Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland Volume XX Part 15

"'Sir,' said he, 'I know that to be the coast and shipping of Havannah.'

"'All's well,' cried I; 'who is at the helm?'

"'Bill Bowline, your honour.'

"'Bill, lay your bows right upon the main-mast of that large vessel which you see looming in the distance.' 'Ay, ay, sir.' 'Steer directly towards her, and try to keep your course exactly, guided, as usual, by the position of your sails, relatively to the wind.' 'Ay, ay, sir.'

Turning now to Don Pedro, I said--'Admirably has he done his work; he seems a perfect sailing made easy, or every mariner his own compa.s.s.'

Without noticing my pleasantry, my poor friend said, with a very serious look--'You see the care with which the mother of G.o.d watches over the children of the true church.' Carolina having asked me the day before, what I would do to my wicked cousin; and I having said that I would merely give him a long forgiving look, she farther asked if I belonged to the _true church_; and on my saying that I belonged to a very humble church, which, however, was faithful in teaching all her children to look up to G.o.d, in the Redeemer's name, with the desire of being good, that they might obtain good, Don Pedro seemed to wish that such a delicate subject should be dropped. Now, however, he conceived himself to stand on high vantage ground, and appealed to the aerial reflection as a splendid miracle wrought for his behoof. I told him that what he saw was a common natural phenomenon, with which our able seamen were all quite familiar; but he shook his head, doubting or disbelieving. 'n.o.ble sir,' said I, 'you understand English, listen;--Bill Bowline, at what distance may these ships be, on which you are now steering?'

"'Sure to raise them, sir, in the course of the day.'

"'Mark that,' said I, a.s.suring Don Pedro that in all likelihood he would be at home and in the bosom of his family before night. If the blush of shame which the children of the true church are wont to exhibit when their supposed or pretended miracles are most satisfactorily accounted for on natural principles, did for a moment pa.s.s over the features of Don Pedro, it was soon chased away by excessive joy. During the day, he suffered much from impatience; hope and fear had by turns the possession of his mind. But, at length, after many a long tedious hour of watching, he beheld a line of blue land rising above the edge of the horizon, which gradually unfolded itself into the town, coast, and shipping of Havannah.

"At the request of her father, no information as to what we had seen and were led to expect was given to Carolina. He was afraid that our hopes might not be realized, and that she might have to endure the pangs of disappointment. Accordingly, she was in the very act of speaking of her home, of her family, and of her lover, as dear objects that she might never again see, when her father entered the cabin in an ecstasy of joy, crying--'Here they are all now, just as we saw them in the morning; only, their masts point upward, and not down. Not a moment longer,'

cried he, 'shall my dear daughter be kept in ignorance.' So catching her in his arms, he led her forward to the bows, and pointed out to her the distinct outlines of her native sh.o.r.e. She silently gazed on it for an instant; then tears of joy flowed down her cheek. To me, to Tom, to all our companions, severally, she testified her grat.i.tude in broken accents, calling us her dear deliverers, and invoking the blessings of Heaven upon our heads. The men were in raptures with her; and, wishing to improve the opportunity afforded for drawing vividly forth their best affections, I said to them--'Only to think, now, that there should be hearts, either in earth or h.e.l.l, capable of misusing a fine creature like that!' A low murmuring sound, as if of profound deliberation, followed these words; after which Bill Bowline arose as the orator of the party, and, having given his trousers a hitch, he said that it was the contraband trade that had thrown them among such abominable wretches as the Buccaneers; and that they were resolved never to break the laws of Old England any more, for that they now saw, that when once people began to do evil, there was no saying where they might end; which resolution gave to Don Pedro great satisfaction. The greybeard of Jack Fid was now handed round as long as it contained a drop of liquor; after which it was broken, its fragments, along with a variety of other moveables, were thrown into the sea, and three hearty cheers were given.

"In a little while, the bark lay alongside of the quay of Havannah. Don Pedro and his daughter, having been safely handed out, sunk down on their knees, and the men went and sat down at a little distance, as if anxious to avoid the appearance of wishing to intrude. Feeling sympathy for the brave fellows, and admiring their motives, I went and seated myself in the midst of them, saying--'From me, at least, you shall not be parted;' while an unpleasant suspicion arose in my mind, lest we should, after all, be left in a land of strangers, lonely and unowned.

