CHAPTER XVI.
"The morning air blows fresh on him:" "The waves dance gladly in his sight;" "The sea-birds call, and wheel, and skim--" "O, blessed morning light!" "He doth not hear their joyous call; he sees No beauty in the wave, nor feels the breeze." DANA.
Truth is, truly, often stranger than fiction. The history of thecircumstances that brought us into the hands of our enemies will fullyshow this. La Pauline was a ship of six hundred tons, that carriedletters-of-marque from the French government. She sailed from France afew weeks after we had left London, bound on a voyage somewhat similarto our own, though neither sea-otter skins, sandal-wood, nor pearls,formed any part of her contemplated bargains. Her first destination wasthe French islands off Madagascar, where she left part of her cargo,and took in a few valuables in return. Thence she proceeded to thePhilippine Islands, passing in the track of English and Americantraders, capturing two of the former, and sinking them after taking outsuch portions of cargo as suited her own views. From Manilla, la Paulineshaped her course for the coast of South America, intending to leavecertain articles brought from France, others purchased at Bourbon, theIsle of France, and the Philippines, and divers bales and boxes found inthe holds of her prizes, in that quarter of the world, in exchange forthe precious metals. In effecting all this, Monsieur Le Compte, hercommander, relied, firstly, on the uncommon sailing of his ship;secondly, on his own uncommon boldness and dexterity, and thirdly on thewell-known disposition of the South Americans to smuggle. Doubloons anddollars taking up but little room, he reserved most of the interior ofhis vessel, after his traffic on the "Main," for such property as mightbe found in the six or eight prizes he calculated, with certainty,on making, after getting to the eastward of the Horn. All thesewell-grounded anticipations had been signally realized down to a periodof just three months to a day, prior to our own arrival at this unhappyisland.
On the night of the day just mentioned, la Pauline, without the smallestnotice of the vicinity of any danger, running in an easy bowline, andwithout much sea, had brought up on another part of the very reef fromwhich we had made so narrow an escape. The rocks being coral, therewas little hope for her; and, in fact, they appeared through her bottomwithin two hours after she struck. The sugars taken in at the Isle ofFrance, as a ground tier of ballast, were soon rendered of doubtfulvalue, as a matter of course, but the weather remaining pleasant,Captain Le Compte succeeded, by means of his boats, in gettingeverything else of value on the island, and forthwith set about breakingup the wreck, in order to construct a craft that might carry himself andhis people to some civilized land. Having plenty of tools, and somethinglike sixty men, great progress had been made in the work, a schooner ofabout ninety tons being then so far completed, as to be nearly ready tobe put in the water. Such was the state of things, when, one fine night,we arrived in the manner already related. The French kept constantlook-outs, and it seems we were seen, a distant speck on the ocean, justas the sun set, while the low trees of the island eluded our vigilance.By the aid of a good night-glass, our movements were watched, and a boatwas about to be sent out to warn us of our danger, when we passed withinthe reef. Captain Le Compte knew the chances were twenty to one thatwe were an enemy, and he chose to lie concealed to watch the result. Assoon as we had anchored within the basin, and silence prevailed in theship, he manned his own gig, and pulled with muffled oars up under ourbows, to reconnoitre. Finding everything quiet, he ventured into thefore-chains, and thence on deck, accompanied by three of his men. Hefound Harris, snoring with his back supported against a gun-carriage,and immediately secured him. Then, it only remained to close theforescuttle and the cabin-doors, and to fasten them, to have us allprisoners below. The boat was sent for more men, and hours before any ofus in the berths were awake, the ship had effectually changed masters.Harris told our story, and the captors knew our whole history, from theday of sailing down to the present time.
