CHAPTER XIX.
"Thou shalt seek the beach of sand, Where the water bounds the elfin land; Thou shalt watch the oozy brine Till the sturgeon leaps in the light moonshine." DRAKE.
There is but a word to say of the whaler. We spoke her, of course, andparted, leaving her her boat. She passed half an hour, close to us, andthen went after her whale. When we lost sight of her, she was cuttingin the fish, as coolly as if nothing had happened. As for ourselves, wemade the best of our way for the island.
Nothing worth relating occurred during the remainder of the passage.We reached our place of destination ten days after we found Marble;and carried both the ship and schooner into the lagoon, without anyhesitation or difficulty. Everything was found precisely as we hadleft it; two months having passed as quietly as an hour. The tents werestanding, the different objects lay where they had been hastily droppedat our hurried departure, and everything denoted the unchangeablecharacter of an unbroken solitude. Time and the seasons could alone haveproduced any sensible alteration. Even the wreck had neither shifted herbed, nor suffered injury. There she lay, seemingly an immovable fixtureon the rocks, and as likely to last, as any other of the durable thingsaround her.
It is always a relief to escape from the confinement of a ship, even ifit be only to stroll along the vacant sands of some naked beach. As soonas the vessels were secured, we poured ashore in a body, and the peoplewere given a holiday. There was no longer an enemy to apprehend; andwe all enjoyed the liberty of movement, and the freedom from care thataccompanied our peculiar situation. Some prepared lines and commencedfishing; others hauled the seine; while the less industriously disposedlounged about, selected the fruit of the cocoa-nut tree, or huntedfor shells, of which there were many, and those extremely beautiful,scattered along the inner and outer beaches, or lying, visible, justwithin the wash of the water. I ordered two or three of the hands tomake a collection for Clawbonny; paying them, as a matter of course, fortheir extra services. Their success was great; and I still possess thefruits of their search, as memorials of my youthful adventures.
Emily and her maid took possession of their old tents, neither ofwhich had been disturbed; and I directed that the necessary articles offurniture should be landed for their use. As we intended to remain eightor ten days at Marble Land, there was a general disposition to makeourselves comfortable; and the crew were permitted to bring such thingsashore as they desired, care being had for the necessary duties of theships. Since quitting London, we had been prisoners, with the shortinterval of our former visit to this place, and it was now deemed wisestto give the people a little relaxation. To all this, I was advised byMarble; who, though a severe, and so often seemingly an obdurate man,was in the main disposed to grant as much indulgence, at suitablemoments, as any officer I ever sailed with. There was an ironicalseverity, at times, about the man, which misled superficial observers.I have heard of a waggish boatswain in the navy, who, when disposed tomenace the crew with some of his official visitations, used to cry out,"Fellow-citizens, I'm coming among you;" and the anecdote never recursto my mind, without bringing Marble back to my recollection. When inspirits, he had much of this bitter irony in his manner; and his ownearly experience had rendered him somewhat insensible to _professional_suffering; but, on the whole, I always thought him a humane man.
We went into the lagoon, before the sun had risen; and before thebreakfast hour of those who lived aft, we had everything landed thatwas necessary, and were in possession of our tents. I had ordered Neb toattend particularly to the wants of the Mertons; and, precisely as thebell of the ship struck eight, which, at that time of day, meanteight o'clock, the black came with the major's compliments, inviting"_Captain_" Wallingford and "_Captain_" Marble to breakfast.
"So it goes, Miles," added my companion, after promising to join theparty in a few moments. "This arrangement about the schooner leaves usboth captains, and prevents anything like your downhill work, which isalways unpleasant business. _Captain_ Marble and _Captain_ Wallingfordsound well; and I hope they may long sail in company. But natur' or artnever meant me for a captain."
"Well, admitting this, where there are _two_ captains, one must outrankthe other, and the senior commands. You should be called _Commodore_Marble."