In this I did our kind friends wrong. Having devoutly rendered their thanks to Heaven, they came and begged us to follow them. By way of giving effect to the feelings of my companions, I said that we would be sorry to distress their hospitality; upon which Carolina looked first amazed, then angry, and then burst into tears--'This from you!' said she--'from my preserver--from my second father!' Forthwith she and her natural father drove us all before them, like a flock of reluctant geese, to their residence--a splendid one it was, in which we met as warm a reception as grateful hearts could give, or the unfriended desire.

"Next day several high officers of the Spanish army and navy waited upon me, and made particular inquiries respecting the pirate islands, with whose locality my long residence had made me well acquainted. Our nations were at war, but my heart took fire at the idea of terminating my exile by a n.o.ble stroke--by contributing to the fall of the Buccaneer, the common enemy of the civilized world. I, therefore, offered my own services, and those of my companions, on the express condition that, having left our large armed vessels so soon as we had arrived off the islands, we should venture among their intricacies in boats, with a sufficient force, and endeavour to take the enemy by surprise, and to carry him by boarding. This plan having, after some hesitation, been agreed to, off we set immediately; and, in three weeks, we returned in triumph, having captured both the pirate vessels, which were found lying, in supposed security, at their two stations, and completely destroyed that nest of odious ruffians, to the great joy of all the West Indian islands. My companions fought like lions; two of them fell, and several were wounded. On our return, we were loaded with honours; a great sum of money was given to me, for the purpose, as was said, of buying a sword; handsome sums were also given to each of my companions, which they put into my hands, and which, with what I shall add to them out of mine, will enable me to settle them all comfortably in life. During our absence, Don Pedro and his daughter had suffered much from anxiety on our account; they received us with the liveliest joy on our return--they mourned for the slain--they nursed the wounded with the tenderest care, and their house became, for a time, our home.

Their kindness led us to prolong our stay far beyond the time necessary for the recovery of the wounded; and I had the satisfaction of a.s.sisting at the marriage and of being a.s.sured of the happiness of Alonzo and Carolina. At length, we parted from our grateful and warm-hearted friends; and a government packet conveyed us all safely across the Atlantic to Cadiz.

"At Cadiz, I found that the letters which Don Pedro had given to me, and procured for me, would enable us all, notwithstanding the war with France and Spain, to pa.s.s unmolested through both countries; and so, having converted our wealth into bills, payable in Antwerp, I travelled over land to this neutral port, along with my companions, as the readiest way to obtain a safe and a speedy pa.s.sage to Britain. At Antwerp, I again converted my foreign bills into others which were payable in England; while my companions went down to the quay at my request, to look out for an immediate pa.s.sage thither. On finding that no immediate pa.s.sage could be procured, I purchased, at their suggestion, a small sloop, which was lying in one of the docks for sale; on board of which, confident in my lately acquired nautical science, and in the long-tried seamanship of my companions, I proceeded straight across the German Ocean; steering direct, not for the lat.i.tude of any of England's great seaports, but for that of the home of my fathers, and the mouth of my native river. Having a good wind, we drove our little vessel, at a gallant rate, through the water. Our hearts being gay, our spirits high, and our stores supplied with abundance of everything, our voyage became one continued scene of fun, festivity, and folly, in which I largely partic.i.p.ated, until an event occurred which brought us to our senses. On the sixth morning of our pa.s.sage, it was found that the vessel had sprung a leak--that there were four feet of water in the hold. The pumps enabled us to sink it a little; but it afterwards gained upon us to such an alarming degree that the carpenter was in doubt whether the vessel could be kept afloat for twenty-four hours longer.

The wind also began to die away, and so thick a fog settled around us that we could see nothing but our foundering vessel, and the water into which she was ready to sink, looking black and dismal below. While matters were in this state, a thickening of the darkness came to be observable right a-head at the lower part of the fog; which, while every eye was fixed upon it, rose higher, and showed an irregular outline. It was declared to be land; and we were not long kept in suspense. In a little while, a grinding sound was heard at the bottom of the vessel, followed by a slight concussion; and, in about fifteen minutes, during which the vessel, stripped of every inch of canva.s.s, continued to grind and to strike, she settled down and remained fast. I immediately secured my valuable papers on my person, and the men set about making preparations for leaving the vessel. We had neglected to provide ourselves with a boat; but two or three of the men swam to the sh.o.r.e, which proved to be at no great distance, carrying the end of a rope along with them; by the aid of which all the rest of us were enabled to reach the land in safety.

