ADVENTURES 
 
 OF 
 
 HARRY FRANCO 
 
THE 
 
 ADVENTURES 
 
 OF 
 
 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 A TALE OF 
 
 THE GREAT PANIC. 
 
 f *3>v v-v 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 VOL, I. 
 
 NEW YORK : 
 
 F. SAUNDERS, 357 BROADWAY, 
 1839. 
 
 
ENTERED, 
 according to Act of Congress, in the year 1839, by 
 
 FREDERIC SAUNDERS, 
 
 in the Clerk s Office of the District Court of the United States, 
 for the Southern District of New York. 
 
 CRA1GHEAD & ALLEN, PRINTERS, 
 No. H2 Fulton Street, New-York. 
 

 HARRY FRANCO. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Being the beginning of the Book, is very properly devoted to 
 the beginning of the Hero. 
 
 ANCESTRAL. 
 
 IT is a generally received opinion in some parts 
 of the world, that a man must of necessity have 
 had ancestors; but, in our truly independent 
 country, we contrive to get along very well with 
 out them. That strange race, called Aristocrats, 
 it is said, consider every body as nobody, unless 
 they can boast of at least a dozen ancestors. These 
 lofty people would have scorned an alliance with 
 a parvenu like Adam, of course. What a fortu 
 nate circumstance for their high mightinesses, that 
 they were not born in the early ages. No ante 
 diluvian family would have been entitled to the 
 
 VOL. I. 1 
 
 BI46125 
 
IP HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 slightest consideration from them. When the 
 world was only two thousand years old, it is 
 melancholy to reflect, its surface was covered with 
 nobodies ; men of yesterday, without an ancestry 
 worth speaking of. It is not to be wondered at, 
 that such a set of upstarts should have caused the 
 flood ; nothing less would have washed away their 
 vulgarity, to say nothing of their sins. 
 . . -But. ?ii this blessed country, as is known to all 
 tlie world, men rest their claims to notice on their 
 own merits ; and as we neither hold ourselves 
 accountable for the vices, nor take credit to our 
 selves for the virtues of our ancestors, it will not 
 be necessary for me to trace my pedigree any 
 farther back than to my immediate progenitor; 
 and of him I shall write but very sparingly, as it 
 is my intention, in these pages, to confine my 
 narrative to my own personal adventures. 
 
 Every body has heard of the long Embargo ; 
 but every body, it is probable, has not heard as 
 much about it as I have. It was by that wise and 
 patriotic measure, that my father was ruined ; and 
 it will not be wondered at, that it should have 
 formed, ever after, the staple of his conversation. 
 It was not the fashion in those days for a man to 
 set up his carriage after he had failed in business; 
 so my father conformed to the custom of the times, 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. O 
 
 as he would have done, probably, if his misfor 
 tunes had overtaken him later in life, and having 
 paid all his honest debts, he scraped together the 
 odds and ends that were left to him, and removed 
 to his native village, there to await for better 
 times ; and in due course of events, I made my 
 appearance in the world. 
 
 My native village was a quiet little out-of-the- 
 way place, about a day s ride from one of the 
 steamboat landings on the Hudson. Like every 
 other little out-of-the-way villagers quiet was in 
 appearance only, for the men and women who 
 made up its body politic, were as much under the 
 dominion of the enemy of man s peace, as ever 
 were the dwellers of a great and crowded city. Of 
 this fact, my unfortunate parents very soon became 
 convinced. My father, it is probable, always was 
 convinced of it ; but my mother, who was city 
 bred, and who had picked up her ideas of human 
 nature from novels and romances, expected to find 
 country people and villagers, as innocent as the 
 lambs that frisked about on their meadows ; and 
 the first outbreak of uncharitableness, which she 
 witnessed in her new neighbors, caused as much 
 astonishment in her mind, as though she had found 
 a thorn on the stem of a butter cup. 
 
