cried, 
 
IV WRECKED 131 
 
 ' Ulysse really has got the skeleton of a 
 Triton. It is exactly like the stone 
 creatures in the Champs Ely sees.' 
 
 There was no denying the resemblance, 
 and it so increased the confusion in 
 Estelle's mind between the actual and 
 the mythological, that Arthur told her 
 that she was lookino- out for the car 
 of Amphitrite to arise from the waters. 
 Anxiety and trouble had made him much 
 better acquainted with Madame de Bourke, 
 who was grateful to him for his kindness 
 to her children, and not without concern 
 as to whether she should be able to pro- 
 cure his release as well as her own at 
 AMers. For Laurence Callaoiian she had 
 no fears, since he was born at Paris, 
 and a naturalised French subject like 
 
132 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 her husband and his brother ; but Arthur 
 was undoubtedly a Briton, and unless she 
 could pass him off as one of her suite, 
 it would depend on the temper of the 
 English Consul whether he should be 
 viewed as a subject or as a rebel, or 
 simply left to captivity until his Scottish 
 relations should have the choice of ran- 
 soming him. 
 
 She took a good deal of pains to 
 explain the circumstances to him as well 
 as to all who could understand them ; 
 for though she hoped to keep all 
 together, and to be able to act for them 
 herself, no one could guess how they 
 might be separated, and she could not 
 shake off that foreboding of misfortune 
 which had haunted her from the first. 
 
IV WRECKED 133 
 
 The kino^dom of AlQ:iers was, she told 
 them, tributary to the Turkish Sultan, 
 who kept a guard of Janissaries there, 
 from among whom they themselves elected 
 the Dey. He was supjDosed to govern 
 by the consent of a divan, but was 
 practically as despotic as any Eastern 
 sovereign ; and the Aga of the Janissaries 
 was next in authority to him. Piracy 
 on the Mediterranean was, as all knew, 
 the chief occupation of the Turks and 
 Moors of any spirit or enterprise, a 
 Turk being in authority in each vessel 
 to secure that the Sultan had his share, 
 and that the capture was so conducted as 
 not to involve Turkey in dangerous wars 
 with European powers. Capture by the 
 Moors had for several centuries been 
 
134 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 one of the ordinaiy contingencies of a 
 voyage, and the misfortune that had 
 happened to the j)arty was not at all 
 an unusual one. 
 
 In 1687, however, the nuisance had 
 grown to such a height that Admiral 
 Du Quesne bombarded the town of 
 Algiers, and destroyed all the fortifica- 
 tions, peace being only granted on con- 
 dition that a French Consul should reside 
 at Algiers, and that French ships and 
 subjects should be exempt from this 
 violence of the corsairs. 
 
 The like treaties existed with the 
 English, but had been very little heeded 
 by the Algerines till recently, when the 
 possession of Gibraltar and Minorca had 
 provided harbours for British ships, which 
 
IV WRECKED 135 
 
 exercised a salutary supervision over these 
 Southern sea-kings. The last Dey, Baba 
 Hali, had been a wise and prudent man, 
 anxious to repress outrage, and to be on 
 good terms with the two great European 
 powers ; but he had died in the spring 
 of the current year, 1718, and the 
 temper of his successor, Mehemed, had 
 not yet been proved. 
 
 Madame cle Bourke had some trust in 
 the Dutch Eeis, renegade though he was. 
 She had given him her beautiful watch, set 
 with brilliants, and he had taken it with a 
 certain gruff reluctance, declaring that he 
 did not want it, — he was ready enough to 
 serve her without such a toy. 
 
 Nevertheless the lady thought it well to 
 impress on each and all, in case of any 
 
136 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 separation or further disaster, that their 
 appeal must be to the French Consul, 
 explaining minutely the forms in which it 
 should be made. 
 
 ' I cannot tell you/ she said to Arthur, 
 ' how great a comfort it is to me to have 
 with me a gentleman, one of intelligence and 
 education to whom I can confide my poor 
 children. I know you will do your utmost 
 to protect them and restore them to their 
 father.' 
 
 ' With my very heart's blood, Madame.' 
 ' I hope that may not be asked of you. 
 Monsieur/ she returned with a faint smile, — 
 ' though I fear there may be much of 
 per23lexity and difficulty in the way before 
 again rejoining him. You see where I have 
 placed our passports ? My daughter knows 
 
IV WRECKED 137 
 
 it likewise ; but in case of their being taken 
 from you, or any other accident happening 
 to you, I have written these two letters, 
 which ycfii had better bear about your per- 
 son. One is, as you see, to our Consul at 
 Algiers, and may serve as credentials ; the 
 other is to my husband, to whom I have 
 already written respecting you.' 
 
 ' A thousand thanks, Madame,' returned 
 Arthur. ' But I hope and trust we may all 
 reach M. le Comte in safety together. You 
 yourself said that you expected only a brief 
 detention before he could be communicated 
 with, and this captain, renegade though he 
 be, evidently has a respect for you.' 
 
 ' That is quite true,' she returned, 
 ' and it may only be my foolish heart 
 that forebodes evil ; nevertheless, I cannot 
 
138 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 but recollect that cent Vimprevu qui 
 arrive J 
 
 ' Then, Madame, that is the very reason 
 there should be no misfortune,' returned 
 Arthur. 
 
 It was on the second day after the cap- 
 ture of the tartane that the sun set in a 
 purple angry-looking bank of cloud, and the 
 sea began to heave in a manner which 
 renewed the earlier distresses of the voyage 
 to such as were bad sailors. The sails both 
 of the corsair and of the tartane were taken 
 in, and it was plain that a rough night was 
 to be expected. The children w^ere lashed 
 into their berths, and all prepared them- 
 selves to endure. The last time Arthur saw 
 Madame de Bourke's face, by the light of 
 the lamp swinging furiously from the cabin 
 
IV WRECKED 139 
 
 roof, as lie assisted in putting in the dead 
 lights, it bore the same fixed expression of 
 fortitude and resignation as when she was 
 preparing to be boarded by the pirates. 
 
 He remained on deck, but it was very 
 perilous, for the vessel was so low in the 
 water that the waves dashed over it so 
 wildly that he could hardly help being 
 swept away. It was pitch dark, too, and 
 the lantern of the other vessel could only 
 just be seen, now high above their heads, 
 now sinking in the trough of the sea, while 
 the little tartane was lifted up as though on 
 a mountain ; and in a kind of giddy dream, 
 he thought of falling headlong upon her 
 deck. Finally he found himself falling. 
 AVas he washed overboard ? No ; a sharp 
 blow showed him that he had only fallen 
 
I40 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 down the hatchway, and after lying still a 
 moment, he heard the voices of Lanty and 
 Hebert, and presently they were all tossed 
 together by another lurch of the ship. 
 
 It was a nio;ht of miseries that seemed 
 endless, and when a certain amount of lio-ht 
 appeared, and Arthur and Lanty crawled 
 upon deck, the tempest was unabated. 
 They found themselves still dashed, as if 
 their vessel were a mere cork, on the huge 
 waves ; rushes of water coming over them, 
 whether from sea or skv there was no know- 
 ino\ for all seemed blended tosrether in one 
 mass of dark lurid gray ; and where was the 
 Algerine ship — so lately their great enemy, 
 now watched for as theii' o-uide and 
 o^uardian ? 
 
 It was no place nor time for questions, 
 
IV WRECKED 141 
 
 even could tliey liave been heard or under- 
 stood. It was scarcely possible even to be 
 beard by one another, and it was some time 
 before they convinced themselves that the 
 large vessel had disappeared. The cable 
 must have parted in the night, and they 
 were running with bare poles before the 
 gale ; the seamanship of the man at the 
 helm beino; confined to avoidiuo; the more 
 direct blows of the waves, on the huge 
 crests of which the little tartane rode — 
 gallantly perhaps in mariners' eyes, but very 
 wretchedly to the feelings of the unhappy 
 landsmen within her. 
 
