_Oliv._ "Did he write this?"
_Clo._ "Ay, Madam."
What You Will.
If we say that Alida de Barbérie did not cast a glance behind her, as the
party quitted the wharf, in order to see whether the boat that contained
the commander of the cruiser followed the example of the others, we shall
probably portray the maiden as one that was less subject to the influence
of coquetry than the truth would justify. To the great discontent of the
Alderman, whatever might have been the feelings of his niece, on the
occasion, the barge continued to approach the shore, in a manner which
showed that the young seaman betrayed no visible interest in the result of
the chase.
The heights of Staten Island, a century ago, were covered, much as they
are at present, with a growth of dwarf-trees. Foot-paths led among this
meagre vegetation, in divers directions; and as the hamlet at the
Quarantine-Ground was the point whence they all diverged, it required a
practised guide to thread their mazes, without a loss of both time and
distance. It would seem, however, that the worthy burgher was fully equal
to the office; for, moving with more than his usual agility, he soon led
his companions into the wood, and, by frequently altering his course, so
completely confounded their sense of the relative bearings of places, that
it is not probable one of them all could very readily have extricated
himself from the labyrinth.
"Clouds and shady bowers!" exclaimed Myndert, when he had achieved, to his
own satisfaction, this evasion of the pursuit he wished to avoid; "little
oaks and green pines are pleasant on a June morning. You shall have
mountain air and a sea-breeze Patroon, to quicken the appetite at the Lust
in Rust. If Alicia will speak, the girl can say that a mouthful of the
elixir is better for a rosy cheek, than all the concoctions and washes
that were ever invented to give a man a heart-ache."
"If the place be as much changed as the road that leads to it," returned
la belle Barbérie, glancing her dark eye, in vain, in the direction of the
bay they had quitted, "I should scarcely venture an opinion on a subject
of which I am obliged to confess utter ignorance."
"Ah, woman is nought but vanities! To see and to be seen, is the delight
of the sex. Though we are a thousand times more comfortable in this wood
than we should be in walking along the water-side, why, the sea-gulls and
snipes lose the benefit of our company! The salt water, and all who live
on it, are to be avoided by a wise man, Mr. Van Staats, except as they
both serve to cheapen freight and to render trade brisk. You'll thank me
for this care, niece of mine, when you reach the bluff, cool as a package
of furs free from moth, and fresh and beautiful as a Holland tulip, with
the dew on it."
"To resemble the latter, one might consent to walk blindfold, dearest
uncle; and so we dismiss the subject. François, fais moi le plaisir de
porter ce petit livre; malgré la fraîcheur de la fôret, j'ai besoin de
m'évanter."
The valet took the book, with an empressement that defeated the more tardy
politeness of the Patroon; and when he saw, by the vexed eye and flushed
cheek of his young mistress, that she was incommoded rather by an internal
than by the external heat, he whispered considerately,--
"Que ma chère Mademoiselle Alide ne se fâche pas! Elle ne manquerait
jamais d'admirateurs, dans un désert. Ah! si Mam'selle allait voir la
patrie de ses ancêtres!--"
"'Merci bien, mon cher; gardez les feuilles, fortement fermées. Il y a des
papiers dedans."
"Monsieur François," said the Alderman, separating his niece, with little
ceremony, from her nearly parental attendant, by the interposition of his
own bulky person, and motioning for the others to proceed, "a word with
thee in confidence. I have noted, in the course of a busy and I hope a
profitable life, that a faithful servant is an honest counsellor. Next to
Holland and England, both of which are great commercial nations, and the
Indies, which are necessary to these colonies, together with a natural
preference for the land in which I was born, I have always been of
opinion, that France is a very good sort of a country. I think, Mr.
Francis, that dislike to the seas has kept you from returning thither,
since the decease of my late brother-in-law?"
"Wid like for Mam'selle Alide, Monsieur, avec votre permission."
"Your affection for my niece, honest François, is not to be doubted. It is
as certain as the payment of a good draft, by Crommeline, Van Stopper, and
Van Gelt, of Amsterdam. Ah! old valet! she is fresh and blooming as a
rose, and a girl of excellent qualities! 'Tis a pity that she is a little
opinionated; a defect that she doubtless inherits from her Norman
ancestors; since all of my family have ever been remarkable for listening
to reason. The Normans were an obstinate race, as witness the siege of
Rochelle, by which oversight real estate in that city must have lost much
in value!"
