Chapter VI: Part 6

"And I shall expect in return for all this attention to your welfare, that you will regard me with a sisterly affection," continued the other. "You must be as kind to me as I will be to you. You must endeavour always to appear cheerful and willing to be pleased. Every effort that I make to render your life an enjoyment to you, you must respond to by showing the gladness it ought to produce. You must be attentive to my instructions, obedient to my wishes, be gratified with my attentions, and satisfied with the exertions I shall make to insure your happiness."

"Indeed, I will!" exclaimed the timid maiden, affectionately clasping the hand of Oriel in her own.

"It will be a most pure and exquisite pleasure to me to be allowed to labour in such a good work as creating the felicity of so gentle and innocent a creature," said the young merchant; his noble countenance beaming with benevolence. "It will be a labour of which my father would be proud; and to do as he would do must always appear to me to be the highest degree of excellence. It will be delightful to be loved as a brother, and to show a brother's care and anxiety and solicitude. It will be admirable to be able to enjoy the sweet sympathies of a nature such as yours, and to live in the enjoyment of an interchange of endearments so purifying to the heart as ours will be. I must be loved Lilya. I will be as kind to you and as careful of you as may be necessary for your welfare; but I must be loved."

"And I will love you;" murmured his fair companion, trembling and blushing she knew not for why--"I will love you as fondly as you wish. I will love you kindly and affectionately. I will love you always. I will be at all times every thing you most desire me to be. You shall never find reason to be dissatisfied. I will not allow you to be unhappy: all I do shall be done with the intention of giving you pleasure. My heart is overflowing with your goodness; and, indeed--and, indeed I love you very much." With these words she caught up the hand she had held in her own; and eagerly, yet timidly, pressed it to her lips!

Oriel Porphyry was so charmed by the simplicity and genuine affection expressed by the action, that he drew the bashful girl to his arms, and pressed her lips to his own. This had scarcely been done, when, on raising his eyes, he encountered the full and piercing gaze of Zabra. He stood before them,--his dark features wearing an expression the most wild and fearful--his breast heaving with passion, and his whole frame trembling with the powerful excitement under which he laboured. Lilya, with an exclamation of surprise, shrunk into the farthest corner of the sofa, and covered her face with her hands. Oriel looked upon him with astonishment, not unmixed with wonder; for the extraordinary beauty of his countenance, shrouded by its clustering black curls, with the intensity of the expression now impressed upon it, looked perfectly sublime.

"Has it come to this?" muttered the youth, in a voice that seemed choked with emotion. "Has it come to this? The last hope I have been allowed to entertain is now utterly crushed. Nothing remains but the conviction of my own misery, and of your baseness."

"Zabra!" exclaimed Oriel.

"What a reward is this you have given me!" continued the other, in the same hoarse tones. "What a recompense for all I have done! Could you think of no way of showing your appreciation of my devotion for you than by destroying the dream of happiness I have entertained? Have I not been faithful, and attached, and willing, and affectionate--as ready in the hour of danger to defend as desirous in a time of pleasure to amuse? Did I not share with you your anxieties, and rejoice with you in every thing that gave you joy? And yet you have committed this treachery."

"Zabra!" again exclaimed his patron.

"In what have I failed to do you honour and worship?" still continued his companion, slightly raising his voice as he proceeded. "In what have I been deficient? Where have I offended? Have I not sought all times and opportunities to fulfil your wishes before they could be expressed? Has not my heart been ever anxious to assist in the realisation of your best hopes? Is there any one thing you could have wished me to do that I have not done? If I had been slack in my exertions--if I had been careless in my services--if I had been heedless, thoughtless, or inattentive in my behaviour, there might have been some cause for depriving me of the affections which then I should have been unworthy to possess:--but I have exceeded all previous examples in the exclusiveness of my devotion. I have dared to do more than others could have imagined--I have sought you out to watch over your safety--and have served you with all honour, and care, and kindness. Why--why have you used me thus?"

"Zabra, what madness is this?" exclaimed the young merchant, more surprised than offended.

"And this is your love for Eureka!" continued the youth. "This is the way in which you return an affection, so deep, so earnest, and so true as her's has been? Have you lost all notion of justice, of virtue, and of that sincerity which most ennobles manhood? Where is your sense of shame? What manner of man are you, who, after you have been loved in all earnestness, in all purity, in all exclusiveness, and with all that self-abandonment which is most conspicuous in the love of woman, can turn round upon the object by whom you have been so truly honoured, and cast her hopes to the wind?"

"Zabra, you are proceeding beyond the limits of endurance; and I shall be obliged to acquaint Eureka with your unreasonable and offensive conduct," said Oriel.

"I--I AM EUREKA!" shouted the disguised page, in a voice that made both her companions leap from their seats with looks of the most intense astonishment, as, with flashing eyes, and words that seemed to breathe of fire, she exclaimed,--"It was Eureka who left her father's house to escape from an alliance into which she would have been forced had she remained.--It was Eureka who forsook family and friends, and the security and comforts of her own land, to share the dangers and watch over the safety of one to whom she was so completely devoted.--It was Eureka who quitted the dress and abandoned the prejudices of womanhood, the more securely to devote her disinterested heart to the service of her lover.--It was Eureka who dared with him the perils of the sea--rescued him from the clutches of the pirate--stopped the blows that were aimed at his life--shed her blood in his defence; and, in all offices of kindness--in all times of danger and difficulty--in all moments of tranquillity and desire of innocent enjoyment, thought only of his security--cared only for his amusement, and was anxious only for the perfect realisation of his happiness. It was Eureka who did these things: and I--I am Eureka!"