 Having thus accounted for my being in the 
 
HARRY FRANCO 
 
 world, I shall close this chapter, and in the very 
 next, proceed at once to the business in hand/ and 
 relate my adventures with as little digression as 
 possible. And I trust that my kind reader, when 
 he shall arrive at the end, will not be compelled 
 to ejaculate, as the old woman did when she read 
 the dictionary through from A. to izzard, that she 
 could make neither head nor tail of the story. 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Although very short, will contain more than half my life. 
 
 I ONCE had a maiden aunt, who used to say it 
 was easier to raise children than chickens ; from 
 which it might be proper to infer, that she hated 
 little boys and girls, and loved poultry. The in 
 ference may be true, or not ; but none, except the 
 inexperienced, will doubt the truth of her saying. 
 Certain it is, children will thrive upon means in 
 credibly small ; and where one little existence is 
 suffered to go out for want of sustenance, dozens 
 are surfeited out of the world, before they are 
 surfeited with it. 
 
 I had one sister ; she was two years older than 
 myself, and we grew up together almost miracu 
 lously ; for my father having expended nearly all 
 his means in a legal contest with a stubborn law 
 yer, had but a trifle to bestow upon his offspring. 
 The next ten years of his existence he lived upon 
 hope, expecting, at the death of my grandfather, 
 who was rich, to come into possession of his pro 
 perty, jointly with my uncle. But my grandfather 
 was an implacable old man, and for some reason, 
 which I never rightly understood, he took a dis- 
 1* 
 
O HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 like to my father, and bequeathed him but one 
 dollar, leaving the bulk of his property to my 
 uncle. Although the disappointment to my father 
 was very great, when the only prop upon which 
 his hopes rested was knocked from under him, yet 
 the reflection that his father had gone into an un 
 changeable existence with hatred in his heart 
 against him, gave him more pain than the mere 
 loss of the property. When the full extent of 
 our misfortunes was known, domestic matters 
 were much straiter with us than before my grand 
 father s death. My father had seemingly lost 
 all his energy ; and my mother, to solace herself, 
 took to two articles of domestic manufacture, 
 which owe their support chiefly to indolent old 
 ladies, and romantic young ones ; viz., novels 
 and snuff. 
 
 My sister and myself were left to follow the 
 bent of our own inclinations, which would no 
 doubt have led us into the street, where the incli 
 nations of young folks generally lead them, had 
 it not been that we were very proud, and our little 
 hearts could not brook the sight of our cousins 
 better dressed than ourselves, and, as we were 
 taught to believe, at our expense. We had no 
 companions, and all our little stock of knowledge 
 was gained from the books which my mother read. 
 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 7 
 
 Miserable food it was for the minds of young crea 
 tures like us, who had no opportunities of correcting 
 by observation the strange accounts we read of the 
 world we lived in. And so, in this idle manner I 
 grew up, ignorant of every thing around me, and 
 with dreamy, ill-defined apprehensions of the way 
 of the world. I had attained to my seventeenth 
 year; and I might have continued until now doing 
 nothing better than reading novels, or what is 
 worse, perhaps, writing them, had it not been for 
 a very trifling incident, which sent me forth into 
 the world to encounter the adventures which I am 
 now about to relate, for the especial instruction and 
 benefit of my kind reader. 
 
HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The first impulse which set the locomotive of my destiny in 
 motion. 
 
 IT was one of those peculiar days in March, of 
 which the words bitter, intense, freezing, chilly, or 
 piercing, do not convey an adequate idea, but 
 which the term raw, very nearly defines. I had 
 been on an errand for my mother, and was return 
 ing home chilled to the midriff, for I had neither 
 cloak nor great coat, when, as I turned the cor 
 ner of the street, I met my cousin John, who was 
 advancing towards me clothed in a handsome sur- 
 tout with a fur collar ; his flushed cheek, and his 
 laughing mouth, showed how well at ease he felt, 
 and how well he was defended against the incle 
 mency of the weather. He was a proud, over 
 bearing boy, and I had always tried to avoid him ; 
 but I encountered him so suddenly now, that I 
 could not get out of his way without appearing to 
 be either afraid or ashamed of meeting him. 
 
