The Privateersman
Page 8
CHAPTER EIGHT.
THE LIVERPOOL LADIES ARE VERY CIVIL TO ME--I AM ADMITTED INTO GOODSOCIETY--INTRODUCED TO CAPTAIN LEVEE--AGAIN SAIL TO SENEGAL--OVERHEAR ACONSPIRACY TO SEIZE THE SHIP BY THE CREW OF A SLAVER, BUT AM ENABLED TODEFEAT IT--AM THANKED AND REWARDED BY THE OWNER--TAKE A TRIP TO LONDONWITH CAPTAIN LEVEE--STOPPED BY HIGHWAYMEN ON THE ROAD--PUT UP AT ATAVERN--DISSIPATED TOWN LIFE--REMOVE TO A GENTEEL BOARDING-HOUSE--MEETWITH A GOVERNMENT SPY--RETURN TO LIVERPOOL.
As the captain reported me to be a very attentive and good officer,although I was then but twenty-three years of age, and as I had beenpreviously on good terms and useful to the owner, I was kindly receivedby him, and paid much more attention to than my situation on board mightwarrant. My captivity among the Negroes, and the narrative I gave of myadventures, were also a source of much interest. I was at firstquestioned by the gentlemen of Liverpool, and afterwards one of themerchant's ladies, who had heard something of my adventures, and foundout that I was a young and personable man, with better manners than areusually to be found before the mast, invited me one evening to atea-party, that I might amuse her friends with my adventures. They weremost curious about the Negro queen, Whyna, inquiring into everyparticular as to her personal appearance and dress, and trying to findout, as women always do, if there was anything of an intrigue betweenus. They shook their little fingers at me, when I solemnly declaredthat there was not, and one or two of them cajoled me aside to obtain myacknowledgment of what they really believed to be the truth, although Iwould not confess it.
When they had tired themselves with asking questions about the Negroqueen, they then began to ask about myself, and how it happened I wasnot such a bear, and coarse in my manners and address, as the otherseamen. To this I could give no other reply but that I had beeneducated when a child. They would fain know who were my father andmother, and in what station of life it had pleased God to place them;but I hardly need say, my dear Madam, to you who are so well acquaintedwith my birth and parentage, that I would not disgrace my family byacknowledging that one of their sons was in a situation so unworthy; notthat I thought at that time, nor do I think now, that I was so much toblame in preferring independence in a humble position, to the life thatinduced me to take the step which I did; but as I could not state who myfamily were without also stating why I had quitted them, I preservedsilence, as I did not think that I had any right to communicate familysecrets to strangers. The consequences of my first introduction togenteel society were very agreeable; I received many more invitationsfrom the company assembled, notwithstanding that my sailor's attire butill corresponded with the powdered wigs and silk waistcoats of thegentlemen, or the hoops and furbelows of satin, which set off the charmsof the ladies. At first I did not care so much, but as I grew more atmy ease, I felt ashamed of my dress, and the more so as the youngfoplings would put their glasses to their eyes, and look at me as if Iwere a monster. But supported as I was by the fair sex, I cared littlefor them. The ladies vowed that I was charming, and paid me muchcourtesy; indeed my vanity more than once made me suspect that I wassomething more than a mere favourite with one or two of them, oneespecially, a buxom young person, and very coquettish, who told me, aswe were looking out of the bay-window of the withdrawing-room, thatsince I could be so secret with respect to what took place between theNegress queen and myself, I must be sure to command the good-will andfavour of the ladies, who always admired discretion in so young and sohandsome a man. But I was not to be seduced by this flattery, forsomehow or another I had ever before me the French lady, and her conductto me; and I had almost a dislike, or I should rather say I had imbibedan indifference, for the sex.
This admission into good society did, however, have one effect upon me;it made me more particular in my dress, and all my wages were employedin the decoration of my person. At that time you may recollect, Madam,there were but two styles of dress among the seamen; one was that wornby those who sailed in the northern seas, and the other by those whonavigated in the tropical countries, both suitable to the climates. Thefirst was the jacket, woollen frock, breeches, and petticoat of canvassover all, with worsted stockings, shoes, and buckles, and usually a capof skin upon the head; the other a light short jacket, with hangingbuttons, red sash, trowsers, and neat shoes and buckles, with a smallembroidered cap with falling crown, or a hat and feather. It was thislast which I had always worn, having been continually in warm climates,and my hair was dressed in its natural ringlets instead of a wig, whichI was never partial to, although very common among seamen; my ears werepierced, and I wore long gold earrings, as well as gilt buckles in myshoes; and, by degrees, I not only improved my dress so as to make itvery handsome in materials, but my manners were also very much alteredfor the better.