"Mille excuses, Monsieur Bevre'----; more beautiful as de rose, and no
opinâtre du tout. Mon Dieu! pour sa qualité, c'est une famille tres
ancienne."
"That was a weak point with my brother Barbérie, and, after all, it did
not add a cipher to the sum-total of the assets. The best blood, Mr.
François, is that which has been best fed. The line of Hugh Capet himself
would fail, without the butcher; and the butcher would certainly fail,
without customers that can pay. François, thou art a man who understands
the value of a sure footing in the world; would it not be a thousand
pities, that such a girl as Alida should throw herself away on one whose
best foundation is no better than a rolling ship?"
"Certainement, Monsieur; Mam'selle be too good to roll in de ship."
"Obliged to follow a husband, up and down; among freebooters and dishonest
traders; in fair weather and foul; hot and cold; wet and dry; bilge-water
and salt-water; cramps and nausea; salt-junk and no junk; gales and
calms,--and all for a hasty judgment formed in sanguine youth."
The face of the valet had responded to the Alderman's enumeration of the
evils that would attend so ill-judged a step in his niece, as faithfully
as if each muscle had been a mirror, to reflect the contortions of one
suffering under the malady of the sea.
"Parbleu, c'est horrible cette mer!" he ejaculated; when the other had
done. "It is grand malheur, dere should be watair but for drink, and for
la propreté, avec fosse to keep de carp round le château. Mais, Mam'selle
be no haste jugement, and she shall have mari on la terre solide."
"'Twould be better, that the estate of my brother-in-law should be kept in
sight, judicious François, than to be sent adrift on the high seas."
"Dere vas marin dans la famille de Barbérie nevair."
"Bonds and balances! if the savings of one I could name, frugal François,
were added in current coin the sum-total would sink a common ship. You
know it is my intention to remember Alida, in settling accounts with the
world."
"If Monsieur de Barbérie vas 'live, Monsieur Alderman, he should say des
choses convenables; mais, malheureusement, mon chèr, maître est mort; and,
sair, I shall be bold to remercier pour lui, et pour toute sa famille."
"Women are perverse, and sometimes they have pleasure in doing the very
thing they are desired not to do."
"Ma foi, oui!"
"Prudent men should manage them with soft words and rich gifts; with
these, they become orderly as a pair of well-broke geldings."
"Monsieur know," said the old valet, rubbing his hands, and laughing with
the subdued voice of a well-bred domestic, though he could not conceal a
jocular wink; "pourtant il est garcon! Le cadeau be good for de
demoiselles, and bettair as for de dames."
"Wedlock and blinkers! it is we gâssons, as you call us, who ought to
know. Your hen-pecked husband has no time to generalize among the sex, in
order to understand the real quality of the article. Now, here is Van
Staats of Kinderhook, faithful François; what think you of such a youth
for a husband for Alida?"
"Pourtant, Mam'selle like de vivacité; Monsieur le Patroon be nevair trop
vif."
"The more likely to be sure--Hist, I hear a footstep. We are
followed--chased, perhaps, I should say, to speak in the language of these
sea-gentry. Now is the time to show this Captain Ludlow, how a Frenchman
can wind him round his finger, on terra-firma. Loiter in the rear, and
draw our navigator on a wrong course. When he has run into a fog, come
yourself, with all speed, to the oak on the bluff. There we shall await
you."
Flattered by this confidence, and really persuaded that he was furthering
the happiness of her he served, the old valet nodded, in reply to the
Alderman's wink and chuckle, and immediately relaxed his speed. The former
pushed ahead; and, in a minute, he and those who followed had turned short
to the left, and were out of sight.