 " What," he said, tapping me on the shoulder 
 with his rattan, " have you got no cloak to wear 
 this chilly weather, cousin Harry ?" 
 
 "I do nt mind the cold," I said, trying to look 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 
 
 very warm and cheerful, although my lips were so 
 benumbed I could hardly move them. 
 
 "I see you do nt," he replied. 
 
 I felt too indignant to make him any answer, 
 and I turned to leave him, when he called me 
 back. 
 
 " I will tell you something," he said, " if you 
 will promise not to let on to any body." 
 
 "What is it?" I asked eagerly, thinking it 
 might be^omething in relation to my grandfather s 
 estate. 
 
 " I am a prophet," he said. 
 
 " Is that all!" I replied. 
 
 " O, no, not quite all ; I prophesy that you will 
 die the death of old Cole s dog one of these days. 
 Do you know what complaint he died of?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 " He died of pride and poverty." And so 
 saying, he laughed sneeringly, and we parted. 
 
 There is neither heat nor cold," sunshine nor 
 gloom, in outward nature ; they exist in the mind 
 alone. The raw east wind still beat in my face 
 the long icicles still hung from the branches of the 
 leafless trees the ground was still frozen beneath 
 my feet, and my back was still unprotected by the 
 friendly warmth of a furred great coat but I no 
 longer shivered with the cold ; the blood burned 
 
10 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 in my veins, and the sweat started upon my fore 
 head. The words of my cousin entered into my 
 heart ; they had either created or put in motion 
 feelings which I had never known before. In a 
 moment, in the twinkling of an eye, I was changed. 
 I was an altered being. I felt desires and aspira 
 tions springing up within me, which almost drove 
 me mad. 
 
 I hurried home, and throwing myself on the 
 floor, covered my face with my hands, and burst 
 into tears. I had never known the bitterness of 
 grief before. My heart seemed to be running out 
 at my eyes, and at each sob the cause of my grief 
 seemed but to increase. My mother was in the 
 middle of a new novel, but she threw it aside, and 
 caught me in her arms, and began to examine to 
 see if my limbs were broken ; and my sister, with 
 out asking the cause of my grief, lifted up her 
 voice, and wept from S3 mpathy. My father looked 
 on in silent wonder, until finding that none of my 
 bones were broken, he said it was extremely inde 
 corous for a lad of my time of life to behave so 
 childish. 
 
 I could make no reply to my father s remarks, 
 nor to my mother s tender inquiries, other than to 
 beg them to ask me no questions, and to let me re 
 tire to my chamber. 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 11 
 
 "Alas! alas!" I exclaimed, when left to my 
 self, "it is too true; I shall die, as my cousin has 
 predicted ; pride and poverty will lead me to an 
 ignominious grave. I must live, while I do live, 
 known to but few, and despised even by them; and 
 at last I shall die, despised by myself." 
 
 After a while my grief began to subside ; the 
 fountain of my tears was exhausted ; the dreadful 
 words of my cousin grew more and more indistinct, 
 and in their place came thronging into my brain 
 the many wonderful stories I had read, of good 
 luck befalling the poor and the friendless ; of 
 great men having taken a fancy to adventurous 
 boys, who had left their homes with nothing but a 
 wallet and a mother s blessing ; and of their mak 
 ing their fortunes, and returning with their pock 
 ets lined with gold. These fine stories, it is true, 
 were nothing but fictions ; but I did not then 
 know nor indeed dream, that there were men and 
 women in the world wicked enough to invent sto 
 ries to mislead the minds of the young and simple. 
 They were to me veritable histories, the truth of 
 which it had never entered into my head to call in 
 question. And so I asked myself why I miaht 
 not be as acceptable to fortune as others who had 
 stood in need of her favors, and boldly sought 
 them at her hands ; and as I could make no ob- 
 
12 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 jection to this very reasonable demand, I resolved 
 at once, that I would set out in quest of a fortune 
 myself, and trust to that friendly divinity for aid, 
 who had conferred favors on others no better en 
 titled to them than myself. 
 