 Arthur thought of St. Paul, and remem- 
 bered with dismay that it v\'as many days 
 before sun or moon appeared. He managed 
 to communicate his recollection to Lanty, 
 
142 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 who exclaimed, ' And he was a holy man, 
 and he was a prisoner too. He will feel 
 for us if any man can in this sore strait ! 
 Sancte Paule, ova pro nobis. An' haven't 
 I got the blessed scapulary about me neck 
 that will bring me through worse than 
 this ? ' 
 
 The three managed to get down to tell 
 the unfortunate inmates of the cabin what 
 was the state of things, and to carry them 
 some food, though at the expense of many 
 falls and severe blows ; and almost all of them 
 were too faint or nauseated to be able to 
 swallow such food as could survive the 
 transport under such circumstances. Yet 
 high-spirited little Estelle entreated to be 
 carried on deck, to see what a storm was 
 like. She had read of them so often, and 
 
IV WRECKED 143 
 
 wanted to see as well as to feel. She was 
 almost ready to cry when Arthur assured 
 her it was quite impossible, and her mother 
 added a grave order not to trouble him. 
 
 Madame de Bourke looked so exhausted 
 by the continual buffeting and the close- 
 ness of the cabin, and her voice was so 
 weak, that Arthur grieved over the impos- 
 sibility of giving her any air. Julienne 
 tried to make her swallow some eau de vie ; 
 but the effort of steadying her hand seemed 
 too much for her, and after a terrible lurch 
 of the ship, which lodged the poor bonne in 
 the opposite corner of the cabin, the lady 
 shook her head and gave up the attempt. 
 Indeed, she seemed so worn out that 
 Arthur — little used to the sight of fainting — 
 began to fear that her forebodings of dying 
 
144 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 before she could rejoin her husband were on 
 the point of being realised. 
 
 However, the gale abated towards 
 evening, and the youth himself was so 
 much worn out that the first respite 
 was spent in sleep. When he awoke, 
 the sea was much calmer, and the 
 eastern sun was rising in glory over 
 it ; the Turks, with their prayer carpets 
 in a line, were simultaneously kneeling 
 and bowing in prayer, with their 
 faces turned towards it. Lanty uttered 
 an only too emphatic curse upon 
 the misbelievers, and Arthur vainly 
 tried to make him believe that their 
 * Allah il Allah ' was neither addressed 
 to Mohammed nor the sun. 
 
 ' Sure and if not, why did they make 
 
IV WRECKED 145 
 
 their obeisance to it all one as the 
 Persians in the big histhory-book Master 
 Phelim had at school?^ 
 
 ' It's to the east they turn, Lanty, 
 not to the sun.' 
 
 ^ And what right have the haythen 
 spalpeens to turn to the east like good 
 Christians ? ' 
 
 * 'Tis to their Prophet's tomb they 
 look, at Mecca.' 
 
 * There, an' I tould you they were 
 no better than haythens,' returned 
 Lanty, ' to be praying and knocking 
 their heads on the bare boards — that 
 have as much sense as they have — to 
 a dead man's tomb.' 
 
 Arthur's Scotch mind thoug:ht the 
 Moors might have had the best of it 
 
 VOL. I. L 
 
146 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 in argument when lie recollected Lanty's 
 trust in his scapulary. 
 
 They tried to hold a conversation 
 with the Keis, between lingua Franca 
 and the Provencal of the renegade ; 
 and they came to the conclusion that 
 no one had the least idea where they 
 were, or where they were going ; the 
 ship's compass had been broken in the 
 boarding, and there was no chart more 
 available than the little map in the 
 beginning of Estelle's precious co23y of 
 Telemaque. The Turkish Reis did not 
 trouble himself about it, but squatted 
 himself down with his chibouque, aban- 
 doning all guidance of the ship, and 
 letting; her drift at the will of wind 
 and wave, or, as he said, the will of 
 
IV WRECKED 147 
 
 Allah. When asked where he thought 
 she was going, he replied with solemn 
 indifference, ' Kismet ; ' and all the sur- 
 vivors of the crew — for one had been 
 washed overboard — seemed to share his 
 resignation. 
 
 The only thing he did seem to care 
 for was that if the infidel woman chose 
 to persist in coming on deck, the 
 canvas screen — which had been washed 
 overboard — should be restored. This 
 was done, and Madame de Bourke was 
 assisted to a couch that had been pre- 
 pared for her with cloaks, where the 
 air revived her a little ; but she listened 
 with a faint smile to the assurances of 
 Arthur, backed by Hebert, that this 
 abandonment to fate gave the best 
 
148 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 cliance. They might either be picked 
 up by a Christian vessel or go ashore 
 on a Christian coast ; but Madame de 
 Bourke did not build much on these hopes. 
 She knew too well what were the 
 habits of wreckers of all nations, to 
 think .that it would make much differ- 
 ence whether they were driven on the 
 coast of Sicily or of Africa — ' barring,' 
 as Lanty said, ' that they should get 
 Christian burial in the former case.' 
 
 'We are in the hands of a good 
 God. That at least we know,' said the 
 Countess. ' And He can bear us 
 throuoii, whether for life in Paradise, or 
 trial a little longer here below.' 
 
 ' Like Blandina,' observed Estelle. 
 
 *Ah! my child, who knows whether 
 
IV WRECKED 149 
 
 trials like even that blessed saint's may 
 not be in reserve even for your tender age. 
 When I think of these miserable men, 
 who have renounced their faith, I see 
 what fearful ordeals there may be for 
 those who fall into the hands of these 
 unbelievers. Strong men have yielded. 
 How may it not be with my poor 
 children ? ' 
 
 ' God made Blandina brave, mamma. 
 I will pray that He may make me so.' 
 
 Land was in sight at last. Purple 
 mountains rose to the south in wild 
 forms, looking strangely thunderous and 
 red in the light of the sinking sun. A 
 bay, with rocks jutting out far into the 
 sea, seemed to embrace them with its 
 arms. Soundings were made, and pre- 
 
ISO A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 sently the Eeis decided on anclioring. 
 It was a rocky coast, with cliffs descend- 
 ing into the sea, covered with verdure, 
 and the water beneath was clear as glass. 
 
 ' Have we escaped the Syrtes to fall 
 upon Eneas' cave ? ' murmured Arthur 
 to himself. 
 
 ^ And if we could meet Queen Dido, 
 or maybe Venus herself, 'twould be no 
 bad thing ! ' observed Lanty, who re- 
 membered his Virgil on occasion. ' For 
 there's not a drop of wather left barring 
 eau de vie, and if these Moors get at 
 that, 'tis raving madmen they would be.' 
 
 ' Do they know where we are ? ' asked 
 Arthur. 
 
 ' Sorrah a bit ! ' returned Lanty, ' tlio' 
 'tis a pretty place enough. If my old 
 
IV WRECKED 151 
 
 mother was here, 'tis her heart would 
 warm to the mountains.' 
 
 ' Is it Calypso's Island ? ' whispered 
 Ulysse to his sister. 
 
 ' See, w^hat are they doing ? ' cried 
 Esteile. ' There are people — don't you 
 see, white specks crowding down to the 
 water.' 
 
 There was just then a splash, and 
 two bronzed figures were seen setting 
 forth from the tartane to swim to shore. 
 The Turkish Keis had despatched them 
 to ascertain whether the vessel had 
 drifted, and who the inhabitants might 
 be. 
 
 A good while elapsed before one of 
 these scouts returned. There was a great 
 deal of talk and gesticulating round him, 
 
152 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 and Lanty, mingling with it, brought 
 
 back word that the j^l^ce was the Bay 
 
 of Golo, not far from Djigheli, and just 
 
 beyond the Algerine frontier. The 
 
 people were Cabeleyzes, a wild race of 
 
 savao'e doo^s, which means doo-s accord- 
 ed o ' o 
 
 inof to the Moors, livino; in the moun- 
 tains, and independent of the Dey. 
 A considerable number rushed to the 
 coast, armed, and in great numbers, 
 perceiving the tartane to be an Italian 
 vessel, and expecting a raid by Sicilian 
 robbers on their cattle ; but the Moors 
 had informed them that it was no such 
 thing, but a prize taken in the name of 
 the Dey of xllgiers, in which an illus- 
 trious French Bey's harem was being- 
 conveyed to Algiers. From that city 
 
IV WRECKED 153 
 
 the tartane was now about a day's sail, 
 having been driven to the eastward of it 
 during the storm. ' The Turkish com- 
 mander evidently does not like the 
 neighbourhood/ said Arthur, 'judging by 
 his gestures/ 
 
 'Dogs and sons of doffs are the best 
 names he has for them,' rejoined Lanty. 
 