"None of your pleasantry, Miles," returned Marble, with a severe lookand a shake of the head; "it is by your favour, and I hope by yourgood opinion, that I am master of even that little, half-blooded, partFrench, part Yankee, schooner. It is my second, and I think it will bemy last command. I have generalized over my life, upon a large scale,within the last ten days, and have come to the conclusion that the Lordcreated me to be your mate, and not you to be mine. When natur' meansa man for anything partic'lar, she doesn't set him adrift among humanbeings, as I was set adrift."
"I do not understand you, sir--perhaps you will give me an outline ofyour history; and then all will be plain."
"Miles, oblige me in one particular--it will cost you no great struggle,and will considerably relieve my mind."
"You have only to name it, sir, to be certain it will be done."
"Drop that bloody _sir_, then; it's unbecoming now, as between you andme. Call me Marble, or Moses; as I call you, Miles."
"Well, be it so. Now for this history of yours, which you have promisedto give me, by the way, any time these two years."
"It can be told in a few words; and I hope it may be of service. A humanlife, properly generalized on, is at any time as good as most sermons.It is full of what I call the morality of idees. I suppose you know towhat I owe my names?"
"Not I--to your sponsors in baptism, like all the rest of us, Isuppose."
"You're nearer the truth than you may imagine, this time, boy. I wasfound, a child of a week old, they tell me, lying in a basket, onepleasant morning, in a stone-cutter's yard, on the North River side ofthe town, placed upon a bit of stone that was hewing out for the head ofa grave, in order, as I suppose, that the workmen would be sure tofind me, when they mustered at their work. Although I have passed for adown-easter, having sailed in their craft in the early part of my life,I'm in truth York born."
"And is this all you know of your origin, my dear Marble?"
"All I _want_ to know, after such a hint. A man is never anxious to makethe acquaintance of parents who are afraid to own him. I dare say, now,Miles, that _you_ knew, and loved, and respected _your_ mother?"
"Love, and respect her! I worshipped her, Marble; and she deserved itall, if ever human being did!"
"Yes, yes; I can understand _that_," returned Marble, making a hole inthe sand with his heel, and looking both thoughtful and melancholy. "Itmust be a great comfort to love and respect a mother! I've seen them,particularly young women, that I thought set quite as much store bytheir mothers, as they did by themselves. Well, no matter; I got intoone of poor Captain Robbins's bloody currents at the first start, andhave been drifting about ever since, just like the whale-boat with whichwe fell in, pretty much as the wind blew. They hadn't the decency to pineven a name--they might have got one out of a novel or a story-book, youknow, to start a poor fellow in life with--to my shirt; no--they justset me afloat on that bit of a tombstone, and cast off the standing partof what fastened me to anything human. There they left me, to generalizeon the 'arth and its ways, to my heart's content."
"And you were found next morning, by the stone-cutter, when he came,again, to use his chisel."
"Prophecy couldn't have better foretold what happened. There I wasfound, sure enough; and there I made my first escape from destruction.Seeing the basket, which it seems was one in which he had brought hisown dinner, the day before, and forgotten to carry away with him, hegave it a jerk to cast away the leavings, before he handed it to thechild who had come to take it home, in order that it might be filledagain, when out I rolled on the cold stone. There I lay, as near thegrave as a tomb-stone, when I was just a week old."
"Poor fellow--you could only know this by report, however. And what wasdone with you?"
"I suppose, if the truth were known, my father was somewhere aboutthat yard; and little do I envy the old gentleman his feelings, if hereflected much, over matters and things. I was sent to the Alms-House,however; stone-cutters being nat'rally hard-hearted, I suppose. The factthat I was left among such people, makes me think so much the more,that my own father must have been one of them, or it never could havehappened. At all events, I was soon rated on the Alms-House books; andthe first thing they did was to give me some name. I was No. 19, forabout a week; at the age of fourteen days, I became Moses Marble."
"It was an odd selection, that your 'sponsors in baptism' made!"
"Somewhat--Moses came from the scriptur's, they tell me; there being aperson of that name, as I understand, who was turned adrift pretty muchas I was, myself."