 " Yes, yes," I exclaimed, in the pleasant excite 
 ment of my feelings, " I will prove my cousin a 
 lying prophet ; I will gain a name among men I 
 will become rich my parents shall lean on me as a 
 staff in their old age, and my sister shall look to 
 me for support, and she shall not look in vain." 
 
 With such bold exclamations as these on my 
 lips, and with high resolves in my heart, I fell 
 asleep, and bright and pleasant were the visions 
 which visited me in my slumbers. When I awoke 
 in the morning, I made fresh resolutions to avert 
 the doom which the sneering prophecy of my 
 cousin had invoked upon my head ; and when I 
 told my parents of my determination to seek my 
 fortune in the w ? orld, they made fewer objections 
 than I had anticipated. In truth, I believe my 
 father was not at all displeased to have the respon 
 sibility of providing for me shifted from his shoul 
 ders to mine ; and my mother was so sanguine of 
 my success, that she could not find it in her heart 
 to oppose my wishes. Indeed, she had always 
 said I should some day get to be governor, 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 13 
 
 and my early ambition she considered as an ear 
 nest of my future greatness. But my poor sister 
 did nothing but cry at the prospect of our being 
 parted, and for her sake 1 should have been wil 
 ling to give up all my ambitious designs. 
 
 After many days spent in debating the subject, 
 it was at last determined that my father should 
 furnish me with all the money he could raise, and 
 that I should proceed to New York, and seek for 
 employment as clerk in a counting house, it being 
 agreed on all hands that that was one of the genteel- 
 est avenues which led up to the temple of the fickle 
 goddess ; for it was a primary consideration with 
 my parents, that whatever I did should be done 
 genteely. But I made a mental reservation my 
 self, that fortune should not be rejected, let her 
 approach in what guise she might, but particular 
 ly if in the shape of a young and beautiful heiress. 
 My plan of operations having been determined 
 upon, no time was lost in getting me ready for my 
 entrance into the world. Although my wardrobe 
 was by no means extensive, it required a great 
 many days to complete all the ripping and altering 
 which my mother considered necessary. I thought 
 there would never be an end to the preparation 
 for my departure; but at last the end came, and 
 unfortunately, the last article of dress which my 
 
 VOL. i. 2 
 
14 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 mother completed was a white Marseilles vest, 
 which she had altered out of an old one of my 
 father s, but it was so bespotted with tears and 
 snuff I was never able to wear it ; I prized it more 
 highly, notwithstanding, than I did my new coat, 
 which was made at the tailor s. Very much to 
 my surprise, I succeeded in packing all my clothes 
 into a small hair trunk, which had been a travelling 
 companion of my father s many years before ; the 
 corners of it were secured with strong iron clamps, 
 and the top was studded with my initials in brass 
 nails; altogether, I thought it made a very grand 
 appearance, and felt very proud of it. All things 
 being prepared, the night before my departure was 
 spent in talking over with my parents and sister 
 the great things that I was to accomplish in the 
 world ; and every moment I felt myself increase 
 in importance, as the time drew near when I 
 should not only be uncontrolled in my actions, 
 but should also have the care of making provision 
 for my own wants. 
 
 As you, gentle reader, have no doubt known 
 the sad feelings of one who leaves his home for 
 the first time, it would be superfluous to relate 
 what mine were on this melancholy occasion. 
 Were I a poet, or, indeed, had I any other object 
 in view than simply to make a record of my ad- 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 15 
 
 ventures, this would afford me an excellent oppor 
 tunity for dilating to the very edge of endurance 
 upon this most interesting period of a man s life. 
 But I shall spare the reader any further reflections 
 on this momentous occasion; and in the next chap 
 ter, we will take our seats together in the stage 
 coach, and so proceed on. 
 
16 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The departure and the journey. 
 
 THE day had just begun to show itself in the 
 east, when the rattling of wheels was heard ap 
 proaching nearer and nearer, and presently the 
 shrill notes of the stage driver s tin horn saluted our 
 ears. It was the signal for me to get ready, and 
 I obeyed it as well as I could ; but my eyes were 
 so blinded with tears, I could scarcely see to do 
 any thing. I kissed my mother and sister again 
 and again ; and when the coach stopped at the 
 door, I was ready with my trunk, and prepared to 
 step in. My father alone had followed me out, 
 and while the driver was securing my baggage, 
 he took my hand, and gave me a few words of 
 advice. 
 