Though faithfully and even affectionately attached to Alida, her servant
had many of the qualifications of an European domestic. Trained in all the
ruses of his profession, he was of that school which believes civilization
is to be measured by artifice; and success lost some of its value, when it
had been effected by the vulgar machinery of truth and common sense. No
wonder then the retainer entered into the views of the Alderman, with more
than a usual relish for the duty. He heard the cracking of the dried twigs
beneath the footstep of him who followed; and in order that there might be
no chance of missing the desired interview, the valet began to hum a
French air, in so loud a key, as to be certain the sounds would reach any
ear that was nigh. The twigs snapped more rapidly, the footsteps seemed
nearer, and then the hero of the India-shawl sprang to the side of the
expecting François.
The disappointment seemed mutual, and on the part of the domestic it
entirely disconcerted all his pre-arranged schemes for misleading the
commander of the Coquette. Not so with the bold mariner. So far from his
self-possession being disturbed, it would have been no easy matter to
restrain his audacity ever in situations far more trying than any in which
he has yet been presented to the reader.
"What cheer, in thy woodland cruise, Monsieur Broad-Pennant?" he said,
with infinite coolness, the instant his steady glance had ascertained they
were alone. "This is safer navigation for an officer of thy draught of
water, than running about the bay, in a periagua. What may be the
longitude, and where-a-way did you part company from the consorts?"
"Sair, I valk in de vood for de plaisir, and I go on de bay for
de--parbleu, non! 'tis to follow ma jeune maîtresse I go on de bay; and,
sair, I wish dey who do love de bay and de sea, would not come into de
vood, du tout."
"Well spoken, and with ample spirit;--what, a student too! one in a wood
should glean something from his labors. Is it the art of furling a main
cue, that is taught in this pretty volume?"
As the mariner put his question, he very deliberately took the book from
François, who, instead of resenting the liberty, rather offered the
volume, in exultation.
"No, sair, it is not how to furl la queue, but how to touch de soul; not
de art to haul over de calm, but--oui, c'est plein de connoissance et
d'esprit! Ah! ha! you know de Cid! le grand homme! l'homme de génie! If
you read, Monsieur Marin, you shall see la vraie poésie! Not de big book
and no single rhyme--Sair, I do not vish to say vat is penible, mais it is
not one book widout rhyme; it was not écrit on de sea. Le diable! que le
vrai génie, et les nobles sentiments, se trouvent dans ce livre, la!"
"Ay, I see it is a log-book, for every man to note his mind in. I return
you Master Cid, with his fine sentiments, in the bargain. Great as was his
genius, it would seem he was not the man to write all that I find between
the leaves."
"He not write him all! Yes, sair, he shall write him six time more dan
all, if la France a besoin. Que l'envie de ces Anglais se découvre quand
on parle des beaux génies de la France!"
"I will only say, if the gentleman wrote the whole that is in the book,
and it is as fine as you would make a plain seafaring man believe, he did
wrong not to print it."
"Print!" echoed François, opening his eyes, and the volume, by a common
impulse, "Imprimé! ha! here is papier of Mam'selle Alide, assurément."
"Take better heed of it then," interrupted the seaman of the shawl. "As
for your Cid, to me it is an useless volume, since it teaches neither the
latitude of a shoal, nor the shape of a coast."
"Sair, it teach de morale; de rock of de passion et les grands mouvements
de l'ame! Oui, Sair; it teach all, un Monsieur vish to know. Tout le monde
read him in la France; en province, comme en ville. If sa Majesté, le
Grand Louis, be not so mal avisé, as to chasser Messieurs les Huguenots
from his royaume, I shall go to Paris, to hear le Cid, moi-même!"
"A good journey to you, Monsieur Cue. We may meet on the road, until which
time I take my departure. The day may come, when we shall converse with a
rolling sea beneath us. Till then, brave cheer!"
"Adieu, Monsieur," returned François, bowing with a politeness that had
become too familiar to be forgotten. "If we do not meet but in de sea, we
shall not meet, nevair. Ah, ha, ha! Monsieur le Marin n'aime pas à
entendre parler de la gloire de la France! Je voudrais bien savoir lire ce
f--e Shak-a-spear, pour voir, combien l'immortel Corneille lui est
supérieur. Ma foi, oui; Monsieur Pierre Corneille est vraiment un homme
illustre!"