"Why, yes--so far as the basket and the abandonment were concerned;but he was put afloat fairly, and not clapped on a tomb-stone, as if tothreaten him with the grave at the very outset."
"Well, Tombstone came very near being my name. At first, they thought ofgiving me the name of the man for whom the stone was intended; but, thatbeing Zollickoffer, they thought I never should be able to spell it.Then came Tombstone, which they thought melancholy, and so they calledme Marble; consaiting, I suppose, it would make me _tough._"
"How long did you remain in the Alms-House, and at what age did youfirst go to sea?"
"I staid among them the public feeds, until I was eight years old, andthen I took a hazy day to cut adrift from charity. At that time, Miles,our country belonged to the British--or they treated it as if it did,though I've heard wiser men than myself say, it was always our own, theking of England only happening to be our king--but I was born a Britishsubject, and being now just forty, you can understand I went to seaseveral years before the revolution."
"True--you must have seen service in that war, on one side, or theother?"
"If you say _both_ sides, you'll not be out of the way. In 1775, I wasa foretop-man in the Romeny 50, where I remained until I was transferredto the Connecticut 74--"
"The what?" said I, in surprise. "Had the English a line-of-battle shipcalled the Connecticut?"
"As near as I could make it out: I always thought it a big complimentfor John Bull to pay the Yankees."
"Perhaps the name of your ship was the Carnatic? The sounds are notunlike."
"Blast me, if I don't think you've hit it, Miles. Well, I'm glad ofit, for I run from the ship, and I shouldn't half like the thought ofserving a countryman such a trick. Yes, I then got on board of oneof our sloops, and tried my hand at settling the account with my oldmasters. I was taken prisoner for my pains, but worried through the warwithout getting my neck stretched. They wanted to make it out, on boardthe old Jarsey, that I was an Englishman, but I told 'em just to proveit. Let 'em only prove where I was born, I said, and I would give itup. I was ready to be hanged, if they could only prove where I was born.D----, but I sometimes thought I never _was_ born, at all."
"You are surely an American, Marble? A Manhattanese, born and educated?"
"Why, as it is not likely any person would import a child a week old, toplant it on a tombstone, I conclude I am. Yes, I must be _that_; andI have sometimes thought of laying claim to the property of TrinityChurch, on the strength of my birth-right. Well, as soon as the war wasover, and I got out of prison, and that was shortly after you were born,Captain Wallingford, I went to work regularly, and have been ever sincesarving as dickey, or chief-mate, on board of some craft or other. IfI had no family bosom to go into, as a resting-place, I had my bosom tofill with solid beef and pork, and that is not to be done by idleness."
"And, all this time, my good friend, you have been living, as it mightbe, alone in the world, without a relative of any sort?"
"As sure as you are there. Often and often, have I walked through thestreets of New York, and said to myself, Among all these people, thereis not one that I can call a relation. My blood is in no man's veins,but my own."
This was said with a bitter sadness, that surprised me. Obdurate, andinsensible to suffering as Marble had ever appeared to me, I was notprepared to find him giving such evidence of feeling. I was then young,but now am old; and one of the lessons learned in the years that haveintervened, is not to judge of men by appearances. So much sensibilityis hidden beneath assumed indifference, so much suffering really existsbehind smiling countenances, and so little does the exterior tell thetrue story of all that is to be found within, that I am now slow toyield credence to the lying surfaces of things. Most of all had Ilearned to condemn that heartless injustice of the world, that rendersit so prompt to decide, on rumour and conjectures, constituting itself ajudge from which there shall be no appeal, in cases in which it has nottaken the trouble to examine, and which it had not even the power toexamine evidence.
"We are all of the same family, my friend," I answered, with a gooddesign at least, "though a little separated by time and accidents."
"Family!--Yes, I belong to my own family. I'm a more important man inmy family, than Bonaparte is in his; for I am all in all; ancestors,present time and posterity!"
"It is, at least, your own fault you are the last; why not marry andhave children?"