I had been at Liverpool about two months, waiting for the ship to unloadand take in cargo for another voyage, when a privateer belonging to thesame owner came into port with four prizes of considerable value; andthe day afterwards I was invited by the owner to meet the captain whocommanded the privateer.
He was a very different looking person from Captain Weatherall, who wasa stout, strong-limbed man, with a weather-beaten countenance. He, onthe contrary, was a young man of about twenty-six, very slight inperson, with a dark complexion, hair and eyes jet black. I should havecalled him a very handsome Jew--for he bore that cast of countenance,and I afterwards discovered that he was of that origin, although Icannot say that he ever followed the observances of that remarkablepeople. He was handsomely dressed, wearing his hair slightly powdered,a laced coat and waistcoat, blue sash and trowsers, with silver-mountedpistols and dagger in his belt, and a smart hanger by his side. He hadseveral diamond rings on his finger, and carried a small clouded cane.Altogether, I had never fallen in with so smart and prepossessing apersonage, and should have taken him for one of the gentlemen commandingthe king's ships, rather than the captain of a Liverpool privateer. Hetalked well and fluently, and with an air of command and decision,taking the lead in the company, although it might have been consideredthat he was not by any means the principal person in it. The owner,during the evening, informed me that he was a first-rate officer, ofgreat personal courage, and that he had made a great deal of money,which he had squandered away almost as fast as he received it.
With this person, whose name was Captain Levee, (an alteration, Isuspect, from Levi,) I was much pleased; and as I found that he did notappear to despise my acquaintance, I took much pains to please him, andwe were becoming very intimate, when my ship was ready to sail. I nowfound that I was promoted to the office of first mate, which gave megreat satisfaction.
We sailed with an assorted cargo, but very light, and nothing ofconsequence occurred during our passage out. We made good traffic onthe coast as we ran down it, receiving ivory, gold-dust, and wax, inexchange for our printed cottons and hardware. After being six weeks onthe coast, we put into Senegal to dispose of the remainder of our cargo;which we soon did to the governor, who gave us a fair exchange, althoughby no means so profitable a barter as what we had made on the coast; butthat we did not expect for what might be called the refuse of our cargo.The captain was much pleased, as he knew the owner would be satisfiedwith him, and, moreover, he had himself a venture in the cargo; and wehad just received the remainder of the ivory from the governor's stores,and had only to get on board a sufficiency of provisions and water forour homeward voyage, when a circumstance took place which I must nowrelate.
Our crew consisted of the captain, and myself, as first mate, the secondmate, and twelve seamen, four of which were those who had been takenprisoners with me, and had been released, as I have related, in ourprevious voyage. These four men were very much attached to me, Ibelieve chiefly from my kindness to them when I was a slave to the queenWhyna, as I always procured for them everything which I could, and,through the exertions of my mistress, had them plentifully supplied withprovisions from the king's table. The second mate and other eight menwe had shipped at Liverpool. They were fine, stout
fellows, butappeared to be loose characters, but that we did not discover till afterwe had sailed. There was anchored with us at Senegal a low black brig,employed in the slave-trade, which had made the bay at the same timethat we did; and to their great surprise--for she was considered a veryfast sailer--she was beaten at all points by our ship, which wasconsidered the fastest vessel out of Liverpool. The crew of the slaverwere numerous, and as bloodthirsty a set of looking fellows as ever Ifell in with. Their boat was continually alongside of our vessel, and Iperceived that their visits were made to the eight men whom we hadshipped at Liverpool, and that they did not appear inclined to be at allintimate with the rest of the crew. This roused my suspicions, althoughI said nothing; but I watched them very closely. One forenoon, as I wasstanding at the foot of the companion-ladder, concealed by thebooby-hatch from the sight of those on deck, I heard our men talkingover the side, and at last, as I remained concealed, that I mightoverhear the conversation, one of the slaver's men from the boat said,"To-night, at eight o'clock, we will come to arrange the wholebusiness." The boat then shoved off, and pulled for the brig.