"Thus did my seven companions and I terminate our adventures. Once in safety, I began to laugh heartily at our mishap. '_O pa.s.si graviora mec.u.m_,' cried I, gaily, as they seemed to stand down-hearted in their dripping garments; 'it is on no desolate or inhospitable sh.o.r.e that we are now cast. Stay there for a little, till I see where we are, and look out for shelter.' With that I went a little way inland, until, having observed the appearance of distant lights on my left, I ran in all haste in that direction, scarcely feeling the ground under my feet. In about half an hour, I came to a number of buildings which I seemed to know; I found a narrow lane, at the end of it a door, and within the door a stair, which I seemed to know. My heart began to beat violently. Having mounted the stair, and gone along a dark pa.s.sage at the head of it, I came to a door, on opening which, the forms of the very friends, after leaving whom I was carried away, seemed to appear before me, as at their usual meeting. All gazed on me; but none of them spoke except old Adam Muzzy, who was in his usual state of inebriety, which so strangely brightens one part of his faculties, and darkens another. Recognising me, and having some very indistinct perception of circ.u.mstances, he exclaimed, in the usual style of his address to a retired and returned bottle-companion--'Guide me! ye hae been lang away; but we hae thocht that ye would be back, for ye left yer hat ahint ye. Sit doon, man, and tak aff yer gla.s.s.'

"The sight of my hat hanging where I left it, and the daized dreamy look of the creature, with his half-shut eye, so affected me, that I sunk unconsciously down into the chair to which he had pointed, painfully impressed with the idea that I had only been dreaming of home, as I had often done, in the lonely isles of the West Indian seas. It was my name loudly p.r.o.nounced by the friendly voice of Plainworth which first awoke me from my stupor.

"'My dear Mary,' said he, as he concluded, 'he will tell you what were the first questions which I asked.'

"'Indeed,' said I, addressing her, 'his two first questions were both about you; and the second of them was, whether you were still unmarried?'"

"Amid the deep silence which followed this narrative; the effect of which was heightened by the near interest which each had in the princ.i.p.al actor, a soft diffident tap was heard at the outer door; which, having been opened, the whole party of old friends, whom William had so startled by his unlooked-for appearance among them that evening, came pouring in tumultuously, with the trampling of many feet, and the sound of many voices mingled together. We could have seen them far enough off, being in that quiet kind of heart-absorbing felicity, to which boisterous intrusion is most irksome. But it presently appeared, that, in their coming, there was no want of consideration. Besides attending to the wants of the shipwrecked mariners, as they had undertaken, they had employed a number of the resident fishermen, with their boats, to look after the wreck now lying dry upon a ledge of rocks, with her bottom staved in, by whom every article of value on board had been saved. They described William's companions as the strangest set of fellows whom they had ever met with. 'They were close enough at first,' said they. 'Many significant looks having been exchanged between them when the gla.s.s began to circle round; but when they did open, what strange stories they told of the scenes which they had pa.s.sed through! And, oh, how they spoke of you, Mr. William! They said that you were the best and bravest of landsmen--one whom no dangers could daunt, whom no difficulties could subdue, and who had so kind a heart withal, that you were always more attentive to their wants than your own. One of them, whom they called Tom Clewgarnet, declared it to be his firm belief that you were just a kind of an angel, who had been sent down to save them all from the pit.' It appeared, in short, that our kind friends had been most attentive to the poor fellows; and that, with the powerful aid of the fishermen whom they had employed, and who had joined them after having finished their work, they had succeeded in sending them all to bed in a very comfortable state of inebriety; they themselves, also, as their appearance strongly testified, having suffered somewhat in the cause.

"After this gratifying intelligence had been given, which was received with the warmest acknowledgments, the whole party earnestly entreated William to consent to act his part in a notable ploy of Mr Macquils; which was, that, as his cousin was taking steps for entering into possession, and was to visit Elphinstone House the next day, he should make his first public appearance in the very heart of his proceedings.

"'The people of the house where you threw off your wet garments,' said they, 'enter heartily into the plan; and, as we have been careful in keeping the secret, there is no person, either in town or country, who has any knowledge of your return.'