"Because my parents did not set me the example," answered Marble, almostfiercely. Then clapping his hand on my shoulder, in a friendly way,as if to soothe me after so sharp a rejoinder, he added in a gentlertone--"Come, Miles, the Major and his daughter will want theirbreakfasts, and we had better join them. Talking of matrimony, there'sthe girl for you, my boy, thrown into your arms almost nat'rally, as onemight say."
"I am far from being so sure of that. Marble." I answered, as both beganto walk slowly towards the tent "Major Merton might hot think it anhonour, in the first place, to let his daughter marry a Yankee sailor."
"Not such a one as myself, perhaps; but why not one like you? Howmany generations have there been of you, now, at the place you callClawbonny?"
"Four, from father to son, and all of us Miles Wallingfords."
"Well, the old Spanish proverb says 'it takes three generations to makea gentleman;' and here you have four to start upon. In _my_ family, allthe generations have been on the same level, and I count myself old inmy sphere."
"It is odd that a man like you should know anything of old Spanishproverbs!"
"What? Of _such_ a proverb, think you, Miles? A man without even afather or mother--who never had either, as one may say--and he notremember such a proverb! Boy, boy, I never forget anything that soplainly recalls the tomb-stone, and the basket, and the Alms-House, andMoses, and the names!"
"But Miss Merton might object to the present generation," I resumed,willing to draw my companion from his bitter thoughts, "howeverfavourably disposed her father might prove to the last."
"That will be your own fault, then. Here you have her, but on thePacific Ocean, all to yourself; and if you cannot tell your own story,and that in a way to make her believe it, you are not the lad I take youfor."
I made an evasive and laughing answer; but, being quite near the tentby this time, it was necessary to change the discourse. The reader maythink it odd, but that was the very first time the possibility of mymarrying Emily Merton ever crossed my mind. In London, I had regardedher as an agreeable acquaintance, with just as much of the colouring ofromance and of the sentimental about our intercourse, as is common withyouths of nineteen and girls a little younger; but as nothing more. Whenwe met on the island, Emily appeared to me like a friend--a _female_friend--and, of course, one to be viewed with peculiarly softenedfeelings; still, as only a friend. During the month we had just passedin the same ship, this tie had gradually strengthened; and I confessto a perfect consciousness of there being on board a pretty girl inher nineteenth year, of agreeable manners, delicate sentiments, andone whose presence gave the Crisis a charm she certainly never enjoyedduring poor Captain Williams's time. Notwithstanding all this, therewas something--though what that something was, I did not then knowmyself--w
hich prevented me from absolutely falling in love with my fairguest. Nevertheless, Marble's suggestion was not unpleasant to me; but,on the other hand, it rather conduced to the satisfaction of my presentvisit.
We were kindly received by our hosts, who always seemed to remember thecommencement of our acquaintance, when Marble and myself visited themtogether. The breakfast had a little of the land about it; for Mons.Le Compte's garden still produced a few vegetables, such as lettuce,pepper-grass, radishes, &c.; most of which, however, had sownthemselves. Three or four fowls, too, that he had left on the islandin the hurry of his departure, had begun to lay; and Neb having found anest, we had the very unusual treat of fresh eggs. I presume no one willdeny that they were sufficiently "country-laid."
"Emily and myself consider ourselves as old residents here," the Majorobserved, as he gazed around him, the table being set in the open air,under some trees; "and I could almost find it in my heart to remain onthis beautiful island for the remainder of my days--quite, I think, wereit not for my poor girl, who might find the society of her old fatherrather dull work, at her time of life."
"Well, Major," said Marble, "you have only to let your taste be known,to have the ch'ice among all our youngsters to be her companion. Thereis Mr. Talcott, a well-edicated and mannerly lad enough, and of goodconnexions, they tell me; and as for Captain Wallingford here, I willanswer for _him_. My life on it, he would give up Clawbonny, and theproperty on which he is the fourth of his name, to be king, or Prince ofWales of this island, with such company!"