Now, it was the custom of the captain to go on shore every evening todrink sangaree and smoke with the governor, and very often I went withhim, leaving the ship in charge of the second mate. It had been myintention, and I had stated as much to the second mate, to go thisevening, as it was the last but one that we should remain at Senegal;but from what I overheard I made up my mind that I would not go. Aboutan hour before sunset, I complained of headache and sickness, and satdown under the awning over the after part of the quarter-deck. When thecaptain came up to go on shore, he asked me if I was ready, but I madeno answer, only put my hand to my head.
The captain, supposing that I was about to be attacked by the fever ofthe country, was much concerned, and desired the second mate to help himto take me down to the state-room, and then went on shore; the boat was,as usual, pulled by the four men who were prisoners with me, and whomthe captain found he could trust on shore better than the othersbelonging to the crew, who would indulge in liquor whenever they had anopportunity. I remained in my bed-place till it was nearly eighto'clock, and then crept softly up the companion-hatch to ascertain whowas on deck.
The men were all below in the fore-peak at their suppers, and as I hadbefore observed that their conferences were held on the forecastle, Iwent forward, and covered myself up with a part of the main-topsail,which the men had been repairing during the day. From this position Icould hear all that passed, whether they went down into the fore-peak,or remained to converse on the forecastle. About ten minutes afterwardsI heard the boat grate against the ship's side, and the men of theslaver mount on the deck.
"All right?" inquired one of the slavers.
"Yes," replied our second mate; "skipper and his men are on shore, andthe first mate taken with the fever."
"All the better," replied another; "one less to handle. And now, mylads, let's to business, and have everything settled to-night, so thatwe may not be seen together any more till the work is done."
They then commenced a consultation, by which I found it was arrangedthat our ship was to be boarded and taken possession of as soon as shewas a few miles out of the bay, for they dared not attack us while wewere at anchor close to the fort; but the second mate and eight menbelonging to us were to pretend to make resistance until beaten downbelow, and when the vessel was in their power, the captain, I, and theother four men who were ashore in the boat, were to be silenced forever. After which there came on a discussion as to what was to be donewith the cargo, which was very valuable, and how the money was to beshared out when the cargo was sold. Then they settled who were to beofficers on board of the ship, which there is no doubt they intended tomake a pirate vessel. I also discovered that, if they succeeded, it wastheir intention to kill their own captain and such men of the slaver whowould not join them, and scuttle their own vessel, which was a very oldone.
The consultation ended by a solemn and most villainous oath beingadministered to every man as to secrecy and fidelity, after which themen of the slaver went into their boat, and pulled to their own vessel.The second mate and our men remained on deck about a quarter of an hour,and then all descended by the ladder to the fore-peak, and turned intotheir hammocks.
As soon as I thought I could do so with safety, I came out of mylurking-place, and retreated to the state-room. It was fortunate that Idid, for a minute afterwards I heard a man on deck, and the second matecame down the companion-hatch, and inquired whether I wanted anything.I told him no; that I was very ill, and only hoped to be able to go tosleep, and asked him if the captain had returned. He replied that hehad not, and then went away. As soon as I was left to myself, I beganto consider what would be best to be done. I knew the captain to be avery timorous man, and I was afraid to trust him with the secret, as Ithought he would be certain to let the men know by his conduct that theywere discovered and their plans known. The four men who were prisonerswith me I knew that I could confide in. This was the Tuesday night, andwe proposed sailing on the Thursday. Now we had no means of defence onboard, except one small gun, which was honey-combed and nearly useless.It did very well to make a signal with, but had it been loaded withball, I believe it would have burst immediately. It is true that we hadmuskets and cutlasses, but what use would they have been against such aforce as would be opposed, and two-thirds of our men mutineers. Ofcourse we must have been immediately overpowered.
That the slavers intended to take possession of their own vessel beforethey took ours, I had no doubt. It is true that we outsailed them whenwe had a breeze, but the bay was usually becalmed, and it was not till avessel had got well into the offing that she obtained a breeze, andthere was no doubt but that they would take the opportunity of boardingus when we were moving slowly through the water, and a boat might easilycome up with us. The slaver had stated his intention of sailingimmediately to procure her cargo elsewhere, and if she got under weighat the same time that we did, no suspicion would be created. To applyfor protection to the governor would be useless--he could not protect usafter we were clear of the bay. Indeed, if it were known that we had sodone, it would probably only precipitate the affair, and we should betaken possession of while at anchor, for the shot from the fort wouldhardly reach us. It was, therefore, only by stratagem that we couldescape from the clutches of these miscreants. Again, allowing that wewere to get clear of the slavers, we were still in an awkward position,for, supposing the captain to be of any use, we should still only be sixmen against nine, and we might be overpowered by our own crew, who weredetermined and powerful men.