Much of this I learned in subsequent conversations with the French, butenough of it was related to me then, to let me understand the outlinesof the truth. My eyes also let me into many secrets. I found the island,by day-light, substantially as I had supposed it to be. It was not solarge, however, as it had seemed to me by the aid of the moon, thoughits general character was the same. The basin in which the ship laymight have covered a hundred and fifty acres in extent, the belt of landwhich encircled it, varying in breadth from a quarter of a mile to threemiles. Most of the island was an open grove, lying at an elevation offrom ten to thirty feet above the ocean; and we ascertained there wereseveral springs of the sweetest water on it. Nature, by one of itssecret processes, had covered the earth with a beautiful short grass;and the French, with their usual attention to the table, and theircommendable activity, had already several materials for salads, &c.,in full growth. String-beans might be had for asking, and _petits pois_were literally a drug. I saw the tents of the French, extending in aline beneath the shades of the trees; and there was la Petite Pauline(the schooner) on her ways, actually undergoing the process of receivingher first coat of paint. As for la Pauline, herself, I could justdiscover her lower mast-heads, inclining at an angle of forty-fivedegrees from the perpendicular, through a vista in the trees.
There was a good-humoured common sense in all the proceedings of Mons.Le Compte, that showed he was a philosopher in the best sense of theword. He took things without repining himself, and wished to make othersas happy as circumstances would allow. At his suggestion, I invitedMarble on deck; and, after making my own commander acquainted with thestate of the facts, we both listened to the propositions of our captor.Mons. Le Compte, all his officers, and not a few of his men, had beenprisoners, some time or other, in England, and there was no difficultyin carrying on the negotiations in our mother tongue.
"_Votre batiment_--your _sheep_, shall become French--_bienentendu_"--commenced our captor--"vid her _cargaison--rig,_ and_tout cela. Bien; c'est convenu._ I shall not exact _rigueur_ in _mesconditions._ If you shall have _possible_ to take your _sheep_ from_nous autres Francais_--_d'accord._ Every man for himself _et sanation._ Zere is the _pavillion Francais_--and zere it shall fly, solong as we shall not help--_mais--parole d'honneur_, ze prize comecheep, and shall be sell very dear--_entendez vous? Bien._ Now, sair, Ishall put you and all your peepl' on ze island, vere you shall take ourplace, while we take your place. Ze arm shall be in our hand, while zesheep stay, but we leave you _fusils, poudre et tout cela_, behind."
This was nearly verbatim, the programme of capitulation, as laid down byCaptain Le Compte. As for Marble, it was not in his nature to acquiescein such an arrangement, without much cavilling and contention. But _cuibono?_ We were in Mons. le Compte's hands; and, though disposed to dealvery handsomely by us, it was easy enough to see he was determinedto make his own conditions. I succeeded, at last, in making Marbleunderstand that resistance was useless; and he submitted, though withsome such grace as a man, who has not been mesmerized, submits toan amputation--those who _have,_ are said rather to delight in theamusement.
The terms of the capitulation--and they differed but little fromsurrendering at discretion--were no sooner agreed to, than our peoplewere ordered into the forecastle, whence they were transferred to theboats, in readiness to be sent ashore. All the chests, and privateeffects, were moved out, in the most honourable manner, and sent into laPauline's boats, which lay prepared to receive them. As for us officers,we were put in the gig, Neb and the cabin steward being charged with theduty of looking after our private property. When everybody, the blacksexcepted, was in a boat, we shoved off, and proceeded towards thelanding, as chop-fallen and melancholy a party as ever took possessionof a newly-discovered country. Marble affected to whistle, for he wassecretly furious at the _nonchalance_ manifested by Captain Le Compte;but I detected him in getting parts of Monny Musk and the IrishWasherwoman, into the same strain. To own the truth, the ex-mate wasmorally much disturbed. As for myself, I considered the affair as anincident of war, and cared much less.
"_Voila, messieurs_," exclaimed Monsieur Le Compte, flourishing his arm,with an air of unsurpassed generosity; "you shall be master here, sosoon after we shall go away, and take our leetl' property wid us!"