"William gratified them by a ready acquiescence; indeed, the proposal coincided exactly with his own previous intentions; the mortification which his cousin would receive being all the punishment which he intended for him. The necessary arrangements having been agreed on, and committed to Mr Macquil, the first projector of the plan, the whole party were permitted to withdraw, on condition that they would favour us with their company to dinner next day, when William promised to make a full disclosure of all that had befallen him. When we were again by ourselves, William said to me, in a whisper--'You must aid me, my friend, in making immediate arrangements for facilitating the escape of my cousin. The testimony of those people whom I have with me, would be sure to convict him; and, as they hate him most cordially on my account, that testimony, though it would implicate themselves, would be given with great good-will. Heaven knows, that I have no wish that, on the scaffold, kindred blood should flow!'

"Mary expressed an extreme desire to see the men who had pa.s.sed through such strange scenes; and she begged of William, that he would take her with him for that purpose; adding, diffidently--'I believe that, after this, I will always be afraid when you are out of my sight.'

"Early next morning, the long disused wardrobe of William was procured from the mansion of the Elphinstones. While William was still sleeping profoundly, exhausted with the toils of the preceding day, Mr Macquil and I made a careful selection of such articles of dress as we judged most suitable for him to appear in, on the approaching great occasion.

We made choice of a suit which nearly resembled his ordinary forenoon attire--clothed in which, it was impossible for any one who knew him to mistake his ident.i.ty. His features were thinner than before; but he was immensely improved in his general appearance. His person was more firmly set--his carriage more staid and dignified; and, while he retained the same winning mildness of manner, there was in his eye that manly, resolute look, indicating energy, intrepidity, and force of character--which familiarity with toils and dangers, gallently borne and n.o.bly triumphed over, alone can give. Of the feelings of Mary, when she beheld her lover arrayed once more in his former vestments, looking so n.o.ble, so kind, and so like what he was before, it is impossible to speak. Their happiness, when they met next morning, was more tranquil than the evening before, but not less profound. At breakfast, Mr Macquil was the princ.i.p.al speaker--full of the all-engrossing project which he had in view. Immediately after breakfast, we were to have set out; but, hour after hour pa.s.sed away, while the lovers remained together, 'all the world forgot;' and while poor Mr Macquil and I and the horses were waiting impatiently at the door. The impatience of Mr Macquil began to exceed all bounds; and a scout having brought intelligence that the chariots and hors.e.m.e.n of the enemy had been beheld approaching at a distance, he became very angry. He broke in abruptly upon the lovers--he took William by the arm, and led him off--promising, however, by way of comfort, that that separation should not be of longer duration than half an hour.

"Once in the saddle, off we set at full gallop, through by-roads, which brought us to a thicket in the rear of Elphinstone House, where some old domestics of the family, with delight vividly expressed in their countenances, were ready to receive our horses. Entering the house by a back door, and ascending the stairs, we heard, as we were pa.s.sing the main entrance hall, the party without loudly thundering for admittance at the front door, while a little urchin of a boy, evidently in the secret, was pertly screaming to them through the key-hole--'The key--the key! Can ye no stop a wee? What signifies a bit minute or twa?'

Proceeding forthwith into a s.p.a.cious apartment, which directly opened into the entrance hall, and which had been fixed upon as the most proper place for the scene which was to be enacted, Mr Macquil conveyed William into a small by-room, where he was to remain in concealment until the proper time for his appearance: and shutting the door with a triumphant bang, locked it, and put the key in his pocket.

"Events now rapidly followed each other. The preconcerted signal that all was prepared was given--the impatient party at the front door were admitted--and presently the cousin stalked into the room, followed by the sheriff, his officers, and our friends, with many other spectators whom they had brought along with them. I was standing at the window; Mr Macquil was pacing up and down the room with a huge white handkerchief applied to his eyes, and uttering uncouth sounds of wo, which, however, sometimes had a greater resemblance to laughter than to lamentation.

"'Sir,' said the cousin, 'we come here for business, and have no time for nonsense.'

"'I a.s.sure you,' said the other, 'that it is far from being my wish that the proper heir of this house should be longer kept out of his goodly heritage. You will find the only obstacle to your being put into immediate possession in that closet; and there is the key.'

"'Hold,' cries the sheriff; 'too fast, sir, by one half.'

"A look of peculiar meaning from Mr Macquil arrested for an instant the sheriff's attention.

"Meanwhile the cousin having received the key, hurried to the closet, opened wide the door, and William walked forward into the room. He was recognised in an instant, as was evident from the acclamations which followed his appearance.