 " Your mother, Harry," said my worthy parent, 
 " is, of course, entitled to your affection, and it is 
 your duty to obey her in all things, as the good 
 book says; but, you must be aware, that women 
 are not the fittest persons in the world to give ad 
 vice to young men on their entrance into the 
 world; therefore, when her advice comes in oppo 
 sition to mine, your own good sense will tell you 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 17 
 
 that mine is entitled to your first consideration. 
 Never, my son, be ashamed or afraid of speaking 
 to any body, either to solicit a favor, or for any 
 other purpose ; bear in mind that men are but 
 men, and there is no station whatever can make 
 more of them ; we are all very much alike, and 
 you can judge from your own feelings that there 
 is no man so good as not to feel secretly flattered 
 by the attention of any body who will notice him. 
 And let me once more remind you never to eat 
 an egg out of a tumbler; nature, my son, has be 
 stowed more care upon eggs than upon her other 
 productions, and has furnished in their shells the 
 vessels out of which they should be eaten." 
 
 The driver having strapped on my baggage, 
 my father put a small roll of bank bills into my 
 hand, saying it was all he had to give me, and 
 that I must use it with discretion. I squeezed his 
 hand in reply, jumped into the coach, and the next 
 minute I was fairly on my journey. The first 
 bound of the coach imparted life to my feelings, 
 and I should very soon have been in a high state 
 of excitement, but we soon came to a dead halt at 
 the post office, where we were kept waiting half an 
 hour or more for the post master to make up his 
 mail bags. At length the mail bags were ready, 
 and again we started, and again we stopped ; it 
 
18 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 was at the tavern, and here we were forced to 
 wait another half hour for the driver to get his 
 breakfast. The passengers all kept their seats, 
 and some of them grew very impatient at the de 
 lay. One threatened to write an article and put 
 into the papers, and others proposed appointing a 
 committee to wait on the driver, and request him 
 to hurry with his breakfast ; but while they were 
 debating the matter, he made his appearance with 
 a cigar in his mouth; but instead of jumping on 
 to the box, as he ought, he stood talking quite 
 composedly with the hostler about his horses. A 
 little gentleman who sat along side of me, dressed 
 in a satinett frock coat and a white cravat, put his 
 head out of the window, and spoke to the driver. 
 
 "Capting," said the passenger, "I wish you 
 would be so good as to let us be going, if you 
 please." 
 
 " O, I presume there s no occasion for hurry 
 ing," said the driver. "Yes there is though, you 
 pisen critter," said another passenger, u for I shall 
 have a note protested if I don t get to Simpson- 
 ville before three o clock." 
 
 But the impatience of the passengers had but 
 little effect upon the driver, who continued to puff 
 his cigar, and talk to the hostler; when he did 
 mount the box, however, truth compels me to say 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 19 
 
 that he drove in handsome style. Good humor 
 was soon restored among all the passengers but 
 one, a very pale faced man, with a bombazine 
 stock, who remarked that whoever served the pub 
 lic, whether he held the reins of government or of 
 a stage coach, ought never to be behind the 
 wishes of his employers. 
 
 " No politics if you please, mister," said a red 
 faced gentleman ; upon which the discontented 
 passenger drew his chin within the circumference 
 of his bombazine stock, and said not a word. 
 