"He's d----d generous, Miles," growled Marble, in my ear. "He'll leaveus the island, and the reef, and the cocoa-nuts, when he has gone offwith our ship, and her cargo. I'll bet all I'm worth, he tows off hisbloody schooner, in the bargain."
"There is no use in complaining, sir; and by keeping on good terms withthe French, we may fare the better."
The truth of this was soon apparent. Captain Le Compte invited us all toshare his breakfast, and we repaired to the tent of the Frenchofficers, with that purpose. In the mean time, the French sailors weretransferring the few articles they intended to carry away, to the ship,with the generous object of leaving their own tents to the immediateoccupation of us prisoners. As Monsieur Le Compte's plan was to proceedto the Spanish Main, in order to complete his contemplated traffic inthat quarter, no sooner were the tents prepared, than the French beganalso to ship such articles of their own, as it had originally beenproposed to exchange for Spanish dollars. In the mean time, we sat downto breakfast.
"_C'est la fortune de guerre!_--vat you call fortune of war,_messieurs_," observed Captain Le Compte, whirling the stick in a vesselof chocolate, in a very artistical manner, all the while. "_Bon--c'estexcellente--Antoin--_"
Antoin appeared in the shape of a well-smoked, copper-colouredcabin-boy. He was told to take a small pitcher of the chocolate, withCaptain Le Compte's compliments to _mademoiselle_, and to tell her therewas now every prospect of their quitting the island in a very few days,and of seeing _la belle France_, in the course of the next four or fivemonths. This was said in French, and rapidly, with the vehemence of onewho felt all he uttered, and more too but I knew enough of the languageto understand its drift.
"I suppose the fellow is generalizing on our misfortunes, in his d----dlingo," growled Marble; "but, let him look out--he's not home yet, bymany a thousand miles!"
I endeavoured to explain it all to Marble; but it was useless; heinsisted the Frenchman was sending chocolate from his own table, to hiscrew, in order to play the magnifico, on the score of his own good luck.There was no use in "kicking against the pricks," and I let Marble enjoythe pleasure of believing the worst of his captor; a sort of Anglo-Saxonpropensity, that has garnished many a page in English and Americanhistory--to say nothing of the propensities and histories of others,among the great family of nations.
When breakfast was over, Monsieur Le Compte led me aside, in a walkunder the trees, to explain his views and intentions. He gave me tounderstand I had been selected for this communication, on account of hisobserving the state of mind of my captain. I also comprehended a littleFrench, which was quite convenient in a conversation with one whointerlarded his English so much with phrases taken from his mothertongue. I was given to understand that the French would put the schoonerinto the water that very evening, and that we should find her masts,rigging, and sails all fitted for her. With activity, she could be readyto quit the island in a fortnight, at the farthest. A portion of our ownprovisions would be landed, as better suited to our habits than thosewhich had been taken from la Pauline, while a portion of the last wouldbe transferred to the Crisis, for the same reason, as applied to theFrench. As for water-casks, &c., they were all arranged; everything, ofthe sort having been taken from the wreck, with little or no difficulty,immediately after the loss of the ship. In a word, we should have littlemore to do, than to step the masts, rig our craft, stow her hold, andproceed at once to the nearest friendly port.