Probably she might have continued the same eloquent and forcible language; but the attention of herself and of her lover were attracted towards their companion. Lilya had listened with the most breathless interest to the avowal of the disguised Zabra; her eyes were fixed upon the speaker in one continued stare--wild, ghastly, and unnatural: the colour fled from her lips, the blood rushed from her face; her breast heaved in quick, short, spasms, and something was seen rising and swelling at her throat. An expression of unutterable anguish was impressed upon her beautiful features; she made two or three choking gasps, and tottering forward a few steps, fell at the feet of Eureka.

Oriel hurried to raise her from the ground; gently he lifted her head, and exposed to view a face pale as marble; the delicate mouth, half open, and the fair blue eyes fixed and sightless. As he attempted to take her hand, the head fell back upon his shoulder.--She was dead.

"Eureka!" exclaimed the young merchant, in a voice husky with emotion, as he supported the drooping corpse upon his arm, "you have wronged both her and me. She would never have been regarded by me save as a sister; and it was only with a brother's fondness that you saw me caress her. I am deeply grateful to you for the devotion with which you have honoured me; but when I look here,"--he continued, gazing on the lifeless form he held, with feelings that almost deprived him of utterance,--"and find a creature so perfectly innocent, so simple, so gentle, and so kind, that has been made its victim, I am obliged to regret that it has been purchased at so fearful a sacrifice."

He was answered only by hysteric sobs, that in a few minutes were succeeded by violent convulsions: and Dr. Tourniquet entering the cabin at this moment, Oriel hastily explained what had transpired; left her to his care, and rushed upon deck.

CHAP. X.

A FIGHT AT SEA.

"A sail to leeward!" shouted the look-out man on the gangway.

"Give me my glass, Loop!" cried the Captain.

"What does she look like, Cap'ain," inquired Climberkin.

"I see nothin' yet but a tall spar, pointing pretty sharpish into the sky," said Hearty. "Now I observe she has her royals set, and has an unkimmon low hull. But take the glass yourself, and see what you can make of her."

"She's schooner built, sir, with raking masts, carries a smartish number o' guns, and is altogether as suspicious looking a craft as ever I seed," observed the Lieutenant.

"Which way does she steer?" inquired the old man.

"She's bearin' right down upon us, sir," replied Climberkin; "and she means mischief, or I'm pretty considerably mistaken."

"Call up all hands to quarters--throw open the ports, and let the guns be shotted;" cried the captain. All was immediately bustle and confusion in every part of the Albatross. Fore and aft the men with the utmost alacrity, prepared to give the strange vessel a proper welcome in case of an attack. Muskets, pikes, cutlasses, powder and shot, were handed up from the hold with as much cheerfulness as if the crew were commencing some favourite amusement. The officers were giving their orders, the men busy at their preparations. Some threw off their jackets and tucked up their sleeves to be the more free in their movements. The decks were cleared: all things put away that could be an obstacle at such a time; the guns run out, and every man was at his post ready for action.

The schooner bore down gallantly upon the Albatross, and certainly was a very suspicious-looking vessel. A shot from one of her carronades came booming along without doing any mischief.

"There's no mistaking that, captain;" said Oriel Porphyry, who had been watching the proceedings around him with considerable interest.

"She's a pirate, sir, there's not a doubt on 't," observed the old man; "but she'll find we are not to be caught napping; and as she's ventured to begin the game, we'll just see who can play at it best. Give her a taste of the long gun, Boggle."

"Ay, ay, sir;" replied the second lieutenant.

"I must bear a hand in this, Hearty;" said the young merchant, unable to restrain his eagerness to join in the approaching fight.

"As you please, sir," rejoined the captain; "and as we know you are a fighter, and one o' the right sort, we shall be very glad o' your company. Here's a capital cutlass, which is much at your service."

"No, thank you; I'll go and get my own arms;" replied Oriel, and he immediately left the deck.

A long brass thirty-two pounder under the management of an experienced gunner was now got ready, and fired with such precision as to make the splinters fly from her hull.

"Pitch the shot into her as often as you can load and fire;" cried the captain.

"Ay, ay, sir;" said the man at the gun.

At this instant, a shot from the schooner brought down some of the standing and running rigging of the Albatross, and severed the jaws of the main-gaff. It was immediately answered by her long gun, which was kept rapidly firing, and ploughed up the decks of the pirate at every shot. During this, the Albatross by her superiority of sailing, kept wearing round the schooner, raking her fore and aft with a most destructive fire. They were now near enough to see that the decks of the supposed pirate were covered with men, among whom the thirty-two pounder had done considerable mischief. Finding that this sort of warfare was telling against them, the pirates altered their course, made sail, and ranged up within a cable's length of their opponent, displaying at the same time in their ship a black flag soaring up to her main-peak. As they approached, the sound of many voices came over the waters, and the crew of the Albatross distinctly heard the pirates singing in full chorus:--

"Our ship sails on the wave,
On the wave, on the wave,
Our ship sails on the wave, Captain Death;
For free mariners are we, and we ride the stormy sea,
And our Captain still shall be
Captain Death! Captain Death!
Our Captain still shall be Captain Death!"