 ' See ! They have cut the cable ! Are 
 we not to wait for the other man who swam 
 ashore ? ' 
 
 So it was. A favourable wind was 
 blowing, and the Reis, being by no means 
 certain of the disposition of the Cabeleyzes, 
 chose to leave them behind him as soon as 
 possible, and make his way to Algiers, 
 which began to appear to his unfortunate 
 passengers like a haven of safety. 
 
154 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 They were not, however, out of the bay 
 when the wind suddenly veered, and before 
 the great lateen sail could be reefed, it had 
 almost caused the vessel to be blown over. 
 There was a pitching and tossing almost as 
 violent as in the storm, and then wind and 
 current began carrying the tartane towards 
 the rocky shore. The Reis called the men 
 to the oars, but their numbers were too few 
 to be availing, and in a very few minutes 
 more the vessel was driven hopelessly to- 
 wards a mass of rocks. 
 
 Arthur, the Abbe, Hebert, and Lanty 
 were all standing together at the head of 
 the vessel. The poor Abbe seemed dazed, 
 and kept dreamily fingering his rosary, and 
 murmurins: to himself. The other three 
 consulted in a low voice. 
 
IV WRECKED 155 
 
 ' Were it not better to liave the women 
 here on deck ? ' asked Arthur. 
 
 * Ell, non ! ' sobbed Master Hebert. 
 * Let not my poor mistress see what is 
 coming on her and her little ones ! ' 
 
 ' Ah ! and 'tis better if the innocent 
 creatures must be drowned, that it should 
 be without being insensed of it till they 
 wake in our Lady's blessed arms/ added 
 Lanty. ' Hark ! and they are at their 
 prayers.' 
 
 But just then Yictorine rushed up from 
 below, and throwing her arms round Lanty, 
 cried, * Oh ! Laurent, Laurent. It is not 
 true that it is all over with us, is it ? Oh ! 
 save me ! save me ! ' 
 
 ' And if I cannot save you, mine own 
 heart's core, we'll die together,' returned 
 
156 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 the poor fellow, holding her fast. ' It won't 
 last long, Victorine, and the saints have a 
 hold of my scapulaiy.' 
 
 He had scarcely spoken when, lifted 
 ujDon a wave, the tartane dashed upon the 
 rocks, and there was at once a horrible 
 shivering and crashing throughout her — a 
 frightful mingling of shrieks and yells of 
 despair with the wild roar of the waves 
 that poured over her. The party at the 
 head of the vessel were conscious of clinoinQ- 
 to something, and when the first hurly-burly 
 ceased a little they found themselves all 
 together against the l)ulwark, the vessel 
 almost on her beam ends, wedged into the 
 rocks, their portion high and dry, but the 
 stern, where the cabin was, entirely under 
 water. 
 
IV WRECKED 157 
 
 Victorine screamed aloud, ' My lady ! 
 my poor lady.' 
 
 ' I see — I see something,' cried Arthur, 
 who had already thrown off his coat, and in 
 another moment he had brought up Estelle 
 in his arms, alive, sobbing and panting. 
 Giving her over to the steward, he made 
 another dive, but then was lost sight of, 
 and returned no more, nor was anything 
 to be seen of the rest. Shut up in the 
 cabin, Madame de Bourke, Ulysse and the 
 three maids must have been instantly 
 drowned, and none of the crew were to be 
 seen. Maitre Hebert held the little girl in 
 his arms, glad that, though living, she was 
 only half- conscious. Victorine, sobbing, 
 hung heavily on Lanty, and before he could 
 free his hands he perceived to his dismay 
 
158 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 that the Abbe, unassisted, was climbing 
 down from the wreck upon the rock, 
 scarcely perhaps aw^are of his danger. 
 
 Lanty tried to put Yictorine aside, and 
 called out, 'Your reverence, wait — Masther 
 Phelim, wait till I come and help you.' 
 But the girl, frantic with terror, grappled 
 him fast, screaming to him not to let her 
 go — and at the same moment a wave broke 
 over the Abbe. Lanty, almost wild, w^as 
 ready to leap into it after him, thinking he 
 must be sucked back with it, but behold ! 
 he still remained clinging to the rock. 
 Instinct seemed to serve him, for he had 
 stuck his knife into the rock and was hold- 
 ing on by it. There seemed no foothold, 
 and while Lanty was deliberating how to 
 go to his assistance, another wave washed 
 
IV WRECKED 1 59 
 
 him off and bore him to the next rock, 
 which was only separated from the main- 
 land by a channel of smoother water. He 
 tried to catch at a floating plank, but in 
 vain ; however, an oar next drifted towards 
 him, and by it he gained the land, but only 
 to be instantly surrounded by a mob of 
 Cabeleyzes, who seemed to be stripping off 
 his garments. By this time many were 
 swimming towards the wreck ; and Estelle, 
 who had recovered breath and senses, 
 looked over Hebert's shoulder at them. 
 * The savages ! the infidels ! ' she said. 
 ' Will they kill me % or will they try to 
 make me renounce my faith ? They shall 
 kill me rather than make me yield.' 
 
 * Ah ! yes, my dear demoiselle, that is 
 right. That is the only way. It is my 
 
i6o A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 resolution likewise/ returned Hebert. ' God 
 give us grace to persist.' 
 
 ' My mamma said so,' repeated the child. 
 ^ Is she drowned, Maitre Hebert ? ' 
 
 - ' She is happier than we are, my 
 dear young lady.' 
 
 * And my little brother too ! iVh ! 
 then I shall remember that they are only 
 sending me to them in Paradise.' 
 
 By this time the natives were near 
 the wreck, and Estelle, shuddering, clung 
 closer to Hebert ; but he had made up 
 his mind what to do. ' I must commit 
 you to these men, Mademoiselle,' he said ; 
 * the water is rising — we shall perish if 
 we remain here.' 
 
 ' Ah ! but it would not hurt so 
 much to be drowned,' said Estelle, who 
 
IV WRECKED ' i6i 
 
 had made up her mind to Blandina's 
 chair. 
 
 ' I must endeavour to save you for 
 your father, Mademoiselle, and your poor 
 grandmother ! There ! be a good child ! 
 Do not struggle/ 
 
 He had attracted the attention of 
 some of the swimmers, and he now flung 
 her to them. One caught her by an 
 arm, another by a leg, and she was 
 safely taken to the shore, where at once 
 a shoe and a stocking were taken from 
 her, in token of her becoming a captive ; 
 but otherwise her garments were not 
 meddled with ; in which she was happier 
 than her uncle, w^hom she found crouched 
 up on a rock, stripped almost to the 
 skin, so that he shrank from her, when 
 
 VOL. I. M 
 
1 62 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 she sprang to his side amid the Babel 
 of wild men and women, who were 
 shouting in exultation and wonder over 
 his big flapped hat, his soutane and 
 bands, pointing at his white limbs and 
 yellow hair — or, what amazed them even 
 more, Estelle's light, flaxen locks, which 
 hung soaked around her. She felt a 
 hand pulling them to see whether any- 
 thing so strange actually grew on her 
 head, and she turned round to confront 
 them with a little gesture of defiant 
 dignity that evidently awed them, for 
 they kept their hands off" her, and did 
 not interfere as she stood sentry over 
 her poor shivering uncle. 
 
 Lanty was by this time trying to 
 drag Victorine over the rocks and through 
 
IV WRECKED 163 
 
 the water. The poor Parisienne was very 
 helpless, falling, hurting herself, and 
 screaming continually ; and trebly, when 
 a couple of natives seized upon her, and 
 dragged her ashore, where they im- 
 mediately snatched away her mantle and 
 cap, pulled off her gold chain and cross, 
 and tore out her earrings with howls of 
 delight. 
 