"I zink you shall go to Canton," added Monsieur Le Compte. "Ze distanceshall not be much more than to Sout' America; and zere you shall findplenty of your _compatriotes_. Of course, you can sleep and go _chezvous_--vat you call 'home,' with _toute la facilite_. Oui--_cetarrangement est admirable._" So the arrangement might appear to him,though I confess to a decided 'preference to remaining in the "blindCrisis," as our men had got to call her, after her blundering throughthe Straits of Magellan. "_Allons!_" exclaimed the French captain,suddenly. "We are near ze tent of Mademoiselle--we shall go and demandhow she carry herself _ce beau matin!_" On looking up, I saw two smalltents within fifty yards of us. They were beautifully placed, in themidst of a thicker portion of the grove than usual, and near a spring ofthe most exquisitely limpid water I ever beheld. These tents were madeof new canvass, and had been fashioned with care and skill. I could seethat the one we first approached was carpeted over, and that it hadmany of the appliances of a comfortable abode. Mons. Le Compte, whowas really a good-looking fellow under forty, put on his most amiableappearance as he got near the canvass-door; and he hemmed once or twice,as respectfully as he could, by way of letting his presence be known.In an instant, a maid-servant came out to receive him. The moment I laideyes on this woman, it struck me her face was familiar, though I couldnot recall the place, or time, where, or when, we had before met. Theoccurrence was so singular, that I was still ruminating on it, when Iunexpectedly found myself standing in the tent, face to face with EmilyMerton and her father! We recognised each other at a glance, and, toMons. Le Compte's amazement, hearty greetings passed between us, as oldacquaintances. Old acquaintances, however, we could scarce be called;but, on an uninhabited island in the South Seas, one is glad to meet anyface that he has ever met before. Emily looked less blooming than whenwe had parted, near a twelvemonth before, in London; but she was stillpretty and pleasing. Both she and her father were in mourning, and, themother not appearing, I at once guessed the truth. Mrs. Merton was aninvalid when I knew her, though I had not anticipated for her so speedya death. I thought Captain Le Compte appeared vexed at my reception.Still, he did not forget his good manners; and he rose, saying he wouldleave me with my friends to make mutual explanations, while he proceededto overlook the duty of the day. On taking his leave, I was notpleased to see him approach and kiss Emily's hand. The act was donerespectfully, and not entirely without grace; but there were a feelingand manner in it that could not well be mistaken. Emily blushed, as shewished him good morning, and turning to look at me, in spite of a kindof dog-in-the-manger sensation, I could not forbear smiling.
"Never, Mr. Wallingford, never!" Emily said, with emphasis, the instanther admirer was out of hearing. "We are at his mercy, and must keepterms with him; but I can never marry a _foreigner_."
"That is poor encouragement for Wallingford, my dear," said her father,laughing, "should he happen to take a fancy to you himself."
Emily looked confused, but, what, for the circumstances, was betterstill, she looked concerned.
"I am sure, dear sir," she answered, with a quickness I thoughtcharming, "I am sure Mr. Wallingford will not suppose I meantanything so rude. Then, he is no importunate suitor of mine, like thisdisagreeable Frenchman, who always seems to me more like a Turkishmaster, than like one who really respects a woman. Besides--"
"Besides what, Miss Merton?" I ventured to ask, perceiving that shehesitated.
"Besides, Americans are hardly foreigners to _us_," added Emily,smiling; "for we have even American relatives, you know, father."
"Quite true, my dear, and came near being Americans ourselves. Hadmy father established himself where he married, as had been his firstintention, such would have been our national character. But, Mons. LeCompte has given us a moment to tell our stories to each other, and Ithink it will not be a very long moment. Let one of us commence, if wewish the offices done without unpleasant listeners."
Emily urged me to begin, and I did not hesitate. My story was soon told.Major Merton and his daughter understood all about the capture of theship in the basin, though they were ignorant of the vessel's name. Ihad only to relate our voyage on the main, and the death of CaptainWilliams, therefore, to have my whole story told. I made it all theshorter, from an impatience to hear the circumstances which had thrownmy friends into their present extraordinary position.
"It seems extraordinary enoug
h, beyond doubt," Major Merton began, themoment I left him an opening by my closing remark, "but it is all verysimple, when you commence at the right end of the sad story, and followevents in the order in which they occurred."