All night I lay on my bed reflecting upon what ought to be done, and atlast I made up my mind.
The next morning I went on deck, complaining very much, but stating thatthe fever had left me. The long-boat was sent on shore for more water,and I took care that the second mate and eight men should be thoseselected for the service. As soon as they had shoved off I called theother four men on the forecastle, and told them what I had overheard.They were very much astonished, for they had had no idea that there wasanything of the kind going forward. I imparted to them all my plans,and they agreed to support me in everything--indeed, they were all bravemen, and would have, if I had acceded to it, attempted to master andoverpower the second mate and the others, and make sail in the night;but this I would not permit, as there was a great risk. They perfectlyagreed with me that, it was no use acquainting the captain, and that allwe had to do was to get rid of these men, and carry the vessel borne howwe could. How that was to be done was the point at issue. One thingwas certain, that it was necessary to leave the bay that night, or itwould be too late. Fortunately, there was always a light breeze duringthe night, and the nights were dark, for there was no moon till threeo'clock in the morning, by which time we could have gained the offing,and then we might laugh at the slaver, as we were lighter in our heels.The boat came off with the water about noon, and the men went to dinner.
The captain had agreed to dine with the governor, and I had been askedto accompany him. It was to be our farewell dinner, as we were to sailthe next morning. I had been cogitating a long while to find out how toget rid of these fellows, when at last I determined that I would go onshore with the captain, and propose a plan to the governor. Hisknowledge of what was about to be attempted could do no harm, and Ithought he would help us; so I went into the boat, and when we landed Itold the men what I intended to do. As soon as I arrived at thegovernor's, I took an opportunity, while the captain was reading a book,to request a few moments' conversation, and I then informed the governorof the conspiracy which was afloat, and when I had so done, I pointedout to him the propriety of saying nothing to the captain until all wassafe, and proposed my plan to him, which he immediately acceded to.When he returned to where the captain was still reading, he told himthat he had a quantity of gold-dust and other valuables, which he wishedto send to England by his ship; but that he did not wish to do itopenly, as it was supposed that he did not traffic, and that if thecaptain would send his long-boat on shore after dark, he would send allthe articles on board, with instructions to whom they were to beconsigned on our arrival. The captain of course consented. We bade thegovernor farewell about half an hour before dark, and returned on board.After I had been a few minutes on deck, I sent for the second mate, andtold him as a secret what the governor proposed to do, and that he wouldbe required to land after dark for the goods, telling him that there wasa very large quantity of gold-dust, and that he must be very careful. Iknew that this intelligence would please him, as it would add to theirplunder when they seized the vessel; and I told him that as we sailed atdaylight, he must lose no time, but be on board again as soon as hecould, that we might hoist in the long-boat. About eight o'clock in theevening, the boat, with him and the eight men, went on shore. Thegovernor had promised to detain them, and ply them with liquor, till wehad time to get safe off. As soon as they were out of sight andhearing, we prepared everything for getting under weigh. The captainhad gone to his cabin, but was not in bed. I went down to him, and toldhim I should remain up till the boat returned, and see that all wasright; and that in the mean time I would get everything ready forweighing the next morning, and that he might just as well go to bed now,and I would call him to relieve me at daylight. To this arrangement heconsented; and in half an hour I perceived that his candle was out, andthat he had retired. Being now so dark that we could not perceive theslaver, which lay about three cables' length from us, it was fairly tobe argued that she could not see us; I therefore went forward andslipped the cable without noise, and sent men up aloft to loose thesails. There was a light breeze, sufficient to carry us about two knotsthrough the water, and we knew that it would rather increase thandiminish. In half an hour, weak-handed as we were, we were under sail,everything being done without a word being spoken, and with the utmostprecaution. You may imagine how rejoiced we all were when we found thatwe had manoeuvred so well; notwithstanding, we kept a sharp look-out, tosee if the slaver had perceived our motions, and had followed us; andthe fear of such being the case kept us under alarm till near daylight,when the breeze blew strong, and we felt that we had nothing more todread. As the day broke, we found that we were four or five leaguesfrom the anchorage, and could not see the lower masts of the slaver,which still remained where we had left her.