"It must be the miscreants we left on the island of Madagascar;" said the young merchant. "I remember that murderous song well; but we'll strive hard to spoil their singing."

"Scrunch me if we don't make 'em change their toon at any rate;" exclaimed the old man. "There's nothin in life I've been so much wishin for as a 'portunity to sarve out that ere double distilled willain Scrumpydike, or Rifle, or whatever his name is."

"And you must leave the other scoundrel to me;" added Oriel Porphyry. "I have an account to settle with him, and if I can get within reach, he shall not escape."

The pirate ranged up on the quarter of the Albatross, pouring in her broadside as she advanced, which was answered with all the guns that could be brought to bear on that side of the ship, and then, by a manoeuvre skilfully executed, the Albatross was made to wear round the schooner, pouring in a volley of musketry, till she presented her other side, from which another sweeping fire belched forth. The shot crashed through the timbers of the pirate, committing dreadful slaughter upon her closely packed deck, and when the smoke which enveloped her bows cleared away, it was seen that her foretop-mast had gone, her sails had been shot through in numerous places, and a considerable portion of her rigging hung in ragged shreds. Three cheers from the crew of the Albatross, and groans, and shouts and imprecations from the schooner, evinced the effect the firing had in both ships.

The pirate bore up as if with the intention of running alongside to board, and poured in her broadside as she advanced, which killed six or seven men, and wounded several others; but her opponent waited till she was within about three ships' length, and then gave her the contents of all her available carronades. The mizen and mainmast of the pirate, which had previously been wounded, now fell by the board. At this instant the schooner fell foul of the Albatross on her larboard quarter, and the pirates made several desperate attempts to board, but the crew of the other ship kept up such a murderous discharge of musketry and small arms from her tops as well as from her decks, that every attempt was ineffectual, and the Albatross wearing off, discharged her larboard quarter-deck guns, and such of the main-deck guns as could be brought to bear, into the schooner's larboard bow.

The excitement on board the Albatross was now at its height. Every man was at his post, and one spirit seemed to stir the whole. The wounded were carried down to the surgeon as soon as their hurts were known, and the dead thrown into the sea that they might not incommode the living. Oriel Porphyry continued in one of the most exposed parts of the ship encouraging the men, and firing a musket whenever the ships were near enough for him to do so with any effect. Broadside after broadside followed from the Albatross in rapid succession, sweeping the decks of the schooner, and splitting her timbers into fragments. But the pirate captain still made every exertion to board the merchant ship. His vessel was scarcely manageable, and nearly half her crew were either killed or wounded: but he bore up to his opponent with the same dauntless resolution that had distinguished him throughout his career; he cheered his men on to the fight; and continued to discharge every gun that could be brought into play.

A quick and well-directed fire of musketry was kept up from the tops and forecastle of the Albatross, and her quarter deck guns were discharged with scarcely any intermission and with dreadful effect. The schooner now fell on board the merchant ship on the starboard quarter, and the pirates lashed her bowsprit to the stump of their mainmast; but the lashings soon afterwards gave way, and the two vessels, yard-arm and yard-arm, continued to pour into each other their sweeping broadsides, very much to the advantage of the Albatross, who was crippling her opponent at every discharge, and slaughtering her crew.

At this time the main-mast of the pirate fell over the side, and as the smoke cleared away, she was seen with her ports jammed in, her decks torn up in several places, her hull battered, and every part of her wearing the appearance of a complete wreck. But Captain Death was not a man to think of surrendering. When his vessel became short of hands, he assisted in working a gun; and as soon as he could get the two ships close alongside, he headed a party that lashed them together, and then, followed by the remainder of his crew--men of all nations, of all colours, and of every kind of costume, rushed upon the deck of the Albatross.

The fight now became one of hand to hand. The pistol, the pike, and the cutlass seemed the only weapons in requisition. The crew of the Albatross hurried to the place where Captain Death, Lieutenant Rifle, and their followers were hewing their way with the most desperate valour. Oriel Porphyry, the captain, Climberkin, and Boggle headed their party, cheering them on, and cutting down their opponents. Oriel Porphyry was engaged with a gigantic negro, whose head he severed at a blow, and then attacked a second and a third with the same spirit, and with a similar effect. Old Hearty beheld his ancient enemy, first known to him by the name of Scrumpydike, and frantic with the remembrance of what he had once suffered at his hands, he rushed upon him, cutlass in hand. A pistol was discharged at his head as he advanced which missed its object, and the two were immediately engaged in hacking at each other with all their strength and skill. The old man in strength was the equal of his opponent, but he was his superior at the weapon, at which he had been practising ever since their previous fight, with the desire of having his revenge should they meet again. The struggle was a fierce one, but it was brief. Hearty cut his opponent's sword-arm above the elbow with such force that it severed the bone, and at the same moment the young midshipman Loop run him through the body with a boarding-pike. With a malignant scowl he fell dead on the deck.