"When you left us in London, Wallingford, I supposed we were on thepoint of sailing for the West Indies, but a better appointment soonafter offering in the East, my destination was changed to Bombay. Itwas important that I should reach my port at as early a day as possible;and, no regular Indiaman being ready, I took passage in a licensedrunning vessel, a ship of no size, or force. Nothing occurred until wehad got within three or four days' sail of our port, when we fell inwith la Pauline, and were captured. At first, I think Captain Le Comptewould have been willing to let me go on parole, but no opportunityoffered, and we went with the ship to Manilla. While there, themelancholy loss happened, which, no doubt, you have comprehended fromour mourning; and I was strongly in hopes of making some arrangementsthat would still enable me to save my situation. But, by this time,Monsieur Le Compte had become an open admirer of Emily, and I suppose itis hopeless to expect any liberation, so long as he can invent excusesto frustrate it."
"I trust he does not abuse his power, in any way, and annoy Miss Mertonwith importunities that are unpleasant to her."
Emily rewarded me for the warmth with which I spoke, with a sweet smileand a slight blush.
"Of that I cannot accuse him, in one sense at least," resumed MajorMerton. "Mons. Le Compte does all for us that his sense of delicacy cansuggest; and it was not possible for passengers to be more comfortable,or retired, on board ship, than we were in the Pauline. That vessel hada poop, and its cabin was given up entirely to our use. At Manilla, Iwas permitted to go at large, on a mere verbal assurance of returning;and, in all other particulars, we have been treated as well ascircumstances would very well allow. Nevertheless, Emily is too youngto admire a suitor of forty, too English to admire a foreigner, and toowell-born to accept one who is merely a merchant sailor--I mean one whois nothing, and has nothing, but what his ship makes him, or can givehim."
I understood Major Merton's distinction; he saw a difference between theheir of Clawbonny, pursuing his adventures for the love of the sea, anda man who pursued the sea as an adventurer. It was not very delicatelymade, but it was pretty well, as coming from an European to an American;the latter being assumed _ex gratia_, to be a being of an inferiororder, morally, politically, physically, socially and in every othersense, but the pecuniary. Thank Heaven! the American dollar is admitted,pennyweight for pennyweight, to a precedency immediately next to thatof the metal dollar of Europe. It even goes before the paper _thaler_ ofPrussia.
"I can readily imagine Miss Merton would look higher than CaptainLe Compte, for various reasons," I answered, making a sortof acknowledgment for the distinction in my favour, by bowinginvoluntarily, "and I should hope that gentleman would cease to beimportunate as soon as convinced he cannot succeed."
"You do not know a Frenchman, Mr. Wallingford," rejoined Emily. "He isthe hardest creature on earth to persuade into the notion that he is notadorable."
"I can hardly believe that this weakness extends as far as the sailors,"said I, laughing. "At all events, you will be released the instant youreach France."
"Sooner too, I trust, Wallingford," resumed the father. "These Frenchmencan have it their own way, out here in the solitude of the Pacific; but,once in the Atlantic, I shall expect some British cruiser to pick us up,long ere we can reach France."
This was a reasonable expectation, and we conversed about it for sometime. I shall not repeat all that passed; but the reader can have nodifficulty in understanding, that Major Merton and myself communicatedto each other every fact that was likely to be of interest to men in oursituation. When I thought it prudent to take my leave, he walked somedistance with me, holding his way to a point on the outer side of theisland, where I could get a view of the wreck. Here he left me, for themoment, while I proceeded along the beach, ruminating on all that hadpassed.
The process by which nature uses her materials to found islands in themidst of oceans like the Pacific, is a curious study. The insect thatforms the coral rock, must be an industrious little creature, as thereis reason to think that some of the reefs that have become known tonavigators within the last sixty or seventy years, have since beenconverted into islands bearing trees, by their labours. Should the workgo on, a part of this vast sea will yet be converted into a continent;and, who knows but a railroad may yet run across that portion of ourglobe, connecting America with the old world? I see that Captain Beechy,in his voyage, speaks of a wreck that occurred in 1792, on a _reef_,where, in 1826, he found an island near three leagues long, bearing talltrees. It would be a curious calculation to ascertain, if one family ofinsects can make an island three leagues long, in thirty-four years, howmany families it would take to make the grading of the railroad I havementioned. Ten years since, I would not have ventured a hint of thisnature, for it might have set speculation in motion, and been theinstrument of robbing more widows and orphans of their straitenedmeans; but, Heaven be praised! we have at length reached a period in thehistory of the country, when a man may venture on a speculation in thetheory of geography without incurring the risk of giving birth to somewild--if not unprincipled--speculation in dollars and cents.