Satisfied that we were secure, I then went down to the captain, and, ashe lay in bed, made him acquainted with all that had passed. Heappeared as if awakened from a dream, rose without making any reply, andhastened on deck. When he found out that we were under weigh, and sofar from the land, he exclaimed:
"It must all be true; but how shall we be able to take the ship homewith so few hands?"
I replied, that I had no fears on that score, and that I would answerfor bringing the vessel safe to Liverpool.
"But," he said at last, "how is it that I was not informed of all this?I might have made some arrangements with the men."
"Yes, Sir," I replied, "but if you had attempted to do so, the vesselwould have been taken immediately."
"But why was I not acquainted with it, I want to know?" he said again.
I had by this time made up my mind to the answer I should give him; so Isaid, "Because it would have placed a serious responsibility on yourshoulders, if, as captain of this vessel, you had sailed to England withsuch a valuable cargo and so few hands. The governor and I, therefore,thought it better that you should not be placed in such an awkwardposition, and therefore we considered it right not to say a word to youabout it. Now, if anything goes wrong, it will be my fault, and notyours, and the owner cannot blame you." When I had said this, thecaptain was silent for a minute or two, and then said:
"Well, I believe it is all for the best, and I thank you and thegovernor too."
Having got over this little difficulty, I did not care. We made allsail, and steered homewards; and, after a rapid passage, during which wewere on deck day and night, we arrived, very much fatigued, atLiverpool. Of course the captain communicated what had occurred to theowner, who immediately sent for me, and having heard my version of thestory, expressed his acknowledgment for the preservation of the vessel;and to prove his sincerity, he presented me with fifty guineas formyself, and ten for each of the men. The cargo was soon landed, and Iwas again at liberty. I found Captain Levee in port; he had justreturned from another cruise, and had taken a rich prize. He met mewith the same cordiality as before; and having asked me for a recital ofwhat had occurred at Senegal, of which he had heard something from theowner, as soon as I had finished, he said:
"You are a lad after my own heart, and I wish we were sailing together.I want a first-lieutenant like you, and if you will go with me, say theword, and it will be hard but I will have you."
I replied that I was not very anxious to be in a privateer again; andthis brought on a discourse upon what occurred when I was in the Revengewith Captain Weatherall.
"Well," he said at last, "all this makes me more anxious to have you. Ilike fair fighting, and hate buccaneering like yourself; however, wewill talk of it another time. I am about to start for London. What doyou say, will you join me, and we will have some sport? With plenty ofmoney, you may do anything in London."
"Yes," I replied, "but I have not plenty of money."
"That shall make no difference; money is of no use but to spend it, thatI know of," replied Captain Levee. "I have plenty for both of us, andmy purse is at your service; help yourself as you please, withoutcounting, for I shall be your enemy if you offer to return it. That'ssettled; the horses are all ready, and we will start on Wednesday. Howwill you dress? I think it might be better to alter your costume, nowyou are going to London. You'll make a pretty fellow, dress how youwill."
"Before I give you an answer to all your kind proposals, I must speak tothe owner, Captain Levee."
"Of course you must; shall we go there now?"
"Willingly," I replied. And we accordingly set off. Captain Leveeintroduced the subject as soon as we arrived at the counting-house,stating that he wanted me to be first-lieutenant of the privateer, andthat I was going to London with him, if he had no objection.
"As for going to London with you for five or six weeks, Captain Levee,there can be no objection to that," replied the owner; "but as for beingyour first-lieutenant, that is another question. I have a vessel nowfitting out, and intended to offer the command of it to Mr Elrington.I do so now at once, and he must decide whether he prefers being underyour orders to commanding a vessel of his own."
"I will decide that for him," replied Captain Levee. "He must commandhis own vessel; it would be no friendship on my part to stand in the wayof his advancement. I only hope, if she is a privateer, that we maycruise together."
"I cannot reply to that latter question," replied the owner. "Herdestination is uncertain; but the command of her is now offered to MrElrington, if he will accept of it before his trip to the metropolis."
I replied that I should with pleasure, and returned the owner manythanks for his kindness; and, after a few minutes' more conversation, wetook our leave.