Oriel Porphyry had endeavoured to come in contact with the pirate captain, whom he observed at a short distance from him cutting down all by whom he was opposed; but several times he was attacked by some other of the gang whom he was obliged to dispose of before he could have the slightest chance of getting at him. At last Captain Death saw his former companion, and freeing himself from those with whom he was engaged, he hurried towards him, waving his uplifted sword streaming with blood, and shouting exclamations of rage and defiance.

"It is you I have sought far and near since you escaped me, but there's no escape for you now;" muttered the pirate, as he rushed furiously upon the young merchant, and strived by the force and rapidity of his blows to bring the combat to a speedy termination. But he was engaged with one of the most accomplished swordsmen in existence, with a well-tried weapon, and a spirit burning to destroy the wretch with whom he fought. He parried dexterously, and warded off with the greatest ease the most furious blows that were aimed at him; and the blood flowing from wounds in the captain's head and shoulder soon proved that he was not content with acting merely on the defensive. During the struggle these two got separated from the other combatants, and they stood in a part of the deck unnoticed by the men engaged on either side. Death, smarting from his wounds, pressed upon his antagonist with increasing rage and violence; but the latter, knowing that the victory was in his own hands, allowed the other to exhaust his strength in unavailing blows; then when he found the pirate's exertions slacken, his sword flashed about with a rapidity that baffled the eye, and seemed to draw blood at every stroke. He followed him with a strength of arm that appeared perfectly irresistible, beating down his defence, and striking aside his blows; but just as he was hurrying forward to put a finishing stroke to the contest, he tumbled over a dead body, and fell unarmed at the feet of his foe.

"Ah, ha!" shouted the pirate chief, while a gleam of malignant satisfaction shot from his eyes; "your doom is sealed." He swung round his sabre to bring it with all his strength upon the head of his defenceless antagonist, but before the blow had time to descend he heard a slight shriek, a rush of feet, and the next moment received two pistol bullets in his body. Oriel Porphyry regained his footing as Captain Death fell staggering on the deck, and with a wild cry of exultation Eureka rushed into his arms.

The pirates on the fall of their leader became dispirited; but knowing what would be their reward if taken, they returned to their ship, fighting desperately every inch of the way, and the strife was renewed upon their own deck till every man of them was cut down. The crew of the Albatross had upon the termination of the conflict dispersed themselves over the schooner with the intention of securing whatever valuables she might contain, when they were obliged to make a rapid retreat to their own vessel, as the schooner was rapidly sinking, but they did not depart without bringing with them a prisoner whom they had found secreted in the hold. The lashings were immediately cut away, and the Albatross had just time to sheer off, when the pirate filled and went down.

"Well, master Log!" exclaimed Boggle to his trembling prisoner; "I likes to ha' particular notions o' things in general, as every man as is a man and thinks like a man should have, and I has a notion o' you as is werry particular; arn't you a willain?"

"A villain--a villain--a great villain--a very great villain--indeed I may say a pretty considerable, atrocious, abominable tarnation villain, mister Boggle!" cried the other with a look that showed that he had been entirely put out of conceit of himself.

"What you says true's parfectly right," said the second lieutenant; "and I must pay you the compliment to acknowledge as how you shows a deal o' gumption in your 'splanation o' your own character. Don't you desarve to be spiflicated?"

"Spiflicated--spiflicated--well spiflicated--regularly spiflicated--I must confess that I ought to be right down regularly spiflicated, smothered, smashed, dished up and done for;" acknowledged the unfortunate captain's clerk, with a most woeful physiognomy and a sincerity of manner that carried conviction to his hearers.

"I likes to make ev'ry fellar comfortable arter his own fashion," said Boggle, with the utmost gravity; and then addressing a sailor who was grinning from ear to ear at a few paces distant, he cried, "I say, Solemnchops! just rig a noose in the main top gallant halyards."

"I'll do it wi' pleasure for the gentleman, sir;" replied the man, benevolently hastening to execute the command.

"Now, master Log, I begs to say as how I got no notion o' hurtin' any o' your feelins," continued the lieutenant; "but I considers it necessary for your health as you should be hanged. I knows unkimmon well as human natur' is human natur', and in consequence o' that ere I comes to the conclusion as it is the most properest thing as is for you to make yourself agreeable to your friends wi' a dance upon nuffin. But afore I leaves you in this here moloncholy perdickyment, I think 't will be but friendly in me to hint to you as how you ought to die like a respectable 'dividual; arn't you rayther a miserable sinner?"

"A miserable sinner!--a miserable sinner! a very miserable sinner--a very shocking miserable sinner, indeed I may say a very extraordinary shocking miserable sinner, and no mistake;" cried the unhappy Log.

More dead than alive the trembling wretch had the noose placed round his neck, and was run up to the halyards, accompanied by the consolations of the friendly Boggle.

"Hullo! what are you about there? Let that man down directly!" shouted the captain as he approached the scene, and the ex-captain's clerk descended upon the deck with a velocity that sent all the breath out of his body. "What's the meaning o' this?"

"Why, you see, sir," replied the second lieutenant, with his usual gravity; "I can't say as Master Log be given to drinkin, but I sartainly seed him just now unkimmonly elewated."

CHAP. XI.

THE DEATH OF CAPTAIN DEATH, AND THE MEETING OF THE SHIPS.