 Lanty, struggling on, was likewise 
 pounced upon, and bereft of his fine 
 green and gold livery coat and waist- 
 coat, which, though by no means his 
 best, and stained with the sea water, 
 were grasped with ecstasy, quarrelled 
 over, and displayed in triumph. The 
 steward had secured a rope by which 
 he likewise reached the shore, onlv to 
 
i64 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 become the prey of the savages, who 
 instantly made prize of his watch and 
 purse, as well as of almost all his gar- 
 ments. The five unfortunate survivors 
 would fain have remained huddled 
 together, but the natives pointing to 
 some huts on the hillside, urged them 
 thither by the language of shouts and 
 blows. 
 
 'Faith and I'm not an ox,' exclaimed 
 Lanty, as if the fellow could have under- 
 stood him, ' and is it to the shambles 
 you're driving me ? ' 
 
 * Best not resist ! There's nothing 
 for it but to obey them,' said the stew^ard, 
 ' and at least there will be shelter for 
 the child.' 
 
 No objection was made to his lifting 
 
IV WRECKED 165 
 
 her in his arms, and he carried her, as 
 the party, half-drowned, nearly starved 
 and exhausted, stumbled on along the 
 rocky paths which cut their feet cruelly, 
 since their shoes had all been taken from 
 them. Lanty gave what help he could 
 to the Abbe and Yictorine, who were 
 both in a miserable plight, but ere long 
 he was obliged to take his turn in 
 carrying Estelle, whose weight had become 
 too much for the worn out Hebert. He 
 was alarmed to find, on transferring her, 
 that her head sank on his shoulder as 
 if in a sleep of exhaustion, which, how- 
 ever, shielded her from much terror. 
 For, as they arrived at a cluster of 
 five or six tents, built of clay and the 
 branches of trees, out rushed a host of 
 
i66 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 women, children, and large fierce dogs, 
 all making as mucli noise as they were 
 capable of. The dogs flew at the strange 
 white forms, no doubt utterly new to 
 them. Yictorine was severely bitten, and 
 Lanty, trying to rescue her, had his leg 
 torn. 
 
 These two were driven into one hut; 
 Estelle, who was evidently considered as 
 the greatest prize, was taken into another 
 and rather better one, together with 
 the steward and the Abbe. The Moors, 
 who had swum ashore, had probably 
 told them that she was the Frankish 
 Bey's daughter; for this, miserable place 
 though it was, appeared to be the best 
 hut in the hamlet, nor was she deprived 
 of her clothes. A sort of bournouse or 
 
IV WRECKED 167 
 
 haik, of coarse texture and very dirty, 
 was given to eacli of the others, and 
 some rye cakes baked in the ashes. 
 Poor little Estelle turned away her head 
 at first, but Hebert, alarmed at her 
 shivering in her wet clothes, contrived 
 to make her swallow a little, and then 
 took off the soaked dress, and wrapped 
 her in the bournouse. She was by this 
 time almost unconscious from weari- 
 ness, and made no resistance to the 
 unaccustomed hands, or the disgusting 
 coarseness and uncleanness of her wrapper, 
 but dropped asleep the moment he laid 
 her down, and he applied himself to 
 trying to dry her clothes at a little fire 
 of sticks that had been lighted outside the 
 open space, round which the huts stood. 
 
i68 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 The Abbe too had fallen asleep, as 
 Hebert managed to assure poor Lanty, 
 who rushed out of the other tent, nearly 
 naked, and bloodstained in many places, 
 but more concerned at his separation 
 from his foster-brother than at anything 
 else that had befallen him. Men, women, 
 children, and dogs were all after him, 
 supposing him to be trying to escape, 
 and he was seized upon and dragged 
 back by main force, but not before the 
 steward had called out — 
 
 ' M. TAbbe sleeps — sleeps sound — he 
 is not hurt ! For Heaven's sake, Laurent, 
 be quiet — do not enrage them ! It is the 
 only hope for him, as for Mademoiselle 
 and the rest of us/ 
 
 Lanty, on hearing of the Abbe's 
 
IV 
 
 WRECKED 169 
 
 safety, allowed himself to be taken back, 
 making himself, however, a passive dead 
 weight on his captor's hands. 
 
 ' Arrah,' he muttered to himself, ' if 
 ye will have me, ye shall have the 
 throuble of me, bad luck to you. 'Tis 
 little like ye are to the barbarous people 
 St. Paul was thrown with ; but then 
 what right have I to expect the treat- 
 ment of a holy man, the like of him ? 
 If so be, I can save that poor orphan 
 that's left, and bring off Master Phelim 
 safe, and save poor Victorine from beiDg 
 taken for some dirty spalpeen's wife, 
 when he has half a dozen more to the 
 fore — 'tis little it matters what be- 
 comes of Lanty Callaghan ; they might 
 give him to their big brutes of dogs, 
 
I70 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap, iv 
 
 and mighty lean meat they would find 
 him!' 
 
 So came down the first night upon 
 the captives. 
 
CHAPTEE Y 
 
 CAPTIVITY 
 
 ' Hold fast tliy hope and Heaven will not 
 Forsake thee in tliine hour. 
 Good angels will be near thee, 
 And evil ones will fear thee, 
 And Faith will give thee power.' 
 
 SOUTHEY. 
 
 The whole northern coast of Africa is 
 inhabited by a medley of tribes, all owning 
 a kind of subjection to the Sultan, but 
 more in the sense of Pope than of King. 
 The part of the coast where the tartane 
 had been driven on the rocks was beneath 
 Mount Araz, a spur of the Atlas, and was 
 in the possession of the Arab tribe called 
 
172 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 Cabeleyze, which is said to mean ' the 
 revolted.' The revolt had been from the 
 Algerine power, which had never been 
 able to pursue them into the fastnesses 
 of the mountains, and they remained a 
 wild independent race, following all those 
 Ishmaelite traditions and customs that are 
 innate in the blood of the Arab. 
 
 When Estelle awoke from her Ions: 
 sleep of exhaustion, she was conscious of 
 a stifling atmosphere, and moreover of 
 the crow of a cock in her immediate 
 vicinity, then of a dog growling, and a 
 lamb beginning to bleat. She raised 
 herself a little, and beheld, lying on the 
 ground around her, dark heaps with 
 human feet protruding from them. These 
 were interspersed with sheep, goats, dogs. 
 
CAPTIVITY 17; 
 
 and fowls, all seen by the yellow liglit 
 of the rising sun which made its way in 
 not only through the doorless aperture, 
 but through the reeds and branches which 
 formed the walls. 
 
 Close as the air was, she felt the chill 
 of the morning and shivered. At the 
 same moment she perceived poor Maitre 
 Hebert covering himself as best he could 
 with a dirty brown garment, and bending 
 over her with much solicitude, but making 
 signs to make as little noise as possible, 
 while he whispered, * How goes it with 
 Mademoiselle V 
 
 ' Ah,' said Estelle, recollecting herself, 
 ^ we are shipwrecked. We shall have to 
 confess our faith ! Where are the rest ?' 
 
 ^ There is M. I'Abbe,' said Hebert, 
 
174 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 pointing to a white pair of tlie bare feet. 
 'Poor Laurent and Victorine have been 
 carried elsewhere.' 
 
 ' And mamma ? And my brother V 
 
 ^ Ah ! Mademoiselle, give the good God 
 thanks that He has spared them our trial.' 
 
 ' Mamma I Ah, she was in the cabin 
 when the water came in ! But my 
 brother ! I had hold of his hand, he came 
 out with me. I saw M. Arture swim 
 away with him. Yes, Maitre Hebert, 
 indeed I did.' 
 
 Hebert had not the least hope that 
 they could be saved, but he would not 
 grieve the child by saying so, and his 
 present object was to get her dressed 
 before any one was awake to watch, and 
 perhaps appropriate her upper garments. 
 
V CAPTIVITY 175 
 
 He was a fatherly old man, and she let 
 him help her with her fastenings, and 
 comb out her hair with the tiny comb 
 in her etui. Indeed, friseurs were the 
 rule in France, and she was not unused 
 to male attendants at the toilette, so that 
 she was not shocked at being left to his 
 care. 
 