Now, it was Marble, and not I, who made this speech; and yet I heartilywished it unsaid. It made me feel foolish and I dare say it made melook foolish; and I know it caused Emily to blush. Poor girl! she, whoblushed so easily, and was so sensitive, and so delicately situated--shewas entitled to have more respect paid to her feelings. The Major andMarble, however, took it all very coolly, continuing the discourse as ifnothing out of the way had been said.
"No doubt--no doubt," answered the first; "romance always finds votariesamong young people, and this place may well excite romantic feelings inthose who are older than these young men. Do you know, gentlemen, thatever since I have known this island, I have had a strong desire to passthe remainder of my days on it? The idea I have just mentioned to you,therefore, is by no means one of a moment's existence."
"I am glad, at least, dear sir," observed Emily, laughing, "that thedesire has not been so strong as to induce you to make formal proposalson the subject."
"You, indeed, are the great obstacle; for what could I do with adiscontented girl, whose mind would be running on balls, theatres, andother amusements? We should not have even a church."
"And, Major Merton," I put in, "what could you, or any other man, dowith _himself_, in a place like this, without companions, books, oroccupation ?"
"If a conscientious man, Miles, he might think over the past; if a wiseone, he would certainly reflect on the future. I should have books,since Emily and I could muster several hundred volumes between us; and,_with_ books, I should have companions. What could I do? I shouldhave everything to create, as it might be, and the pleasure of seeingeverything rising up under my own hand. There would be a house toconstruct--the materials of that wreck to collect--ropes, canvass,timber, tar, sugar, and divers other valuables that are still out on thereef, or which lie scattered about on the beach, to gather together, andsave against a rainy day. Then I would have a thought for my poultry;and possibly you might be persuaded to leave me one or two of thesepigs, of which I see the French forgot half a dozen, in their haste tocheat the Spaniards. Oh! I should live like a prince and be a prince_regnant_ in the bargain."
"Yes, sir, you would be captain and all hands, if that would be anygratification; but I think you would soon weary of your government, andbe ready to abdicate."
"Perhaps so, Miles; yet the thought is pleasant to me: but for thisdear girl, it would be particularly so. I have very few relatives; thenearest I have being, oddly enough, your own country-people, gentlemen.My mother was a native of Boston, where my father, a merchant, marriedher; and I came very near being a Yankee myself, having been born but aweek after my parents landed in England. On my father's side, I have notfive recognised relatives, and they are rather distant; while those onmy mother's are virtually all strangers. Then I never owned a foot ofthis earth on which we live, in my life--"
"Nor I," interrupted Marble, with emphasis.
"My father was a younger son; and younger sons in England are generallylack-lands. My life has been such, and, I may add, my means such, thatI have never been in the way of purchasing even enough earth to bury mein; and here, you see, is an estate that can be had for asking. How muchland do you fancy there is in this island, gentlemen? I mean, apartfrom the beach, the sands and rocks; but such as has grass, and bearstrees--ground that might be tilled, and rendered productive, withoutmuch labour?"
"A hundred thousand acres," exclaimed Marble, whose calculation wasreceived with a general laugh.
"It seems rather larger to me, sir," I answered, "than the farm atClawbonny. Perhaps there may be six or eight hundred acres of thesort of land you mention; though the whole island must contain severalthousands--possibly four, or five."
"Well, four or five thousand acres of land make a good estate--but, asI see Emily is getting frightened, and is nervous under the apprehensionof falling heir to such extensive possessions, I will say no more aboutthem."
No more _was_ said, and we finished our breakfasts, conversing of thepast, rather than of the future. The Major and Marble went to strollalong the groves, in the direction of the wreck; while I persuaded Emilyto put on her hat and stroll--the other way.
"This is a singular notion of my father's," my fair companion remarked,after a moment of musing; "nor is it the first time, I do assure you,on which he has mentioned it. While we were here before, he spoke of itdaily."