"There's no saving his life, don't you see;" remarked Tourniquet, who had discovered that Captain Death was not quite dead, and had been examining his wounds. "Every effort would be useless here, all skill unavailing; and there are many others in imminent danger, to whom I might be of service."

"Stop, he moves!" exclaimed Oriel Porphyry, as he stood gazing on the changing features of the dying pirate.

Captain Death lay extended on his back on the deck where he had fallen. His sword was still firmly grasped in his hand, and both his arms were stretched out nearly at right angles with his body. The long silken cap in which he used to confine his black hair had fallen off, and the hair fell in disordered masses, clotted with blood, around his face. He had allowed his beard and moustachios to grow, and they now added to the natural ferocity of his countenance. His jacket, of the richest velvet, was cut through in several places, and stiffened with gore, which had run down and soiled the crimson shawl of embroidered silk he wore girded round his waist, and had more conspicuously stained his lower garments of linen. His face was livid, and his eyes blood-shot, and the expression which was impressed upon them kept continually changing from pain to rage, and from rage to hate. Occasionally some convulsive movement of the muscles would more strongly distort his features, and his body writhed and twisted as if in great agony. After a long fit of violent shuddering, which shook every part of his body, his face assumed a more tranquil expression, and his lips moved as if with an effort to speak.

"Virgo!" he whispered; "'tis your father. He comes to drag me to the halter. See how he glares at me! He laughs. He shows me his chains. No, no, no! 'Tis not that savage old man. 'Tis not him. There is no one. Come to me, my preserver, come to me; and let the refreshing purity of your caresses drive away the evil thoughts which have made my nature so abandoned and desperate. There is the little bed, with its clean white curtains; there are the flowers. There, there! I see you all again, reminding me of a state of innocence I was unworthy to share. Come, my preserver, come!"

"He is delirious, don't you see;" observed the doctor.

"Do you think there is any possibility of his recovering?" inquired the young merchant.

"Not the slightest; he won't live an hour;" replied Tourniquet.

"Hush!" exclaimed Oriel; "he speaks again."

"Virgo! 'tis time to rise. See how the rosy morning dawns upon the room! Let me kiss you before you leave me: there! my soul is on my lips, and I drink in a better life from yours. Draw around the curtains. My face is on the pillow; I cannot see you, but my blessings follow you wherever you go. Ah! you leave the room, and all is strife and hate and passion within me."

"He's talking of that young creature that was so fond of him, don't you see," said the doctor; "though for my part I can't comprehend what she could see in him to like."

"There's no knowing," replied Oriel Porphyry; "the love of woman is a mystery which none properly understand and few appreciate."

"She's dead!" exclaimed the pirate in a heart-broken voice; "she's dead! the innocent, the good, the gentle, the fearless, the confiding one, who would have plucked the rank weeds from my sinful nature, has perished and left me none like her in the world. She died for me--for me, a wretch unworthy to breathe in her presence. All is lost. There is no goodness now remaining on the earth. She's dead! she's dead!"

"I did not think he had so much natural feeling in him;" said the young merchant.

"There's nothing so evil but what has some good in it, don't you see;" replied the surgeon.

The expression in the features of Captain Death now underwent a complete change: it became fierce, daring, and revengeful. His body appeared violently agitated, and his arms moved with convulsive twitches.

"Pipe all hands to quarters!" shouted the dying pirate with all his remaining strength. "Make sail--clear away for fighting--run out the guns and shot them.--She's a rich merchantman, and there's enough in her to enrich us all. Pour out a broadside--there goes her main-mast:--another, and her mizenmast goes by the board. Sweep her quarter deck with our quarter deck guns, and pour down upon her a fire of musketry from the tops. Board her by the bow-sprit. Now, boys, follow me and cut down all." Here the features of the dying pirate became absolutely terrific, and he made some desperate struggles to rise from the ground, in which he at last succeeded; when, waving his sword round his head, he sung in a piercing voice--

"We stifle ev'ry cry,
Ev'ry cry,--ev'ry cry--
We stifle ev'ry cry, Captain Death!
And then we spread our sails that are filled with welcome gales,
Singing, 'Dead men tell no tales,'
Captain Death! Captain Death!
Singing, 'Dead men tell no tales,' Captain Death."

"Ah!" screamed the singer, while an expression of the most intense agony distorted his features. He dropped the sword he had held; he drew both his hands suddenly to his wounded side, and staggering back, gasping frightfully for breath, he fell violently on his back.

"He's dead, don't you see;" said the doctor.

"A sail on the starboard quarter;" cried a man aloft.

"No more pirates, I hope;" exclaimed Fortyfolios, who had just ventured on deck.

"It is not quite impossible, don't you see;" was the surgeon's encouraging reply, and both almost immediately descended the hatchway, one to look after his patients, and the other to look after himself. Oriel Porphyry hastened to the captain, whom he found standing in the waist, examining the distant vessel through a glass.

"Any more fighting preparing for us?" inquired the young merchant.

"Can't exactly say yet, sir, but it's best to be prepared;" replied old Hearty, as he gave some orders to the men around him. "She looms large, and looks as if she was arter standing right across our fore-foot. Now she's alterin her course, and is comin with all sail set right down upon us. Call all hands to quarters: Climberkin, let the guns be shotted, and the dead bodies flung into the sea;--and yet I think she's a merchantman. Scrunch me, if it arn't my old ship, the Whittington!"