"Now I should advise you," said Captain Levee, as we walked towards hislodgings, "to dress as a captain of a vessel of war, much in the stylethat I do. You are a captain, and have a right so to do. Come with me,and let me fit you out."
I agreed with Captain Levee that I could not do better; so we went andordered my suits of clothes, and purchased the other articles which Irequired. Captain Levee would have paid for them, but I had moneysufficient, and would not permit him; indeed with my pay and present offifty guineas I had upwards of seventy guineas in my purse, and did notdisburse more than fifty in my accoutrements, although my pistols andhanger were very handsome.
We did not start until three days after the time proposed, when I foundat daylight two stout well-bred horses at the door; one for CaptainLevee, and the other for me. We were attended by two serving-menbelonging to the crew of the privateer commanded by Captain Levee--powerful, fierce-looking, and determined men, armed to the teeth, andmounted upon strong jades. One carried the valise of Captain Levee,which was heavy with gold. The other had charge of mine, which was muchlighter, as you may suppose. We travelled for three days without anyinterruption, making about thirty miles a day, and stopping at thehostelries to sleep every night. On the fourth day we had a slightaffair, for as we were mounting a hill towards the evening, we found ourpassage barred by five fellows with crape masks, who told us to standand deliver.
"We will," replied Captain Levee, firing his pistol, and reining up hishorse at the same time. The ball struck the man, who fell back on thecrupper, while the others rushed forward. My pistols were all ready,and I fired at the one who spurred his horse upon me, but the horserearing up saved his master, the ball passing through the head of theanimal, who fell dead, holding his rider a prisoner by the thigh, whichwas underneath his body. Our two men had come forward and rangedalongside of us at the first attack, but now that two had fallen, theothers finding themselves in a minority, after exchanging shots, turnedtheir horses' heads and galloped away. We would have pursued them, butCaptain Levee said it was better not, as there might be more of the gangnear, and by pursuing them we might separate and be cut off in detail.
"What shall we do with these fellows?" asked our men of Captain Levee.
"Leave them to get off how they can," replied Captain Levee. "I willnot be stopped on my journey by such a matter as this. I dare say theydon't deserve hanging more than half the people we meet. Let us push onand get into quarters for the night. After all, Mr Elrington," saidCaptain Levee to me, as we were setting off, "it's only a little landprivateering, and we must not be too hard upon them."
I confess, Madam, when I recalled all that I had witnessed on board ofthe Revenge, that I agreed with Captain Levee, that these highwaymenwere not worse than ourselves.
No other adventure occurred during our journey, and when we arrived inLondon we directed our horses' steps to a fashionable tavern in SaintPaul's, and took possession of apartments, and as Captain Levee waswell-known, we were cordially greeted and well attended. The tavern wasin great repute, and resorted to by all the wits and gay men of the day,and I soon found myself on intimate terms with a numerous set of dashingblades full of life and jollity, and spending their money like princes;but it was a life of sad intemperance, and my head ached every morningfrom the excess of the night before, and in our excursions in theevenings we were continually in broils and disturbances, and many abroken head, nay, sometimes a severe wound, was given and received.After the first fortnight, I felt weary of this continual dissipation,and as I was dressing a sword-cut which Captain Levee had received in anaffray, I one morning told him so.
"I agree with you," he replied, "that it is all very foolish anddiscreditable, but if we live with the gay and pretty fellows, we mustdo as they do. Besides, how could I get rid of my money, which burns inmy pocket, if I did not spend as much in one day as would suffice forthree weeks?"
"Still I would rather dress a wound gained in an honourable contest withthe enemy than one received in a night brawl, and I would rather see youcommanding your men in action than reeling with other drunkards insearch of a quarrel in the streets."
"I feel that it is beneath me, and I'm sure that it's beneath you. Youare a Mentor without a beard," replied Captain Levee. "But still itrequires no beard to discover that I have made an ass of myself. Now,what do you say, shall we take lodgings and live more reputably, forwhile in this tavern we never shall be able to do so?"
"I should prefer it, to tell you the honest truth," I replied, "for Ihave no pleasure in our present life."
"Be it so, then," he replied. "I will tell them that I take lodgings,that I may be near to a fair lady. That will be a good and sufficientexcuse."