 This was the first coach I had ever seen the in 
 side of, and it appeared to be a very grand affair. 
 The cushions were stuffed very curiously with spi- 
 rai wires, and some of them had worked through 
 the leather, and at every jolt of the carriage they 
 scratched me very unpleasantly, besides making a 
 rent in my trowsers, which I could not very well 
 conceal. The gentleman who sat behind me said 
 his great objection to wire cushions was, that they 
 attracted the electric fluid in a thunder storm. But 
 I was glad to observe from the bright face of the 
 sky, that there was no danger of a storm before 
 our journey would be at an end. There were just 
 nine passengers, and but one female among them ; 
 she sat opposite to me on the front seat, but as she 
 wore a green hood, I had not been able to catch a 
 
20 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 glimpse of her face. A very finely dressed young 
 gentleman sat next to her, and from his magnifi 
 cent appearance, I set him down for the governor s 
 son at the least ; for I had then no idea of the 
 cheapness of finery, or that a governor s son could 
 dress in any other than the very genteelest clothes. 
 He wore a lilac calico shirt, with a little ruffle 
 bristling in the bosom, and a cameo breast-pin al 
 most as large as a saucer; he appeared quite un 
 conscious of there being any body in the coach 
 besides himself, for he amused himself by whistling 
 a tune, and occasionally tapping the side of his 
 long nose with a little ebony stick which he car 
 ried in his hand. After we had travelled some 
 distance, he turned to the young lady, and asked 
 her if she didn t consider Bulwer a very powerful 
 writer. 
 
 The young lady raised her head, so that I 
 caught a glimpse of her face, and replied in the 
 sweetest, gentlest voice I had ever heard, that she 
 had never read his works. 
 
 " What ! never read Pelham," exclaimed the 
 magnificent gentleman, in apparent astonishment. 
 
 " 1 have not, indeed," replied the young lady, 
 more sweetly, if possible, than before. 
 
 " Then I pity you," said the supposed go- 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 21 
 
 As this remark seemed expressive of disrespect 
 for the young lady, I thought I had a right to re 
 sent it, for I had conceived a liking for her the 
 moment she spoke. 
 
 " I have not read Bulwer either," I said smartly. 
 
 " Then I pity you" said the gentleman. 
 
 I felt highly indignant at this cool reply, but I 
 remembered the advice which my father gave me, 
 never to speak when I was in a passion, and so I 
 bit my lips and remained silent. 
 
 "Is Pelham a good thing?" inquired one of 
 the passengers. 
 
 " It s splendid," replied the gentleman ; " so 
 sentimental." 
 
 After this, there was a good deal of conversa 
 tion on various subjects among my fellow travel 
 lers, all of which I remember very distinctly, for 
 I noted the leading ideas at the time in my memo 
 randum book ; but as I have doubts about its 
 possessing much interest for the general reader, 
 I shall relate no more of it. 
 
 I had made up my mind to be very polite to the 
 young lady on the very first occasion which should 
 offer ; but, when we stopped at the Eagle Tavern 
 to dine, instead of helping her out of the carriage, 
 my attention was so completely absorbed by the 
 
22 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 exhibition of a monstrous circus handbill, that I 
 left that delicate duty to be performed by the Lam 
 bert-like landlord of the tavern. As I stood gaz 
 ing with intense curiosity at the grotesque figure 
 of the clown in the handbill, somebody struck me 
 a smart blow with a rattan across my shoulders, 
 which caused them to smart not a little, and turn 
 ing around briskly, I perceived it was the finely 
 dressed gentleman with the calico shirt, who had 
 given me this gentle tap ; I felt strongly disposed 
 to be angry, but as he seemed to consider it a 
 good joke, I thought it was one of the ways of 
 the world ; and I remembered that my father had 
 told me, that if I set myself up in opposition to 
 them, I should have a rough time of it. 
 
 "Come, Colonel," said the gentleman, slapping 
 me on the shoulder, " what ll you take?" 
 
 " Nothing, I thank you," I replied, "I have 
 taken enough already." 
 
 " What ! don t you liquorate ?" 
 
 I shook my head, for I did not exactly under 
 stand him. 
 
 Don t drink, hey ?" 
 
 " Sometimes," I answered. 
 
 "What! temperance man? Signed a pledge?" 
 
 " No, I have not signed a pledge not to drink." 
 
 " Then you shall take a horn, so come along." 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. ^O 
 
 And so saying, he dragged me up to the bar. 
 " Now what ll you take ? julep, sling, cocktail, or 
 sherry cobbler ?" 
 