"What, my father's vessel?" asked Oriel Porphyry.

"The very same!" cried the old man with delight. "I knows her better nor any ship I ever sailed in. No doubt she wants to speak with us. Bring her head up to the wind, helmsman! I wonder whether my old captain is alive still? He was a right-down trump. But what a mazement he'll be in to find me in command o' the Albatross."

"I know Captain Barter well. I've met him frequently at my father's table, and a very gentlemanly, sensible man he is;" said the young merchant. "I have no doubt he's brought me some communication from Columbus."

"We shall soon see, sir, as we shall be alongside very shortly;" observed Hearty.

"Is master Oriel Porphyry on board?" was shouted from the Whittington, as the ships neared each other. Oriel caught up a speaking trumpet.

"Yes, Captain Barter, I am here;" he replied.

"I will come on board, sir, if you please, as soon as a boat is lowered;" said the captain of the Whittington.

"Have you any communication for me from my father?" inquired Oriel.

"I have, sir; and 'tis of great consequence," replied the other.

Oriel Porphyry was now all anxiety and impatience to know the intelligence he was promised. He hurried to the quarter-deck to receive his visitor, and strode backwards and forwards with hasty steps till he made his appearance. Now he thought that the news must be bad, and in a moment after he imagined that it was good. One instant he anticipated the death of his father, and in the next, hoped that he had been raised by his fellow-citizens to the highest honours in the nation. And in this way his mind continued changing its impressions for the better and for the worse, till he had worked himself into a state of considerable excitement, when Captain Barter advanced towards him.

He was an elderly man, of gentlemanly appearance; neat in his dress, and polite in his deportment. His face was pale, and slightly marked with wrinkles; and his features were mild and pleasing. His hair was gray, and his body rather thin; but he was perfectly upright in his walk, and his step was firm and manly.

"I regret I have unpleasant intelligence to communicate to you, sir," said Captain Barter, after they had exchanged the customary salutations.

"It is then as I suspected," exclaimed Oriel Porphyry, earnestly. "My father is dead."

"No, sir, it is not so bad as that," replied the captain, as if hesitating in making the communication.

"What is it then? let me know immediately. I am sure by your manner it is something dreadful," cried the young merchant.

"Your father is a prisoner," said Captain Barter, with a look of sincere commiseration.

"Have they dared?" exclaimed Oriel.

"But I am sorry to say it is worse than that, sir," added his companion.

"What! what is it? Do not keep me in suspense--I implore you to tell me," cried the other.

"He is ordered for execution," said the captain.

"The miscreants!" muttered the young merchant. "But I knew it would be so. I knew they would not rest satisfied with their privileges curtailed. I knew they would seek the first opportunity to regain their lost power. I was convinced that they would regard my father as their enemy, and sacrifice him on the earliest occasion. But tell me how it was brought about? I would know all."

"After the revolution, which effected those important changes in the government of which you have been informed," said Captain Barter, "nothing could have exceeded the appearance of good will which existed in every part of the empire. The emperor seemed desirous of nothing so much as gratifying the people; and his ministers appeared to emulate each other in endeavouring to become popular. Public fêtes were given in honour of the revolution, at which the emperor assisted in person; and measures of the most liberal character were passed through the legislature, without a division. All was harmony and social order. The citizens congratulated each other on the improved state of the country--the industrious classes found themselves provided with sufficient employment, at a fair recompense--trade again became brisk--commerce flourished; and abundance seemed to be generally diffused over the whole surface of Columbia."

"A mere trick!" exclaimed Oriel Porphyry; "nothing but an artifice to lull the people into a fancied security, I'll wager my existence."

"Just so, sir," replied the captain. "The leaders of the people had now nothing to complain of. Every improvement was made before they had time to offer a suggestion on the subject; and that being rendered comparatively useless, they quickly lost their influence over their fellow-citizens. Your father, observing how well things were proceeding, withdrew himself from all participation in politics, considering that his services were no longer required, and devoted himself to his commercial pursuits, and to the realisation of those philanthropic desires that have distinguished every portion of his existence. He became again so completely the private citizen, that no person unaware of the circumstances could have imagined that he had recently played so important a part in the late changes. All the most influential of the popular leaders gradually retired into private life in the same manner."

"I see the scheme," cried Oriel, eagerly. "The vile treachery becomes manifest. How well 'twas planned. How artfully designed. Oh! these planners and plotters are a brilliant set; they are too wise for us poor citizens."

"So they proved, sir," continued the captain; "for while the things I have related were being done, the government gradually and imperceptibly concentrated a military force in the metropolis, by calling in portions of the garrisons distributed over the empire; and these were well supplied with all the necessaries of war, and liberally paid, and officered by men upon whom the government could depend. Soon after this, on the pretence that they were no longer necessary, the national guards were disbanded and deprived of their arms. Suspicion was now created among the sharp-sighted few; but the public generally did not appear to have the slightest notion of the danger which threatened them. As the object of the emperor and his party began to assume a more threatening aspect, the leaders of the people took the alarm, and endeavoured to awaken their fellow-citizens to a sense of their danger. In the course of a few hours every one of them was securely lodged in a dungeon."

"And my father amongst them," exclaimed the young merchant.