 For the rest, the child had always 
 dwelt in an imaginary world, a curious 
 compound of the Lives of the Saints and 
 of Telemaque. Martyrs and heroes alike 
 had been shipwrecked, taken captive, and 
 tormented ; and there was a certain sense 
 of realised day-dream about her, as if she 
 had become one of the number and must 
 act up to her part. She asked Hebert if 
 there were a Sainte Estelle, what was the 
 
176 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 day of the month, and if she should 
 be placed in the Calendar if she never 
 complained, do what these barbarians might 
 to her. She hoped she should hold out, 
 for she would like to be able to help 
 all whom she loved, poor papa and all. 
 But it was hard that mamma, who was 
 so good, could not be a martyr too ; but 
 she was a saint in Paradise all the same, 
 and thus Estelle made her little prayer 
 in hope. There was no conceit or over- 
 confidence in the tone, though of course 
 the poor child little knew what she was 
 ready to accept ; but it was a spark of 
 the martyr's trust that gleamed in her 
 eye, and gave her a sense of exaltation 
 that took off the sharpest edge of grief 
 and fear. 
 
V CAPTIVITY 177 
 
 By this time, however, the animals 
 were stirring, and with them the human 
 beings who had lain down in their clothes. 
 Peace was over ; the Abbe awoke, and 
 beo^an to call for Laurent and his clothes 
 and his beads ; but this aroused the 
 master of the house, who started up, and, 
 threatening with a huge stick, roared at 
 him what must have been orders to be 
 quiet. 
 
 Estelle indignantly flew between and 
 cried, ' You shall not hurt my uncle.' 
 
 The commanding gesture spoke for 
 
 itself; and, besides, poor Phelim cowered 
 
 behind her with an air that caused a 
 
 word and sign to pass round, which the 
 
 captives found was equivalent to innocent 
 
 or imbecile ; and the Mohammedan respect 
 VOL. I. N 
 
178 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 and tenderness for the demented spared 
 him all further violence or molestation, 
 except that he was lost and miserable 
 without the attentions of his foster- 
 brother ; and indeed the shocks he had 
 underofone seemed to have robbed him of 
 much of the small degree of sense he 
 had once possessed. 
 
 Coming into the space before the door- 
 way, Estelle found herself the object of 
 universal gaze and astonishment, as her long 
 fair hair gleamed in the sunshine, every- 
 one coming to touch it, and even pull it to 
 see if it was real. She was a good deal 
 frightened, but too high-spirited to show it 
 more than she could help, as the dark- 
 skinned, bearded men crowded round with 
 cries of wonder. The other two prison- 
 
V CAPTIVITY 179 
 
 ers likewise appeared : Victorine looking 
 wretchedly ill, and hardly able to hold up 
 her head ; Lanty creeping towards the 
 Abbe, and trying to arrange his remnant 
 of clothing. There was a short respite, 
 while the Arabs, all turning eastwards, 
 chanted their morning devotions with a 
 solemnity that struck their captives. The 
 scene was a fine one, if there had been any 
 heart to admire. The huts were placed on 
 the verge of a fine forest of chestnut and 
 cork trees — and beyond towered up mount- 
 ain peaks in every variety of dazzling 
 colour — red and purple beneath, glowdng red 
 and gold where the snowy peaks caught the 
 morning sun, lately broken frombehind them. 
 The slopes around were covered with 
 rich grass, flourishing after the summer 
 
i8o A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 heats, and to which the herds were now 
 betaking themselves, excepting such as were 
 detained to be milked by the women, who 
 came pouring out of some of the other huts 
 in dark blue garments ; and in front, still 
 shadowed by the mountain, lay the bay, deep, 
 beautiful, pellucid green near the land, and 
 shut in by fantastic and picturesque rocks — 
 some bare, some clothed with splendid 
 foliage, winter though it was — while beyond 
 lay the exquisite blue stretching to the 
 horizon. Little recked the poor prisoners 
 of the scene so fair ; they only saw the 
 remnant of the wreck below, the sea that 
 parted them from hope, the savage rocks 
 behind, the barbarous people around, the 
 squalor and dirt of the adowara, as the 
 hamlet was called. 
 
V CAPTIVITY i8i 
 
 Comparatively, the Moor who had 
 swum ashore to reconnoitre seemed like a 
 friend when he came forward and saluted 
 Estelle and the Abbe respectfully. More- 
 over, the lingua Franca Lanty had picked 
 up established a very imperfect double 
 system of interpretation by the help of 
 many gestures. This was Lanty's explana- 
 tion to the rest : in French, of course, but, 
 like all his speech, Irish-English in con- 
 struction. 
 
 ' This Moor, Hassan, wants to stand our 
 friend in his own fashion, but he says they 
 care not the value of an empty mussel-shell 
 for the French, and no more for the Dey of 
 Algiers than I do for the Elector of 
 Hanover. He has told them that M. I'Abbe 
 and Mademoiselle are brother and daughter 
 
1 82 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 to a great Bey — but it is little they 
 care for that. Holy Virgin, they took 
 Mademoiselle for a boy ! That is why 
 they are gazing at her so impudently. 
 Would that I could give them a taste of my 
 cane ! Do you see those broken walls, and 
 a bit of a castle on yonder headland jutting 
 out into the sea ? They are bidding Hassan 
 say that the French built that, and 
 garrisoned it with the help of the Dey ; 
 but there fell out a war, and these fellows, 
 or their fathers, surprised it, sacked it, and 
 carried off four hundred prisoners into 
 slavery. Holy Mother defend us ! Here 
 are all the rogues coming to see what they 
 will do with us ! ' 
 
 For the open space in front of the huts, 
 whence all the animals had now been 
 
V CAPTIVITY 183 
 
 driven, was becoming thronged with figures 
 with the haik laid over their heads, spear 
 or blunderbuss in hand, fine bearing, and 
 sometimes truculent, though handsome, 
 brown countenances. They gazed at the 
 captives, and uttered what sounded like 
 loud hurrahs or shouts ; but after listening 
 to Hassan, Lanty turned round trembling. 
 ' The miserables ! Some are for sacrificing 
 us outright on the spot, but this decent 
 man declares that he will make them 
 sensible that their prophet was not out- 
 and-out as bad as that. Never you fear. 
 Mademoiselle.' 
 
 ' I am not afraid,' said Estelle, drawing 
 up her head. ' We shall be martyrs.' 
 
 Lanty was engaged in listening to a 
 moan from his foster-brother for food, and 
 
i84 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 Hebert joined ia observing that they might 
 as well be sacrificed as starved to death ; 
 whereupon the Irishman's words and ges- 
 ticulations induced the Moor to make re- 
 presentations which resulted in some dry 
 pieces of sarwh cake, a few dates, and a 
 gourd of water being brought by one of the 
 women ; a scanty amount for the number, 
 even though poor Victorine was too ill to 
 touch anything but the water ; while the 
 Abbe seemed unable to understand that the 
 servants durst not demand anything better, 
 and devoured her share and a quarter of 
 Lanty's as well as his own. Meantime 
 the Cabeleyzes had all ranged themselves 
 in rows, cross-legged on the ground, oj^posite 
 to the ^NQ unfortunate captives, to sit in 
 judgment on them. As they kept together 
 
V CAPTIVITY 185 
 
 in one group, happily in the shade of a hut, 
 Victorine, too faint and sick fully to know 
 what was going on, lay with her head on 
 the lap of her young mistress, who sat with 
 her bright and strangely fearless eyes con- 
 fronting the wild figures opposite. 
 
 Her uncle, frightened, though not com- 
 prehending the extent of his danger, 
 crouched behind Lanty, who with Hebert 
 stood somewhat in advance, the would-be 
 guardians of the more helpless ones. 
 
 There was an immense amount of 
 deafening shrieking and gesticulating among 
 the Arabs. Hassan was responding, and 
 finally turned to Lanty, when the anxious 
 watchers could perceive signs as if of paying 
 down coin made interrogatively. ' Promise 
 them anything, everythiug,' cried Hebert; 
 
1 86 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 * M. le Comte would give his last sou — so 
 would Madame la Marquise — to save 
 Mademoiselle.' 
 