As I drew near the outer shore of the island, opposite to the wreck,I came unexpectedly on Marble. The poor fellow was seated on a raisedprojection of coral rock, with his arms folded, and, was in so thorougha brown study, that he did not even hear my footsteps in approaching,though I purposely trod heavily, in order to catch his ear. Unwilling todisturb him, I stood gazing at the wreck myself, for some little time,the place affording a much better view of it than any other point fromwhich it had met my eye. The French had made far greater inroads upontheir vessel, than the elements. She had struck to leeward of theisland, and lay in a spot where, indeed, it might take years to breakher entirely up, in that placid sea. Most of her upper works, however,were gone; and I subsequently discovered that her own carpenters hadmanaged to get out even a portion of her floor-timbers, leaving thefabric bound together by those they left. Her lower masts were standing,but even her lower yards had been worked up, in order to make somethinguseful for the schooner. The beach, at no great distance, was stillstrewed with objects brought from the reef, and which it had not yetbeen found necessary to use.
At length a movement of mine attracted Marble's attention, and he turnedhis head towards me. He seemed glad I had joined him, and expressedhimself happy, also, that he saw me alone.
"I have been generalizing a little on our condition, Miles," he said,"and look at it which end forward I may, I find it bad enough; almostenough to overcome me. I loved that ship, Mr. Wallingford, as much assome folks love their parents--of wife or children, I never had any--andthe thought that she has fallen into the hands of a Frenchman, is toomuch for my natur'. Had it been Smudge, I could have borne up againstit; but, to haul down one's colours to a wrack, and a bloody Frenchwrack, too, it is superhuman!"
"You must remember all the circumstances, Captain Marble, and you willfind consolation. The ship was surprised, as we surprised the Lady ofNantes."
"That's just it--put that on a general principle, now, and where areyou? Surprisers mustn't be surprised. Had we set a quarter-watch, sir,it never could have happened; and nothing less than a quarter-watchshould have been set in a strange haven. What mattered it, that itwas an uninhabited island, and that the ship was land-locked andwell-moored, and the holding-ground was capital? It is all of noaccount when you come to look at the affair in the way of duty. Why, oldRobbins, with his rivers in the ocean, would never have been caught inthis miserable manner."
Then Marble fairly gave in, placed his two hard hands on his face, andI could see tears trickling from beneath them, as if water were squeezedfrom a stone.
"The chances of the sea, Captain Marble," I said, greatly shocked atsuch an exhibition, coming from such a quarter--"the chances
of thesea are sometimes too much for the best sailors. We should look at thisloss, as we look at the losses occasioned by a gale--then there is somehope left, after all."
"I should like to know what--to me, there is no land ahead."
"Surprisers may not only be surprised, but they may carry on their oldtrade again, and surprise once more, in their turn."
"What do you mean by that, Miles," said Marble, looking up eagerly, andspeaking as quick as lightning; "are you generalizing, or have you anyparticular project in view?"
"Both, Sir. Generalizing, so far as taking the chances of war areconcerned, and particularizing, as to a certain notion that has comeinto my head."
"Out with the last, Miles--out with it, boy; the Lord made you forsomething uncommon."
"First, let me know, Captain Marble, whether you have had any furtherconversation with Monsieur Le Compte? whether he has said any more onthe subject of our future proceedings?"