The faithful, self-complacent, and aged valet then pursued his way towards
the large oak on the bluff; for as he ceased speaking, the mariner of the
gay sash had turned deeper into the woods, and left him alone. Proud of
the manner, in which he had met the audacity of the stranger, prouder
still of the reputation of the author, whose fame had been known in France
long before his own departure from Europe, and not a little consoled with
the reflection that he had contributed his mite to support the honor of
his distant and well-beloved country, the honest François pressed the
volume affectionately beneath his arm, and hastened on after his mistress.
Though the position of Staten Island and its surrounding bays is so
familiar to the Manhattanese an explanation of the localities may be
agreeable to readers who dwell at a distance from the scene of the tale.
It has already been said, that the principal communication between the
bays of Raritan and York, is called the Narrows. At the mouth of this
passage, the land on Staten Island rises in a high bluff, which overhangs
the water, not unlike the tale-fraught cape of Misenum. From this elevated
point, the eye not only commands a view of both estuaries and the city,
but it looks far beyond the point of Sandy-Hook, into the open sea. It is
here that, in our own days, ships are first noted in the offing, and
whence the news of the approach of his vessel is communicated to the
expecting merchant by means of the telegraph. In the early part of the
last century, arrivals were too rare to support such an establishment. The
bluff was therefore little resorted to, except by some occasional admirer
of scenery, or by those countrymen whom business, at long intervals, drew
to the spot. It had been early cleared of its wood, and the oak already
mentioned was the only tree standing in a space of some ten or a dozen
acres.
It has been seen that Alderman Van Beverout had appointed this solitary
oak, as the place of rendezvous with François. Thither then he took his
way on parting from the valet, and to this spot we must now transfer the
scene. A rude seat had been placed around the root of the tree, and here
the whole party, with the exception of the absent domestic, were soon
seated: In a minute, however, they were joined by the exulting François,
who immediately related the particulars of his recent interview with the
stranger.
"A clear conscience, with cordial friends, and a fair balance-sheet, may
keep a man warm in January, even in this climate," said the Alderman,
willing to turn the discourse; "but what with rebellious blacks, hot
streets, and spoiling furs, it passeth mortal powers to keep cool in
yonder overgrown and crowded town. Thou seest, Patroon, the spot of white
on the opposite side of the bay.--Breezes and fanning! that is the Lust in
Rust, where cordial enters the mouth at every breath, and where a man has
room to cast up the sum-total of his thoughts, any hour in the
twenty-four."
"We seem quite as effectually alone on this hill, with the advantage of
having a city in the view," remarked Alida, with an emphasis that showed
she meant even more than she expressed.
"We are by ourselves, niece of mine," returned the Alderman, rubbing his
hands as if he secretly felicitated himself that the fact were so. "That
truth cannot be denied, and good company we are, though the opinion comes
from one who is not a cipher in the party. Modesty is a poor man's wealth,
but as we grow substantial in the world, Patroon, one can afford to begin
to speak truth of himself, as well as of his neighbor."
"In which case, little, but good, will be uttered from the mouth of
Alderman Van Beverout," said Ludlow, appearing so suddenly from behind the
root of the tree, as effectually to shut the mouth of the burgher. "My
desire to offer the services of the ship to your party, has led to this
abrupt intrusion, and I hope will obtain its pardon."
"The power to forgive is a prerogative of the Governor, who represents the
Queen," drily returned the Alderman. "If Her Majesty has so little
employment for her cruisers, that their captains can dispose of them, in
behalf of old men and young maidens--why, happy is the age, and commerce
should flourish!"
"If the two duties are compatible, the greater the reason why a commander
should felicitate himself that he may be of service to so many. You are
bound to the Jersey Highlands, Mr. Van Beverout?"
"I am bound to a comfortable and very private abode, called the Lust in
Rust, Captain Cornelius Van Cuyler Ludlow."
The young man bit his lip, and his healthful but brown cheek flushed a
deeper red than common, though he preserved his composure.
"And I am bound to sea," he soon said. "The wind is getting fresh, and
your boat, which I see, at this moment, standing in for the islands, will
find it difficult to make way against its force. The Coquette's anchor
will be aweigh, in twenty minutes; and I shall find two hours of an ebbing
tide, and a top-gallant breeze, but too short a time for the pleasure of
entertaining such guests. I am certain that the fears of la Belle will
favor my wishes, whichsoever side of the question her inclinations may
happen to be."