 ' I have told him so/ said Laurence 
 presently ; ' I bade him let them know it is 
 little they can make of us, specially now 
 they have stripped us as bare as themselves, 
 the rascals ! but that their fortunes would 
 be made — and little they would know what 
 to do with them — if they would only send 
 M. TAbbe and Mademoiselle to Algiers 
 safe and sound. There ! he is trying to 
 incense them. Never fear, Master Phelim, 
 dear, there never was a rogue yet, black or 
 white, or the colour of poor Madame's 
 frothed chocolate, who did not love gold 
 better than blood, unless indeed 'twas for 
 the sweet morsel of revenge ; and these, 
 
V CAPTIVITY 187 
 
 for all tlieir rolling eyes and screeching 
 tongues, have not the ghost of a quarrel 
 with us.' 
 
 *My beads, my breviary,' sighed the 
 Abbe. ' Get them for me, Lanty.' 
 
 ' I wish they would end it quickly,' said 
 Estelle. ' My head aches so, and I want 
 to be with mamma. Poor Victorine ! yours 
 is worse,' she added, and soaked her hand- 
 kerchief in the few drops of water left in 
 the gourd to lay it on the maid's forehead. 
 
 The howling and shrieking betokened 
 consultation, but was suddenly interrupted 
 by some half-grown lads, who came running 
 in with their hands full of what Lanty 
 recognised to his horror as garments worn 
 by his mistress and fellow-servants, also a 
 big kettle and a handspike. They pointed 
 
1 88 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 down to the sea, and with yells of haste 
 and exultation all the wild conclave started 
 up to snatch, handle, and examine, then 
 beofan rushino* headlonsr to the beach. 
 Hassan's explanations were scarcely needed 
 to show that they were about to ransack the 
 ship, and he evidently took credit to him- 
 self for having induced them to spare the 
 prisoners in case their assistance should be 
 requisite to gain full possession of the 
 plunder. 
 
 Estelle and Victorine were committed to 
 the charge of a forbidding-looking old hag, 
 the mother of the sheyk of the party ; the 
 Abbe was allowed to stray about as he 
 pleased, but the' two men were driven to 
 the shore by the eloquence of the club. 
 Victorine revived enous^h for a burst of 
 
V CAPTIVITY 189 
 
 tears and a sobbing ciy, ' Ob, tbey will be 
 killed ! We shall never see tbem again ! ' 
 
 ' No,' said Estelle, with her quiet yet 
 childlike resolution, ^ they are not going to 
 kill any of us yet. They said so. You are 
 so tired, poor Victorine ! Now all the 
 hubbub is over, suppose you lie still and 
 sleep. My uncle,' as he roamed round her, 
 mourning for his rosary, ' I am afraid your 
 beads are lost ; but see here, these little 
 round seeds, I can pierce them if you will 
 gather some more for me, and make you 
 another set. See, these will be the Aves, 
 and here are shells in the grass for the 
 Paters.' 
 
 The long fibre of grass served for the 
 string, and the sight of the Giaour girl's 
 employment brought round her all the 
 
igo A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 female population who had not repaired to 
 the coast. Her first rosary was torn from 
 her to adorn an almost naked baby ; but 
 the Abbe began to whimper, and to her 
 surprise the mother restored it to him. 
 She then made signs that she would con- 
 struct another necklace for the child, and 
 she was rewarded by a gourd being brought 
 to her full of milk, which she was able to 
 share with her two companions, and which 
 did something to revive poor Victorine. 
 Estelle was kept threading these necklaces 
 and bracelets all the wakeful hours of 
 the day — for every one fell asleep about 
 noon — though still so jealous a watch was 
 kept on her that she was hardly allowed 
 to shift her position so as to get out of 
 the sun, which even at that season was 
 
V CAPTIVITY 191 
 
 distressingly scorcliing iu the middle of 
 the day. 
 
 Parties were continually coming up 
 from the beach laden with spoils of all 
 kinds from the wreck, Lanty, Hebert, and 
 a couple of negroes being driven up re- 
 peatedly, so heavily burthened as to be 
 almost bent double. All was thrown down 
 in a heap at the other end of the adowara, 
 and the old sheyk kept guard over it, 
 allowing no one to touch it. This went on 
 till darkness was coming on, when, while 
 the cattle were beino' collected for the nisfht, 
 the prisoners were allowed an interval, in 
 which Hebert and Lanty told how the 
 natives, swimming like ducks, had torn 
 everything out of the wreck : all the bales 
 and boxes, that poor Maitre Hebert had 
 
192 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 secured with so much care, and many of 
 which he was now forced himself to open 
 for the pleasure of these barbarians. 
 
 That, however, was not the worst. 
 Hebert concealed from his little lady what 
 Lanty did not spare Victorine. ' And there 
 — enough to melt the heart of a stone — 
 there lay on the beach poor Madame la 
 Comtesse, and all the three. Good was it 
 for you, Victorine, my jewel, that you were 
 not in the cabin with them.' 
 
 'I know not,' said the dejected Victorine; 
 ' they are better off than we ? ' 
 
 ' You would not say so, if you had seen 
 what I have,' said Lanty, shuddering. 
 ' The dogs ! — they cut off Madame' s poor 
 white fingers to get at her rings, and not 
 with knives either, lest her blessed flesh 
 
V CAPTIVITY 193 
 
 should defile them, they said, and her poor 
 
 face was an angel's all the time. Nay, nor 
 
 that was not the worst. The villainous 
 
 boys, what must they do but pelt the poor 
 
 swollen bodies with stones ! Ay, well you 
 
 may scream, Yictorine. We went down on 
 
 our knees, Maitre Hebert and 1, to pray 
 
 they might let us give them burial, but 
 
 they mocked us, and bade Hassan say they 
 
 never bury dogs. I went round the steeper 
 
 path, for all the load at my back, or I 
 
 should have been flying at the throats of 
 
 the cowardly vultures, and then what would 
 
 have become of M. I'Abbe ? ' 
 
 Victorine trembled and wept bitterly for 
 
 her companions, and then asked if Lanty 
 
 had seen the corpse of the little Chevalier. 
 
 ' Not a sight of him or M. Arthur either,' 
 VOL. I. 
 
194 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 returned Lanty ; ' only the ugly face of the 
 old Turk captain and another of his crew, and 
 them they buried decently, being Moslem 
 hounds like themselves ; while my poor 
 
 lady that is a saint in heaven ' and he, 
 
 too, shed tears of hot grief and indignation, 
 recovering enough to warn Victorine by no 
 means to let the poor young girl know of 
 this additional horror. 
 
 There was little opportunity, for they 
 had been appropriated by diflferent masters : 
 Estelle, the Abbe, and Hebert to the sheyk, 
 or headman of the clan ; and Lanty and 
 Victorine to a big, strong, fierce-looking 
 fellow, of inferior degree but greater might. 
 
 This time Estelle was to be kept 
 for the night among the sheyk's women, 
 who, though too unsophisticated to veil 
 
CAPTIVITY 195 
 
 their faces, had a part of the hut closed 
 off with a screen of reeds, but quite as 
 bare as the outside. Hebert, who could 
 not endure to think of her sleeping on 
 the ground, and saw a large heap of 
 grass or straw provided for a little 
 brown cow, endeavoured to take an 
 armful for her. Unluckily it belonged 
 to Lanty's master, Eyoub, who in- 
 stantly flew at him in a fury, dragged 
 him to a log of wood, caught up an 
 axe, and had not Estelle's screams 
 brought up the sheyk, with Hassan 
 and one or two other men, the poor 
 Maitre d' Hotel's head would have been 
 off. Tliere was a sharp altercation 
 between the sheyk and Eyoub, while 
 Estelle held the faithful servant's hand. 
 
196 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 saying, ' You did it for me ! Oh, 
 Hebert, do not make them angry again. 
 It would be beautiful to die for one's 
 faith, but not for a handful of hay.' 
 
 ' Ah ! my dear demoiselle, what 
 would my j)oor ladies say to see you 
 slee]Ding on the bare ground in a filthy 
 hut ? ' 
 
 ' I slept well last night,' returned 
 Estelle ; ' indeed, I do not mind ! It 
 is only the more like the dungeon at 
 Lyon, you know ! And I pray you, 
 Hebert, do not get yourself kiUed for 
 nothing too soon, or else we shall not 
 all stand out and confess together, like 
 St. Blandina and St. Ponticus and St. 
 Epagathius.' 
 