"The scheme might do well enough for two ardent lovers," said I,laughing; "but would scarcely be Wise for an elderly gentleman and hisdaughter. I can imagine that two young people, warmly attached toeach other, might get along in such a place for a year or two, withouthanging themselves; but I fancy even love would tire out, after a while,and they would set about building a boat, in which to be off."
"You are not very romantic, I perceive, Mr. Wallingford," Emilyanswered, and I thought a little reproachfully. "Now, I own that to mytaste, I could be happy anywhere--here, as well as in London, surroundedby my nearest and dearest friends."
"Surrounded! Ay, that would be a very different matter. Let me have yourfather, yourself, honest Marble, good Mr. Hardinge, Rupert, dear, dearGrace, and Lucy, with Neb and some others of my own blacks, and I shouldask no better home. The island is only in twenty, has plenty of shadesome delicious fruits, and Would be easily tilled--one might do here, Iacknowledge, and it would be pleasant to found a colony."
"And who are all these people you love so well, Mr. Wallingford, thattheir presence would make a desert island pleasant?"
"In the first place, Major Merton is a half-pay officer in the Britishservice, who has been appointed to some civil station in India"--Ianswered, gallantly. "He is a respectable, agreeable, well-informedgentleman, a little turned of fifty, who might act as Judge andChancellor. Then he has a daughter--"
"I know more of her and her bad qualities than you do yourself,_Sire_--but who are Rupert, and Grace, and Lucy--_dear, dear_ Grace,especially?"
"Dear, _dearest_ Grace, Madam, is my sister--my _only_ sister--all thesister I ever can have, either by marriage, or any other means, andsisters are usually _dear_ to young men, I believe."
"Well--I knew you had a sister, and a _dear_ sister, but I also knew youhad but one. Now as to Rupert--"
"He is not another sister, you may be well assured. I have mentionedto you a friend from childhood, who went to sea with me, at first, but,disliking the business, has since commenced the study of the law."
"That, then, is Rupert. I remember some such touches of his char
acter,but did not know the name. Now, proceed on to the next--"
"What, Neb!--You know _him_ almost as well as I do myself. He is yonderfeeding the chickens, and will save his passage money."
"But you spoke of another--that is--was there not a Mr.--, Hardinge wasthe name, I think?"
"Oh! true--I forgot Mr. Hardinge and Lucy, though they would be two ofthe most important of the colonists. Mr. Hardinge is my guardian,and will continue to be so a few months longer, and Lucy is hisdaughter--Rupert's sister--the old gentleman is a clergyman, and wouldhelp us to keep Sundays as one should, and might perform the marriageceremony, should it ever be required."
"Not much danger of that, I fancy, on your _desert_ island--yourBarrataria"--observed Miss Merton, quickly.
I cannot explain the sensitiveness of certain young ladies on suchpoints, unless it be through their consciousness. Now, had I beenholding this idle talk with Lucy, the dear, honest creature would havelaughed, blushed ever so little, possibly, and nodded her head in frankassent; or, perhaps, she would have said "oh! certainly," in a way toshow that she had no desire to affect so silly a thing as to wish one tosuppose she thought young people would not get married at Marble Land,as well as Clawbonny, or New York. Miss Merton, however, saw fit tochange the discourse, which soon turned on her father's health. On thissubject she was natural and full of strong affection. She was anxious toget the Major out of the warm latitudes. His liver had been touched inthe West Indies, but he had hoped that he was cured, or he never wouldhave accepted the Bombay appointment. Experience, however, was givingreason to suspect the contrary, and Emily wished him in a cold climateas soon as possible, and that with an earnestness that showed sheregarded all that had been said about the island as sheer pleasantry.We continued the conversation for an hour when, returning to the tent,I left my fair companion with a promise to be as active as possible, inorder to carry the ship into a higher latitude. Still I did not deem theisland a particularly dangerous place, notwithstanding its position; thetrades and sea breezes, with its ample shades, rendering the spot one ofthe most delightful tropical abodes I had ever been in.