"I just left the grinning rascal--these amiable smiles of his, Miles,are only so many grins thrown into our faces to let us feel his goodluck; but, d--n him, if I ever get home, I'll fit out a privateer and beafter him, if there's a fast-going schooner to be had in all America forlove or money. I think I'd turn pirate, to catch the villain!"
Alas! poor Marble. Little would he, who never got higher than a mate,unless by accident, be likely to persuade your cautious ship-owners tointrust him with a vessel of any sort, to go tilting against wind-millsafloat, in that fashion.
"But, why go to America for a schooner, Captain Marble, when the Frenchare polite enough to give us one here, exactly where we are?"
"I begin to understand you, boy. There is a little consolation in theidee, but this Frenchman has already got my commission, and without thedocument we should be no better than so many pirates."
"I doubt that, sir, even were a ship to act generally, provided sheactually sailed with a commission, and lost it by accident. Commissionsare all registered, and proof of our character could be found at home."
"Ay, for the Crisis, but not for this 'Pretty Polly'"--for so Marbletranslated Petite Pauline--"The commission is only good for the vesselthat is named in it."
"I don't know that, Captain Marble. Suppose our ship had been sunk in anaction in which we took our enemy, could we not continue our voyage inthe prize, and fight anything that came in our way, afterwards?"
"By George, that does look reasonable. Here was I just threatening to goout as a pirate, yet hesitating about taking my own."
"Do not the crews of captured vessels often rise upon their captors, andrecapture their own vessels? and were any of them ever called pirates?Besides, nations at war authorise almost every sort of hostile actagainst their enemies."
"Miles, I have been mistaken--you _are_ a good seaman, but natur' meantyou for a lawyer! Give me your hand, boy; I see a gleam of hope ahead,and a man can live on less hope than food."
Marble then told me the substance of the conversation he had heldwith Captain Le Compte. The latter had expressed a sudden and violentimpatience to be off--I understood the cause in a moment; he wished toseparate Emily from her old acquaintance, as soon as possible--intendingto put the schooner into the water for us, that very afternoon, andto sail himself in the morning. This was a sudden resolution, and theFrench were moving heaven and earth to carry it into effect. I confessto some little regret at hearing it, for it was pleasant to meet theMertons in that unexpected manner, and the influence of woman in such asolitude is unusually great. I now told Marble of my discovery, and whenhe had got through with his expressions of wonder, I carried him tothe tents, and led him into the presence of his old acquaintances. Inconsequence of this visit, I enjoyed another half hour's _tete a tete_with Emily, Marble soon taking the Major to walk with him, beneath thetrees.
We were both recalled to a sense of our real situation, by thereappearance of Monsieur Le Compte. I cannot say that our conquerorbehaved in the least unhandsomely towards us, notwithstanding hisevident jealousy. He had the tact to conceal most of his feelings, andowing either to liberality or to art, he assumed an air of generousconfidence, that would be much more likely to touch the feelings of themaid he sought, than any acts of severity. First asking permission ofMiss Merton, he even invited us, and himself, to dine with the Major,and, on the whole, we had an agreeable entertainment. We had turtle andchampaigne, and both of a quality that was then out of the reach of allthe aldermen of London or New York; begging pardon of the Sir Peters andSir Johns of Guildhall, for putting them, in any sense, on a level withthe "gentleman from the Fourth Ward" or "the gentleman from the EleventhWard;" though, if the truth must be told, the last very often eat thebest dinners, and drink, out of all comparison, the best wines. Whopays, is a fact buried in the arcana of aldermanic legerdemain. It waslate before we left the table, though Monsieur Le Compte quitted usearly.
At five o'clock precisely we were summoned to witness the launch.Champaigne and claret had brought Marble into good humour, nor was I atall out of spirits, myself. Emily put on her hat, and took her parasol,just as she would have done at home, and accepting my arm, she walked tothe ship-yard, like all the rest of us. Getting her a good place for thesight, I accompanied Marble to take a look at the "Pretty Poll," whichhad not as yet attracted as much of our attention as she ought. I hadsuggested to him the probability of an occasion offering to rise uponthe Frenchman, while their attention was taken up with the schooner; butMonsieur Le Compte warily kept quite half his men in the ship, and thisput the attempt out of the question, since the guns of the Crisis wouldhave swept any part of the island.