 ' Alas, the dear child ! The long 
 
V CAPTIVITY 197 
 
 names run off her tongue as glibly as 
 ever/ sighed Heljert, who, though 
 determined not to forsake his faith, by 
 no means partook her enthusiasm for 
 martyrdom. Hassan, however, having 
 explained what the purpose had been, 
 Hebert was pardoned, though the 
 sheyk scornfully oljserved that what 
 was good enough for the dauc^hters 
 of a Hadji was good enough for the 
 unclean child of the Frankish infidels. 
 
 The hay might perhaps have spared 
 a little stiffness, but it would not have 
 ameliorated the chief annoyances — the 
 closeness, the dirt, and the vermin. It 
 was well that it was winter, or the 
 first of these would have been far worse, 
 and, fortunately for Estelle, she was 
 
198 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 one of those whom suffocating air rather 
 lulls than rouses. 
 
 Eyoub's hovel did not rejoice in the 
 refinement of a partition, but his family, 
 together with their animals, lay on the 
 rocky floor as best they might ; and 
 Victorine's fever came on again, so 
 that she lay in great misery, greeted 
 by a growl from a great white dog 
 whenever she tried to relieve her rest- 
 less aching limbs by the slightest move- 
 ment, or to reach one of the gourds 
 of water laid near the sleepers, like Saul's 
 cruse at his pillow. 
 
 Towards morning, however, Lanty, 
 who had been sitting with his back 
 against the wall, awoke from the sleep 
 well earned by acting as a beast of 
 
V CAPTIVITY 199 
 
 burthen. The clog growled a little, but 
 Lanty — though his leg still showed its 
 teeth-marks — had made friends with it, 
 and his hand on its head quieted it 
 directly, so that he was able cautiously 
 to hand a gourd to Victorine. The 
 Arabs were heavy sleepers, and the two 
 were able to talk under their breath ; 
 as, in reply to a kind word from Lanty, 
 poor Victorine moaned her envy of the 
 fate of Eosette and Babette ; and he, 
 with something of their little mistress's 
 spirit, declared that he had no doubt 
 but that ' one way or the other they 
 should be out of it : either get safe 
 home, or be blessed martyrs, without 
 even a taste of purgatory.' 
 
 ' Ah ! but there's worse for me,' 
 
200 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 sio^hed Victorine. ' This demon brouorht 
 another to stare in my face — I know he 
 wants to make me his wife ! Kill me 
 first, Laurent.' 
 
 'It is I that would rather espouse 
 you, my jewel,' returned a tender 
 whisper. 
 
 ' How can you talk of such things 
 at such a moment ? ' 
 
 ^'Tis a pity M. I'Abbe is not a 
 priest,' sighed Lanty. ' But, you know, 
 Victorine, who is the boy you always 
 meant to take.' 
 
 ' You need not be so sure of that,' 
 she said, the coy coquetry not quite 
 extinct. 
 
 ' Come, as you said, it is no time 
 for fooling. Give me your word and 
 
V CAPTIVITY 20I 
 
 troth to be my wife so soon as we 
 have the good luck to come by a Christ- 
 ian priest by our Lady's help, and I'll 
 outface them all — were it Mohammed the 
 Prophet himself, that you are my espoused 
 and betrothed, and woe to him that puts 
 a, finger on you.' 
 
 ' You would only get yourself killed.' 
 ' And would not I be proud to be 
 killed for your sake ? Besides, I'll show 
 them cause not to kill me if I have 
 the chance. Trust me, Victorine, my 
 darling — it is but a chance among 
 these murdering villains, but it is the 
 only one ; and, sure, if you pretended 
 to turn the back of your hand to me 
 when there were plenty of Christian 
 men to compliment you, yet you would 
 
202 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 rather have poor Lanty than a thuuder- 
 ing rogue of a pagan ]\Iohammedan.' 
 
 * I liope I shall die,' sighed poor 
 Victorinc faintly. ' It will only be your 
 death ! ' 
 
 ' That is my affair,' responded Lanty. 
 ' Come, here's daylight coming in ; reach 
 me your hand Ix'fore this canaille wakes, 
 and here's this o-ood beast of a doo- and 
 yonder grave old goat with a face like 
 Pore Michel's for our witnesses — and by 
 good luck, here's a bit of gilt wire off my 
 shoulder-knot that I've made into a couple 
 of rings while I've been speaking/ 
 
 The strange betrothal had barely 
 taken place before there was a stir, and 
 what was no doubt a yelling imprecation on 
 the * dog Giaours ' for the noise they made. 
 
CAPTIVITY 203 
 
 The morning began as before, with 
 the exception that Estelle had established 
 a certain understanding with a little 
 chocolate-coloured cupid of a boy of the 
 size of her brother, and his lesser sister, 
 by letting them stroke her hair, and 
 showing them the mysteries of cat's 
 cradle. They shared their gourd of 
 goat's-milk with her, but would not let 
 her give any to her companions. How- 
 ever, the Abbe had only to hold out his 
 hand to be fed, and the others were far 
 too anxious to care much about their 
 food. 
 
 A much larger number of Cabeleyzes 
 came streaming into the forum of the 
 adowara, and the prisoners were all again 
 placed in a row, while the new-comers 
 
204 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 passed before tliem, staring hard, and 
 manifestly making personal remarks which 
 perhaps it was well that they did not un- 
 derstand. The sheyk and Eyoub evidently 
 regarded them as private property, stood 
 in front, and permitted nobody to handle 
 them, which was so far a comfort. 
 
 Then followed a sort of council, Tvith 
 much gesticulation, in which Hassan took 
 his share. Then, followed by the sheyk, 
 Eyoub, and some other headmen, he ad- 
 vanced, and demanded that the captives 
 should become true believers. This was 
 eked out with gestures betokening that 
 thus they would be free, in that case : 
 while, if they refused, the sword and the 
 smouldering flame were pointed to, while 
 the whole host loudly shouted ' Islam ! ' 
 
CAPTIVITY 205 
 
 Victorine trembled, sobbed, tried to 
 hide herself; but Estelle stood up, her 
 young face lighted up, her dark eyes 
 gleaming, as if she were realising a day- 
 dream, as she shook her head, cried out 
 to Lanty, ' Tell him. No, never ! ' and 
 held to her breast a little cross of sticks 
 that she had been forming to complete 
 her uncle's rosary. Her gesture was 
 understood.. A man better clad than the 
 rest, with a turban and a broad crimson 
 sash, rushed up to her, seized her by 
 the hair, and waved his scimitar over 
 her head. The child felt herself close 
 to her mother. She looked up in his 
 face with radiant eyes and a smile on 
 her lips. It absolutely daunted the 
 fellow : his arm dropped, and he gazed 
 
2o6 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 at her like some supernatural creature ; 
 and the sheyk, enraged at the inter- 
 ference with his property, darted forth 
 to defend it, and there was a general 
 wrangling. 
 
 Seconded by their interpreter, Hassan, 
 who knew that the Koran did not 
 prescribe the destruction of Christians, 
 Hebert and Lanty endeavoured to show 
 that their conversion was out of the 
 question, and that their slaughter would 
 only be the loss of an exceedingly valu- 
 able ransom, which would be paid if 
 they were handed over safe and sound 
 and in good condition. 
 
 There was no knowing what was the 
 effect of this, for the council again ended 
 in a rush to secure the remaining pillage 
 
V CAPTIVITY 207 
 
 of the wreck. Hebert aucl Lanty dreaded 
 what they might see, but to their great 
 relief those poor remains had disappeared. 
 They shuddered as they remembered the 
 hyenas' laughs and the jackals' howls 
 they had heard at nightfall ; but though 
 they hoped that the sea had been merci- 
 ful, they could even have been grateful 
 to the animals that had spared them the 
 sio^ht of conscious insults. 
 
 The wreck was finally cleared, and 
 among the fragments were found several 
 portions of books. These the Arabs dis- 
 regarded, being too ignorant even to read 
 their own Koran, and yet aware of the 
 Mohammedan scruple wdiich forbids the 
 destruction of any scrap of paper lest 
 it should bear the name of Allah. Lanty 
 
2o8 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 secured the greater part of the Abbe's 
 breviary, and a good many pages of 
 Estelle's beloved Telemaque ; while the 
 steward gained possession of his writing 
 ease, and was permitted to retain it when 
 the Cabeleyzes, glutted with plunder, had 
 ascertained that it contained nothing of 
 value to them. 
 