"And they are with her uncle;" quickly returned Alida. "I am so little of
a sailor, that prudence, if not pusillanimity, teaches me to depend on the
experience of older heads."
"Older I may not pretend to be," said Ludlow, coloring; "but Mr. Van
Beverout will see no pretension in believing myself as good a judge of
wind and tide, as even he himself can be."
"You are said to command Her Majesty's sloop with skill, Captain Ludlow,
and it is creditable to the colony, that it has produced so good an
officer; though I believe your grandfather came into the province, so
lately as on the restoration of King Charles the Second?"
"We cannot claim descent from the United Provinces, Alderman Van
Beverout, on the paternal side, but whatever may have been the political
opinions of my grandfather, those of his descendant have never been
questioned. Let me entreat the fair Alida to take counsel of the
apprehension I am sure she feels, and to persuade her uncle that the
Coquette is safer than his periagua."
"It is said to be easier to enter than to quit your ship," returned the
laughing Alida. "By certain symptoms that attended our passage to the
island, your Coquette, like others, is fond of conquest. One is not safe
beneath so malign an influence."
"This is a reputation given by our enemies. I had hoped for a different
answer from la belle Barbérie."
The close of the sentence was uttered with an emphasis that caused the
blood to quicken its movement in the veins of the maiden. It was fortunate
that neither of their companions was very observant, or else suspicions
might have been excited, that a better intelligence existed between the
young sailor and the heiress, than would have comported with their wishes
and intentions.
"I had hoped for a different answer from la belle Barbérie," repeated
Ludlow, in a lower voice, but with even a still more emphatic tone than
before.
There was evidently a struggle in the mind of Alida.--She overcame it,
before her confusion could be noted; and, turning to the valet, she said,
with the composure and grace that became a gentlewoman--
"Rends moi le livre, François."
"Le voici--ah! ma chère Mam'selle Alide, que ce Monsieur le marin se
fâchait à cause de la gloire, et des beaux vers de notre illustre M.
Pierre Corneille!"
"Here is an English sailor, that I am sure will not deny the merit of an
admired writer, even though he come of a nation that is commonly thought
hostile, François," returned his mistress, smiling "Captain Ludlow, it is
now a month since I am your debtor, by promise, for a volume of Corneille,
and I here acquit myself of the obligation. When you have perused the
contents of this book, with the attention they deserve, I may hope----"
"For a speedy opinion of their merits."
"I was about to say, to receive the volume again, as it is a legacy from
my father," steadily rejoined Alida.
"Legacies and foreign tongues!" muttered the Alderman. "One is well
enough; but for the other, English and Dutch are all that the wisest man
need learn. I never could understand an account of protit and loss in any
other tongue, Patroon; and even a favorable balance never appears so great
as it is, unless the account be rendered in one or the other of these
rational dialects. Captain Ludlow, we thank you for your politeness, but
here is one of my fellows to tell us that my own periagua is arrived; and,
wishing you a happy and a long cruise, as we say of lives, I bid you,
adieu."
The young seaman returned the salutations of the party, with a better
grace than his previous solicitude to persuade them to enter his ship,
might have given reason to expect. He even saw them descend the hill,
towards the water of the outer bay, with entire composure; and it was only
after they had entered a thicket which hid them from view, that he
permitted his feelings to have sway.
Then indeed he drew the volume from his pocket and opened its leaves with
an eagerness he could no longer control. It seemed as if he expected to
read more, in the pages, than the author had caused to be placed there;
but when his eye caught sight of a sealed billet, the legacy of M. de
Barbérie fell at his feet; and the paper was torn asunder, with all the
anxiety of one who expected to find in its contents a decree of life or
death.
Amazement was clearly the first emotion of the young seaman. He read and
re-read; struck his brow with his hand; gazed about him at the land and at
the water; re-perused the note; examined the superscription, which was
simply to 'Capt. Ludlow, of Her Majesty's ship Coquette:' smiled; muttered
between his teeth; seemed vexed, and yet delighted; read the note again,
word by word, and finally thrust it into his pocket, with the air of a man
who had found reason for both regret and satisfaction in its contents.