"'Ha! ha! ha!' quoth the sheriff, 'who could have expected this from you, Mr Macquil? You are positively become as arch as a romping, roguish young boarding-school girl of fifteen. Mr Elphinstone, give me leave to say that I never was more delighted--never more happy.' Briefly returning the compliments of the worthy sheriff, William fixed his eyes upon his cousin with a look in which there was reproach but no malignity.

"'Cousin,' said he--'one with me in lineage, in kindred, and in blood--I have been indebted to you for a long and involuntary excursion abroad, which has been attended with most woful results. Sir, while I abhor, I forgive--I pity; in proof of which, I give you timeous warning that there is intelligence from the other side of the Atlantic, which concerns you more nearly than any farther interest which you can possibly have in my inheritance.' With that, the bad man grew deadly pale--he trembled from head to foot--he looked fearfully at the sheriff--and he hurried out, followed by me. After a long pause, during which he seemed to be thinking profoundly, the sheriff said--'There is really a strange meaning in your words, Mr Elphinstone!'--

"'Which,' replied William, 'I will fully explain in a few days.'

"Whenever the facts of the case came to be known, the officers of justice were sent in full cry after the criminal; but, with the aid of the generous kinsman whom he had so foully wronged, he effected his escape, and was never heard of more.

"In a short time Elphinstone House again became the residence of its rightful proprietor; and, within less than a fortnight from the date of his return, William and Mary were united in the holy bands of wedlock, to be separated no more. I was the best-man; and a happier pair never was seen. They were happy in themselves and in their family."

"Yes," said Wonderlove, "from that family the dule pa.s.sed away."

"And you observe," replied the other with a smile, "that the head of that house really did marry a maiden of low degree!"

"Well, now, is not that a strange--a strange--a very strange!"--

"It is a strange coincidence," said Plainworth, "but nothing more. What more natural than that such a woman should engage the affections of such a man? and as for the subsequent prosperity of their numerous and bonny family, it is an old saying and a true--'That being good, naturally leads to the obtaining of good.'"

TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS.

It was in the autumn of 1825, that a stranger was wandering by the side of the silver lakes and over the majestic mountains of romantic c.u.mberland. He was near the side of blue Keswick, and the light wind was scattering, in showers, the death-touched leaves upon the bright waters.

Suddenly, the face of the lake became troubled, and dark ripples rose upon its bosom, as if the chained spirit of a storm struggled thereon to be free, and moved them. A louder rustling and a sound of agitation was heard among the trees, as though it were there also. Thick clouds gathered before the face of the sun, and darkness, like an angel's wrath, rolled along the brow of the mighty Skiddaw. In a few moments the thunder was heard bursting from the mountain sides, and its echoes reverbed, as the groaning of the great hills, through the glens.

Thunder, lightning, and tempest, gathered round, and burst over the stranger. The cattle crowded together upon the hills, and the birds of heaven sought shelter in the woods. The stranger, also, looked around for a place of refuge.

Before him, at the distance of about a quarter of a mile, lay a sequestered and beautiful villa--round which mountain, wood, and water, and craggy cliff, were gathered--with a sloping lawn before it. It was a spot which the genius of romance might have made its habitation. The mansion was in keeping with the scenery, and towards it the stranger repaired for shelter.

He was requesting permission of a servant of the household, to be sheltered until the storm pa.s.sed over, when the occupier of the mansion came himself to the door, and, with the frankness of an old friend, held out his hand, saying--"Come in--thou art welcome. At such a time the birds of heaven seek shelter, and find it in the thick branches of the woods; and surely man has a right to expect refuge in the habitations of his fellow-men. Follow me, friend, and rest here until the storm be past."

The stranger bowed, thanked him, and followed him; but, ere they had sat down, the owner of the mansion again addressed his visitant, saying--"The inhabitants of the East ask no questions of strangers until they have given them water to wash their feet, and a change of garments, if required. I know no excuse which the people of the West can offer, why they should be less hospitable. I perceive that thy apparel is already drenched; therefore, my servant will provide thee with a change of raiment. Go, do as I request, that no harm overtake thee; and, in the meantime, I will order refreshment, after which, thou and I shall converse together."

There was a kindness in the manner, and an expression of benevolence in the aspect of his entertainer, which at once gratified and interested the stranger. The latter appeared to be about forty; but his hospitable entertainer was at least threescore. Care had engraven some wrinkles upon his brow, and the "silverings" of age were beginning to mingle thickly with his once brown hair; but his ruddy and open countenance spoke of the generosity of his disposition and the health of his const.i.tution.