 After everything had been dragged up 
 to the adowara, there ensued a sort of 
 auction or division of the plunder. Poor 
 Maitre Hebert was doomed to see the 
 boxes and bales he had so diligently 
 watched broken open by these barbarians, 
 — nay, he had to assist in their own dis- 
 section when the secrets were too much 
 for the Arabs. There was the King of 
 Spain's portrait rent from its costly 
 
V CAPTIVITY 209 
 
 setting and stamped upon as an idola- 
 trous image. The miniature of the Count, 
 worn by the poor lady, had previously 
 shared the same fate, but that happily 
 was out of sight and knowledge. Here 
 was the splendid plate, presented by 
 crowned heads, howled over by savages 
 ignorant of its use. The silver they 
 seemed to value ; but there were three 
 precious gold cups which the salt water 
 had discoloured, so that they were taken 
 for copper and sold for a very small 
 price to a Jew, who somehow w^as at- 
 tracted to the scene, ' like a raven to the 
 slaughter,' said Lanty. 
 
 This man likewise secured some of 
 the poor lady's store of rich dresses, but 
 
 a good many more were appropriated to 
 VOL. I. p 
 
2IO A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 make sashes for the men, and the smaller 
 articles, including stockings, were wound 
 turban fashion round the children's heads. 
 
 Lanty could not help observing, ' And 
 if the saints are merciful to us, and g;et 
 us out of this, we shall have stories to 
 tell that will last our lives ! ' as he 
 watched the solemn old chief smelling 
 to the perfumes, swallowing the rouge 
 as splendid medicine, and finally fingering 
 a snuff-box, while half a dozen more 
 crowded round to assist in the 023ening, 
 and in another moment sneezing, weep- 
 ing, tingling, dancing frantically about, 
 vituperating the Christian's magic. 
 
 This o'ave Lantv an idea. A little 
 round box lay near, which, as he remem- 
 bered, contained a Jack-in-the-box, or 
 
CAPTIVITY 211 
 
 Polichinelle, which the poor little Cheva- 
 lier had bought at the fair at Tarascon. 
 This he contrived to secrete and hand 
 to Victorine. ' Keep the secret,' he said, 
 'and you will find your best guardian in 
 that bit of a box.' And when that very 
 eveninsf an Arab showed some intentions 
 of adding her to his harem, Victorine 
 bethought herself of the box, and un- 
 hooked in desperation. Up sprang Punch, 
 long-nosed and fur-capped, right in the 
 bearded face. 
 
 Back the man almost fell : ' Shaitan, 
 Shaitan ! ' was the cry, as the inhabitants 
 tumbled pell-mell out of the hovel, and 
 Victorine and Punch remained masters 
 of the situation. 
 
 She heard Lanty haranguing in broken 
 
212 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 Arabic and lingua Franca, and presently 
 he came in, shaking with suppressed 
 laughter. ' If ever we get home,' said 
 he, ' we'll make a pilgrimage to Tarascon ! 
 Blessings on good St. Martha that j)ut 
 that sweet little imp in my way ! The 
 rogues think he is the very genie that 
 the fisherman let out of the bottle in 
 Mademoiselle's book of the Thousand and 
 One Nights, and thought to see him 
 towering over the whole place. And a 
 fine figure he would be with his hook 
 nose and long beard. They sent me to 
 beg you fairly to put up your little 
 Shaitan asfain. I told them that Shaitan, 
 as they call him, is always in it when 
 there's meddling between an espoused 
 pair — which is as true as though the 
 
V CAPTIVITY 213 
 
 Holy Father at Rome had said it — and 
 as long as they were civil, Shaitan would 
 rest ; but if they durst molest you, there 
 was no saying where he would be, if 
 once you had to let him out ! To think 
 of the virtue of that ugly face and bit of 
 a coil of wire ! ' 
 
 Meantime Hebert, having ascertained 
 that both the Jew and Hassan were 2:oing; 
 away, the one to Constantina, the other to 
 Algiers, wrote, and so did Estelle, to the 
 Consul at Algiers, explaining their position 
 and entreating to be ransomed. Though 
 only nine years old, Estelle could write a 
 very fair letter, and the amazement of the 
 Arabs was unbounded that any female 
 creature should wield a pen. Marabouts 
 and merchants were known to read the 
 
214 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 Koran, but if one of the goats had begun 
 to write, their wonder could hardly have 
 been greater ; and such crowds came to 
 witness the extraordinary operation that 
 she could scarcely breathe or see. 
 
 It seemed to establish her in their 
 estimation as a sort of supernatural being, 
 for she was always treated with more con- 
 sideration than the rest of the captives, 
 never deprived of the clothes she wore, and 
 allowed to appropriate a few of the toilette 
 necessaries that were quite incomprehensible 
 to those around her. 
 
 She learnt the names for bread, chest- 
 nuts, dates, milk, and water, and these were 
 never denied to her: and her little ino-enuities 
 in nursery games won the goodwill of the 
 women and children around her, tliouoh 
 
V CAPTIVITY 215 
 
 others used to come and make ugly faces 
 at her, and cry out at her as an unclean 
 thing. The Abbe was allowed to wander 
 about at will, and keep his Hours, with 
 Estelle to make the responses, and some- 
 times Hebert. He was the only one that 
 might visit the other two captives ; Lanty 
 was kept hard at work over the crop of 
 chestnuts that the clan had come down 
 from their mountains to gather in ; and 
 poor Victorine, who was consumed by a 
 low fever, and almost too weak to move, 
 lay all day in the dreary and dirty hut, 
 expecting, but dreading death. 
 
 Some days later there was great excite- 
 ment, shouting, and rage. It proved that 
 the Bey of Constantina had sent to demand 
 the party, threatening to send an armed 
 
2i6 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap. 
 
 force to compel their surrender ; Ijut, alas ! 
 the hope of a return to comparative civilisa- 
 tion was instantly quashed, for the sheyk 
 showed himself furious. He and Ejoub 
 stood brandishing their scimitars, and with 
 eyes flashing like a panther's in the dark, 
 declaring that they were free, no subjects 
 of the Dey nor the Bey either ; and that 
 they would shed the blood of every one 
 of the captives rather than yield them to 
 the dogs and sons of dogs at Constantina. 
 
 This embassy only increased the 
 jealousy with which the prisoners were 
 guarded. None of them were allowed to 
 stir without a man with a halbert, and 
 they had the greatest difiiculty in entrust- 
 ing a third letter to the Moor in command 
 of the party. Indeed, it was only managed 
 
CAPTIVITY 217 
 
 l)y Estelle's coaxing of the little Abou 
 DaoucI, who was growing devoted to her, 
 and would do anything for the reward of 
 hearing her sing Malhrook s'en va-f-en 
 guerre. 
 
 It might have been in consequence of 
 this threat of the Bey, much as they affected 
 to despise it, that the Cabeleyzes prepared 
 to return to the heights of Mount Araz, 
 whence they had only descended during 
 the autumn to find fresh pasture for their 
 cattle, and to collect dates and chestnuts 
 from the forest. 
 
 * Alas ! ' said Hebert, ' this is worse 
 than ever. As long as we were near the 
 sea, I had hope, but now all trace of us 
 will be lost, even if the Consul should send 
 after us.' 
 
2i8 A MODERN TELEMACHUS chap, v 
 
 'Never fear, Maitre Hebert,' said 
 Estelle ; ' you know Telemaque was a 
 prisoner and tamed the wild peasants in 
 Egypt.' 
 
 ' All ! the poor demoiselle, she always 
 seems as if she were acting a comedy.' 
 
 This was happily true. Estelle seemed 
 to be in a curious manner borne through 
 the dangers and discomforts of her sur- 
 roundings by a strange dreamy sense of 
 living up to her part, sometimes as a 
 possible martyr, sometimes as a figure in 
 the mythological or Arcadian romance that 
 had filtered into her nursery. 
 
 END OF VOL. I. 
 
 Printed by R. & R. Clark, Edinburgh. 
 
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