"He appears to have been the chief object at which their malice was directed," observed the captain. "At this time it was thought necessary to throw off the mask. The old ministers were restored to their forfeited privileges and possessions; and your father's implacable foe, Philadelphia, was placed at the head of the government. An imposing force of soldiery was kept continually under arms, to prevent any rising of the populace; and seizures of concealed arms were made in every direction. The people, deprived of their leaders and of their weapons, felt themselves powerless. They saw too late the trap into which they had fallen. They beheld the despotism that was approaching them, and were unable to make the slightest effort to defend themselves from its approaches. Domiciliary visits were now made, upon the most frivolous pretexts, to the houses of the principal citizens; and papers and arms were seized, and their owners, if they gave the slightest cause of offence, were hurried to prison. Any one known or suspected of entertaining hostile intentions was seized and incarcerated, and fined in heavy penalties, or sent out of the country. The citizens were confounded, and appeared utterly unable to make the slightest resistance."

"Oh, I wish I had been there!" exclaimed Oriel, eagerly, "I would have infused such a spirit into their natures as should have made them ready to rush upon their oppressors with a certainty of success; and that conviction should have insured their triumph. I would have made their hearts astir with the love of freedom, till all obstacles in their way should have been as straws in the path of the tempest. I would have made them fight like lions--I would have made them conquer like men. But what became of my father? you have not told me that. Tell me what became of him?"

"While they were placing the citizens in a degree of subjection fit for their purpose," replied Captain Barter, "with a monstrous deal of unnecessary parade, they were making preparations for the trial of the leaders of the people. The long-expected day came, and its proceedings were watched with eager interest by the citizens, although they dared not show the anxiety they felt. Master Porphyry, with his companions, were arraigned as rebels and traitors, accused of murder and treason, and reviled by the hired advocates of the crown in terms which only the more exposed the badness of the cause they defended. Philadelphia was president of the Chamber of Peers, by whom they were tried; and he took every occasion to abuse, brow-beat, and threaten your father in language the most intemperate that can be imagined; but your father replied in a manner that would have conciliated a savage. His language was mild, his bearing noble; and when he was called upon to make his defence, he made one of the most eloquent speeches that had ever been heard within those walls. He merely related what he had done, and what were his reasons for so doing; exposed the errors of the government, and the mischiefs to which they had led; recounted the share he had had in the revolution, which had reduced the power of the crown and of the aristocracy to reasonable limits, and the motives which induced him to use all his influence in the contest: and his defence so utterly annihilated the charges brought against him, that he must have been acquitted had he been treated with any thing like justice; but his judges were his accusers, and they sealed his doom before they entered upon his trial. The prisoners were all found guilty. Some were sent into exile, some imprisoned for life, some were heavily fined--and Master Porphyry was condemned to be beheaded, and to have all his property confiscated to the crown."

"The murderous and insatiate tyrants!" exclaimed the young merchant.

"When Philadelphia delivered the sentence," continued the captain, "he appeared to take a malignant joy in having such an opportunity for reviling your father--there was no name of opprobrium he did use: but your honoured parent replied to him only with a look of wonder and pity; and with a bow to his relentless judges, left the court in company with his guards."

"Noble old man!" cried Oriel, earnestly.

"As soon as the people learned the result of the trial, they were in the deepest affliction," added Captain Barter, "that the kind and excellent philanthropist--the true and disinterested patriot, the glory of their city, and the pride of the world--should perish on a scaffold, was more than they could endure. But they had no leaders, and no weapons; and, although they would have risen in a mass in his rescue, under the circumstances of the case they saw that any attempt of the kind was utterly hopeless. All eyes were then turned toward you. Your character had already acquired their admiration; your relationship to Master Porphyry excited their devotion; and, knowing that you had departed on a voyage, the most powerful friends of your father met secretly for the purpose of devising some plan by which they could make you acquainted with your father's danger, and with their desire to assist in his rescue. With this idea in view, all your father's vessels that could be sent to sea, besides a vast number of ships belonging to other merchants who had volunteered to give their assistance, sailed in quest of you. From knowing something of the plan of voyage designed by your father I imagined that about this time you would be crossing the Atlantic; so here I have been sailing about for the last two days, and there are nearly a hundred sail of merchant vessels in the same pursuit."

"A sail on the larboard bow!" shouted a man.

"That is one of them, I have no doubt, sir," observed Captain Barter.

"A sail on the starboard quarter!" shouted another.

"There is another, sir!" added the captain.

"A sail to leeward!" cried a third.

"We shall have them all about you soon, sir," said Captain Barter.

"There's a sail in every point o' the compass," cried Climberkin, as he swept the horizon with his glass.

"I told you so, sir," continued the captain.

Climberkin was right. Wherever the eye could gaze the spars of a vessel were seen rising from the wave; and, apparently, as soon as each ship discovered the Albatross, she made all sail towards her. It was a beautiful sight to see them approaching, most of them with every stitch of canvass set--some bearing right down upon the Albatross, and others making tacks; while the distant cheers of their crews, answered by the crews of the Whittington and the Albatross, increased the stirring character of the scene. As soon as they were near enough a boat was seen putting off from each vessel; and, a few minutes after, the captains of the different ships came on board the Albatross, and sat with Oriel Porphyry in his cabin for several hours, in deep and earnest conference. These had scarcely departed when others arrived. New vessels kept continually approaching. As fast as one party left the ship others made their appearance, and at last the Albatross was surrounded by an immense fleet. All their commanders having at last communicated with Oriel Porphyry, they crowded sail for Columbia.