After quitting Emily, I went to join Marble, who was alone, pacing aspot beneath the trees, that poor Le Compte had worn into a path, andwhich he had himself called his "quarter-deck."
"This Major Merton is a sensible man, Miles," the ex-mate began, assoon as I dropped in alongside of him, and joined in his semi-trot;"a downright, sensible sort of a philosopher-like man, accordin' to mynotion."
"What has he been telling you, now, that has seized your fancy so muchstronger than common?"
"Why, I was thinking of this idee of his, to remain on the island, andpass the remainder of the v'y'ge here, without slaving day and night toget up two or three rounds of the ladder of promotion, only to fall downagain."
"And did the Major speak of such things? I know of no disappointments ofhis, to sour him with the world."
"I was not speaking for Major Merton, but for myself, Miles. To tellyou the truth, boy, this idee seems just suited to me, and I have almostmade up my mind to remain behind, here, when you sail."
I looked at Marble with astonishment; the subject on which the Major hadspoken in pleasantry, rather than with any real design of carrying hisproject into execution, was one that my old messmate regarded seriously!I had noted the attention with which he listened to our discourse,during breakfast, and the strong feeling with which he spoke at thetime, but had no notion of the cause of either. I knew the man too well,not to understand, at once, that he was in sober earnest, and had toomuch experience of his nature, not to foresee the greatest difficultyin turning him from his purpose. I understood the true motive to beprofessional mortification at all that occurred since he had succeededCaptain Williams in command; for Marble was much too honest and toomanly, to think for a moment of concealing his own misfortunes behindthe mantle offered by my success.
"You have not thought of this matter sufficiently, my friend," Ianswered, evasively, knowing the folly of attempting to laugh thematter off--"when you have slept on it a night, you will see thingsdifferently."
"I fancy not, Miles. Here is all I want, and just what I want. Afteryou have taken away everything that can be required for the vessels, ordesirable to the owners, there will be enough left to keep me a dozenlives."
"It is not on account of food, that I speak--the island alone in itsfruits, fish and birds, to say nothing as to the seeds, and fowls, andpigs, we could leave you, would be sufficient to keep fifty men;but, think of the solitude, the living without object, the chances ofsickness--the horrible death that would follow to one unable to rise andassist himself, and all the other miseries of being alone. Depend onit, man was not created to live alone. Society is indispensable to him,and--"
"I have thought of it all, and find it entirely to my taste. I tell you,Miles, I should be exactly in my sphere, in this island, and that as ahermit. I do not say I should not like _some_ company, if it couldbe yourself, or Talcott, or the Major, or even Neb; but no company isbetter than bad; and as for asking, or _allowing_ any one to stay withme, it is out of the question. I did, at first, think of keeping theSandwich Islanders; but it would be bad faith, and they would not belikely to remain quiet, after the ship had sailed. No, I will remainalone. You will probably report the island when you get home, and thatwill induce some vessel, which may be passing near, to look for me, so Ishall hear of you all, every four or five years."
"Gracious heaven! Marble, you cannot be serious in so mad a design?"
"Just look at my situation, Miles, and decide for yourself. I am withouta friend on earth--I mean nat'ral friend--I know what sort of friend youare, and parting with you will be the toughest of all--but I have not arelation on the wide earth--no property, no home no one to wish to seeme return, not even a cellar to lay my head in. To me all places arealike, with the exception of this, which, having discovered, I look uponas my own."
"You have a _country_, Marble; and that is the next thing to family andhome--overshadows all."
"Ay, and I'll have a country here. This will be America, having beendiscovered by Americans, and in their possession. You will leave me thebuntin', and I'll show the stars and stripes of a 4th of July, just asyou will show 'em, in some other part of the world. I was born Yankee,at least, and I'll die Yankee, I've sailed under that flag, boy, eversince the year '77, and will not sail under another you may depend onit."
"I never could justify myself to the laws for leaving a man behind me insuch a place."
"Then I'll run, and that will make all right. But, you know well enough,boy, that leaving a captain is one thing, and leaving a man another."