The next day we secured lodgings to our satisfaction, and removed intothem, leaving our horses and men at the tavern. We boarded with thefamily, and as there were others who did the same, we had a verypleasant society, especially as there were many of the other sex amongthe boarders. The first day that we sat down to dinner, I found myselfby the side of a young man of pleasing manners, although with much ofthe coxcomb in his apparel. His dress was very gay and very expensive,and he wore a diamond-hilted sword and diamond buckles--at least so theyappeared to me, as I was not sufficient connoisseur to distinguish thebrilliant from the paste. He was very affable and talkative, and beforedinner was over gave me the history of many of the people present.
"Who is the dame in the blue stomacher?" I inquired.
"You mean the prettiest of the two, I suppose," he replied, "that onewith the patches under the eye? She is a widow, having just buried anold man of sixty, to whom she was sacrificed by her mother. Butalthough the old fellow was as rich as a Jew, he found such fault withthe lady's conduct that he left all his money away from her. This isnot generally known, and she takes care to conceal it, for she isanxious to make another match, and she will succeed if her funds, whichare not _very_ great, enable her to carry on the game a little longer.I was nearly taken in myself, but an intimacy with her cousin, who hatesher, gave me a knowledge of the truth. She still keeps her carriage,and appears to be rolling in wealth, but she has sold her diamonds andwears paste. And that plain young person on the other side of her hasmoney, and knows the value of it. She requires rent-roll for rent-roll,and instead of referring you to her father and mother, the little minxrefers you to her lawyer and man of business. Ugly as she is, I wouldhave sacrificed myself; but she treated me in that way, and upon my soulI was not very sorry for it, for she is dear at any price, and I havesince rejoiced at my want of success."
"Who is that elderly gentleman with such snow-white hair?" I inquired.
"That," replied my companion, "nobody exactly knows, but I have my idea.I think," said he, lowering his voice to a whisper, "that he is aCatholic priest, or a Jesuit, perhaps, and a partisan of the house ofStuart. I have my reasons for supposing so, and this I am sure of,which is, that he is closely watched by the emissaries of government."
You may remember, Madam, how at that time the country was disturbed bythe landing of the Pretender in the summer of the year before, and thegreat successes which he had met with, and that the Duke of Cumberlandhad returned from the army in the Low Countries, and had marched toScotland.
"Has there been any intelligence from Scotland relative to the movementsof the armies?" I inquired.
"We have heard that the Pretender had abandoned the siege of FortWilliam, but nothing more; and how far the report is true, it is hard tosay. You military men must naturally have a war one way or the other,"said my companion, in a careless manner.
"As to the fighting part of the question," I replied, "I should feel ita matter of great indifference which side I fought for, as the claim ofboth parties is a matter of mere opinion."
"Indeed," he said; "and what may be your opinion?"
"That is true; but if you were to be obliged to take one side or theother, which would it be by preference?"
"Certainly I would support the Protestant religion in preference to theCatholic. I am a Protestant, and that is reason enough."
"I agree with you," replied my companion. "Is your brave friend of thesame opinion?"
"I really never put the question to him, but I think I may safely answerthat he is."
It was fortunate, Madam, that I replied as I did, for I afterwardsdiscovered that this precious gossiping young man, with his rings andribbons, was no other than a government spy, on the look-out formalcontents. Certainly his disguise was good, for I never should haveimagined it from his foppish exterior and mincing manners.
We passed our time much more to my satisfaction now than we did before,escorting the ladies to the theatre and to Ranelagh, and the freedomwith which Captain Levee (and I may say I also) spent his money, soongave us a passport to good society. About a fortnight afterwards, thenews arrived of the battle of Culloden, and great rejoicings were made.My foppish friend remarked to me:--
"Yes, now that the hopes of the Pretender are blasted, and theHanoverian succession secured, there are plenty who pretend to rejoice,and be excessively loyal, who, if the truth were known, ought to bequartered as traitors."
And I must observe, that the day before the news of the battle, the oldgentleman with the snow-white hair was arrested and sent to the Tower,and he afterwards suffered for high treason.
But letters from the owner, saying that the presence of both of us wasimmediately required, broke off this pleasant London party. Indeed, thebag of gold was running very low, and this, combined with the owner'sletter, occasioned our breaking up three days afterwards. We took leaveof the company at the lodgings, and there was a tender parting with oneor two buxom young women; after which we again mounted our steeds andset off for Liverpool, where we arrived without any adventure worthy ofnarration.