"Captain," exclaimed the young merchant, after the last of his visitors had departed, "are you sure of the crew?"

"To a man, sir," replied old Hearty. "There's such a stir in the ship as never was afore. They are all impatient to be led against your enemies. I never saw such enthusiusiasm in all my life."

"Keep them in that humour, captain," said Oriel Porphyry. "Let every man have a good supply of ball cartridges, a musket, a pair of pistols, and a cutlass."

"Yes, sir."

"And let a party be formed who can use the hatchet and crow-bar with good effect."

"Yes, sir."

"And get the carpenter to make carriages for the larger guns, so that they can be dragged by ropes upon the land; and let them be manned by picked men."

"Yes, sir: and if we don't rescue your honourable father out o' the clutches o' them ere lubbers, I'm spiflicated if we don't diskiver the reason why."

"How far are we from port?" asked Oriel.

"About two days sail, sir," replied the captain.

"We shall be too late if the greatest despatch is not used," observed the young merchant, earnestly. "I rely upon your using every effort that your skill can suggest."

"I'll do every thing, sir, as a mortal cretur can do!" exclaimed the old man. "I arn't the fellow to stand shilly-shally at such a time as this. I'll look to every thing myself, and see about it immediately."

The captain had scarcely left the cabin, and Oriel had thrown himself back in his seat, in deep and earnest meditation, when he was disturbed by a knock at the door.

"Come in," he cried.

"May I enter, Oriel?" said Eureka, as she gently opened the door.

"Of course, dearest!" replied Oriel Porphyry, as he hastened towards her, and led her into the cabin, with her hands clasped in his.

"You are kinder to me than I deserve, Oriel," murmured his fair companion, with a look of gratitude from her lustrous eyes that he found perfectly irresistible.

"Not at all, my Eureka!" said her lover, affectionately; "am I not indebted to you for life and liberty, and all that render them valuable? Do I not know how much you have dared and endured for my sake? And do you think it possible, that with a knowledge of these things, I can regard you with any other feeling than that of the most devoted affection? No, Eureka, I must love you while I have life. But how cleverly you continued the disguise. When I first saw you, I recognised in the handsome page a resemblance to features it was impossible for me not to notice; but your scheme was so admirably managed that I never entertained the slightest suspicion of your true character."

"Nor up to the present moment has any one in the ship," replied Eureka. "They only know me as Zabra, except that worthy creature, Tourniquet, who discovered my secret when I was wounded, and I immediately made him aware of my history and object in joining you, at which he was so much delighted as to proffer his assistance in carrying on the deception; and I should have been discovered but for him on more than one occasion."

"That accounts for his confusion at the tiger-hunt," observed Oriel; "and for what I considered the mystery in your behaviour. But there is nothing strange or unaccountable in it now. I only wonder at you. I am amazed when I think of your risking so much for one who is so little worthy of such extraordinary devotion."

"You will not love me the less for it, will you?" inquired Eureka, gazing in his face with a look of thrilling tenderness.

"Love you less, Eureka!" exclaimed the young merchant; "that would be ungrateful! While I have an appreciation of truth and excellence and fidelity, and that wonderful intellectual power you have so often exhibited, the admiration with which I regard you must approach idolatry. You are a creature to be proud of."

"And yet I am afraid I shall lose you," said his companion, anxiously; "I have just heard upon what errand you are hastening. It is full of danger. It is beset by perils. But the cause is a proud one, and I do not attempt to dissuade you from proceeding with it. Go on your career of glory. Give your impetuous soul free scope for the developement of its energies. Think not of me, except the thought can nerve your arm and strengthen your resolution. Be as daring as your fearless nature prompts you to be. With such an end in view as that you have before you, I can allow myself no other sense, or impression, or emotion than that which may accompany my earnest hopes for your success. I have come to a resolution to forget my own selfish feelings. It is time I should. Your advancement, your greatness, your fame, are the objects to which any thoughts must now always incline. If you live to triumph over your enemies, and to attain that eminence whereon you are so desirous of being placed, and to which you will do so much honour, none will rejoice more sincerely than she who has shown herself so anxious to insure your happiness--if you die----"

"Eureka, my adored!" rapturously exclaimed Oriel, pressing her to his breast, as he noticed that she was unable to proceed, "there is no fear of such a result. Believe me you alarm yourself unnecessarily. I shall succeed, I am assured of it: I shall succeed to have the proud enjoyment of glorifying you with my pre-eminence. I feel convinced that if we can only arrive in time, I shall rescue my father. Nothing shall stop me--I will not be defeated: and if we should be too late for this great object, which I see no reason to apprehend, I will not rest satisfied till I have punished his murderers. I have no dread of death; but if I should die, I shall die a death worthy of the lover of Eureka. I shall die in endeavouring to rescue my country from its oppressors.--I shall die in avenging the murder of one of the noblest and best of men."

"One word more, Oriel--one word more," said Eureka. "I have only to ask you, as a testimony of your love for me, that, if in the coming conflict you should meet my father, you will not kill him."