"And what shall I tell all your acquaintances, those who have sailedwith you so often and so long, has become of their old ship-mate?"
"Tell 'em that the man who was once _found_, is now _lost_," answeredMarble, bitterly. "But I am not such a fool as to think myself ofso much importance as you seem to imagine. The only persons who willconsider the transaction of any interest will be the newspaper gentry,and they will receive it only as _news_, and thank you about half asmuch as they would for a murder, or a robbery, or the poisoning of amother and six little children."
"I think, after all, you would scarcely find the means of supportingyourself," I added, looking round in affected doubt; for I felt, at eachinstant, how likely my companion was to adhere to his notion, and thisfrom knowing him so well. "I doubt if the cocoa is healthy, all the yearround, and there must be seasons when the trees do not bear."
"Have no fear of that sort. I have my own fowling-piece, and you willleave me a musket, or two, with some ammunition. Transient vessels,now the island is known, will keep up the supply. There are two henssetting, at this moment, and a third has actually hatched. Then one ofthe men tells me there is a litter of pigs, near the mouth of the bay.As for the hogs and the poultry, the shell-fish and berries will keepthem; but there are fifteen hogsheads of sugar on the beach, besidesthirty or forty more in the wrec
k, and all above water. There are casksof beans and peas, the sea-stores of the French, besides lots of otherthings. I can plant, and fish, and shoot, and make a fence from theropes of the wreck, and have a large garden, and all that a man canwant. Our own poultry, you know, has long been out; but there is still abushel of Indian-corn left, that was intended for their feed. One quartof that, will make me a rich man, in such a climate as this, and withsoil like that on the flat between the two groves. I own a chest oftools, and am, ship-fashion, both a tolerable carpenter and blacksmith;and I do not see that I shall want for anything. You _must_ leave halfthe things that are scattered about, and so far from being a man tobe pitied, I shall be a man to be envied. Thousands of wretches in thegreatest thoroughfares of London, would gladly exchange their crowdedstreets and poverty, for my solitude and abundance."
I began to think Marble was not in a state of mind to reason with, andchanged the subject. The day passed in recreation, as had been intended;and next morning we set about filling up the schooner. We struck in allthe copper, all the English goods, and such portions of the Frenchman'scargo as would be most valuable in America. Marble, however, hadannounced to others his determination to remain behind, to abandon theseas, and to turn hermit. As his first step, he gave up the command ofthe Pretty Poll, and I was obliged to restore her, again, to our oldthird-mate, who was every way competent to take care of her. At the endof the week, the schooner was ready, and despairing of getting Marbleoff in _her_, I ordered her to sail for home, via Cape Horn; givingespecial instructions not to attempt Magellan. I wrote to the owners,furnishing an outline of all that had occurred, and of my future plans,simply remarking that Mr. Marble had declined acting out of motives ofdelicacy, since the re-capture of the ship; and that, in future, theirinterests must remain in my care. With these despatches the schoonersailed. Marble and I watched her until her sails became a white speck onthe ocean, after which she suddenly disappeared.
As for the ship, she was all ready; and my only concern now wasin relation to Marble. I tried the influence of Major Merton; but,unfortunately, that gentleman had already said too much in favour of ourfriend's scheme, in ignorance of its effect, to gain much credit whenhe turned round, and espoused the other side. The arguments of Emilyfailed, also. In fact, it was not reason, but feeling that governedMarble; and, in a bitter hour, he had determined to pass the remainderof his days where he was. Finding all persuasion useless, and theseason approaching when the winds rendered it necessary to sail, I wascompelled to yield, or resort to force. The last I was reluctant tothink of; nor was I certain the men would have obeyed me had I orderedthem to use it. Marble had been their commander so long, that he might,at any moment, have re-assumed the charge of the ship; and it was notprobable his orders would have been braved under any circumstances thatdid not involve illegality, or guilt. After a consultation with theMajor, I found it necessary to yield to this whim, though I did so withgreater reluctance than I ever experienced on any other occasion.
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