The French mechanics deserved great credit for the skill they hadmanifested in the construction of _La Petite Pauline._ She was notonly a safe and commodious craft for her size, but, what was of greatimportance to us, her lines promised that she would turn out to be afast sailer. I afterwards ascertained that Captain Le Compte had beenher draftsman, possessing not only much taste for, but a good deal ofpractice in, the art. The ship in which the Merton's had taken passageto Bombay, had the copper for a teak-built frigate and sloop of warin her, and this had been transferred, among; other articles, tola Pauline, before the prize was burned. Availing himself of thiscircumstance, Monsieur Le Compte had actually coppered his schooner, andotherwise he had made her as neat and commodious as possible. I make nodoubt he intended to surprise his friends at Marseilles, by showing whatclever mariners, wrecked on an island of the Pacific, could do, onan emergency. Then, doubtless, he found it pleasant to linger on thisisland, eating fresh cocoa-nuts, with delicious turtle, and making loveto Emily Merton. Some of the charms of "Pretty Poll" were fairly to beattributed to the charms of the young lady.
The men began to wedge up, the moment we were all present, and thisportion of the labour was _soon_ completed. Monsieur Le Compte then tookhis station in the head of the schooner. Making a profound bow to Emily,as if to ask her permission, the signal was given; the spur-shores wereknocked away, and the little craft slid off into the water so easily,making so little ripple as she shot a hundred fathoms into the bay, asto give the assurance she would prove a fast vessel. Just as she waswater-borne, Le Compte dashed a bottle against the tiller, and shouted,at the top of his voice, "_succes a la Belle Emelie._"
I turned to Emily, and saw by the blush that she understood French,while the manner in which she pouted her pretty plump lip betrayed thehumour in which the compliment had been received.
In a few minutes, Captain Le Compte landed, and, in a set speech, hegave up the schooner to our possession. We were told not to considerourselves as prisoners, our captain handsomely admitting that he hadgained no laurels by his victory.
"We shall go away good friend," he concluded, "mais, suppose we shallmeet, and _nos dux republique_ shall not be at peace, then each mustfight for _son pavillion!_"
This was a good concluding sentiment, for such a scene. Immediatelyafter the Mertons and their domestics, of whom there were a man anda woman, embarked, I took leave of them on the beach
, and, either myobservation, or my vanity, induced me to think Emily got into the boatwith reluctance. Many good wishes were exchanged, and the Major calledout to us, "we shall meet again, gentlemen--there has been a Providencein our previous intercourse. Adieu, until _then_."
The French were now in a great bustle. Most of the articles theyintended to carry away were already on board the ship; and, by the timeit was dusk, they had closed their communication with the land. WhenCaptain Le Compte took his leave of us, I could not but thank him forhis many civilities. He had certainly dealt generously by us, thoughI still think his sudden departure, which made us fall heirs to manythings we otherwise might not have so done, was owing to his wish toremove Emily Merton, as quickly as possible, from my sight.
At daylight next morning, Neb came to the officers' tents to say, theship was getting her anchors. I was up and dressed in a moment. Thedistance to the inlet was about a mile, and I reached it, just as theCrisis was cast. In a few minutes she came sweeping into the narrowpass, under her topsails, and I saw Emily and her father, leaning overthe hammock-cloths of the quarter-deck. The beautiful girl was so near,that I could read the expression of her soft eyes, and I fancied theywere filled with gentle concern. The Major called out, "God bless you,dear Wallingford"--then the ship swept past, and was soon in the outerbay. Half an hour later, or before I left the spot, she was at sea,under everything that would draw from her trunks down.
Afloat and Ashore: A Sea Tale Page 17