 * Any thing you choose," I replied, for I had 
 not the most remote idea what the drinks were 
 composed of which he enumerated. 
 
 " Then give us a couple of cocktails, bar-keep 
 er," said the gentleman, " and let us have them as 
 quick as you damn please, for I am as thirsty as 
 the great desert of Sahara, which old Judah Pad 
 dock travelled over." 
 
 I was shocked to hear such language from a 
 gentleman who dressed so genteely, and who pro 
 fessed to be an admirer of Bulwer ; but I kept 
 my thoughts to myself, and watched the bar-keep 
 er as he mixed the cocktails : they were a mixture 
 of gin and water, and sugar and nutmeg, and a 
 few drops of a red liquid, which he poured out of 
 a little cruet like an ink bottle with a quill stuck 
 in the cork. 
 
 My companion tossed off his cocktail almost 
 at a single swallow, smacked his lips, and pro 
 nounced the gin damn d splendid. But the splendor 
 of the gin proved too much for my unpractised 
 throat, for in my attempt to imitate my companion 
 in pouring down the cocktail, it almost took away 
 my breath, which gave the black hostler and the 
 
24 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 bar-keeper such lively pleasure that they came near 
 laughing themselves into convulsions. 
 
 The bell soon rang for dinner, and I followed 
 my fellow traveller into the dining room, and took 
 a seat at table by the side of a jolly looking dou- 
 ble-chinned gentleman, who, as he drew his chair 
 up with one hand, reached out the other and 
 seized a covered dish > one half the contents of 
 which he emptied into his own plate ; and I emp 
 tied the remainder into mine. 
 
 " That s right," said the double-chinned gen 
 tleman, " always eat oysters at a place like this, 
 because you can eat them quick ; no bones to 
 bother you, toast soft, too, nice and brown. 
 What s that, mace ? mace, I declare ! Capital ! 
 What a fat one ! it just fills up the mouth, touches 
 all the organs of taste at the same time, and leaves 
 nothing to be desired. Delicious ! what a fat 
 one ! Lovely ! I knew a man once, an ac 
 quaintance of mine first rate, ain t they ? an 
 acquaintance of mine who best stew I ever sat 
 down to ! quaintance of mine who lovely ! 
 most expeditious eater I ever knew ; never was 
 gone from his store more than fifteen minutes to 
 his dinner ; in twelve months eat himself into dys 
 pepsia ; next twelve, into consumption ; travelled 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 25 
 
 on a railroad for his health ; next twelve months 
 on his way to kingdom come in his grave." 
 
 " He was expeditious," I said, drawing a long 
 breath, and laying down my spoon as I finished 
 the last oyster upon my plate. The double- 
 chinned gentleman finished his at the same mo 
 ment, although he had been talking all the while, 
 and I had not spoken a word. 
 
 " Very, iwdeed," he said, in reply to my re 
 mark, " very expeditious. He lived wretchedly, 
 but he died rich." 
 
 " Poor fellow !" I exclaimed. 
 
 " Poor fellow," he repeated ; " why he was pre 
 sident of a bank ; poor fellow, indeed ! he left a 
 great estate. But don t waste time ; let me help 
 you to a piece of this steak ; how do you like it ? 
 speak quick." 
 
 " I have no choice, I thank you, sir," I replied. 
 
 " What, no choice, no choice, bless me !" 
 
 " None, sir." 
 
 " Then, my friend, do allow me the pleasure of 
 choosing for you. What a steak ! how rich ! what 
 juice !" 
 
 The ejaculations of my jolly companion, and 
 the sight of the juicy steak, caused my mouth to 
 overflow. 
 
 " delicious, ain t it ?" he said. 
 
 VOL. I. 3 
 
26 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 " Very." 
 
 " Very indeed, very, how tender ; what bread ! 
 Salt, sir ?" 
 
 Thank you." 
 
 "Stop a moment, don t disturb it; let me tell 
 you a secret. When you sit down at a table, al 
 ways look at the salt first ; you will find it a sure 
 index of the quality of the fare, nine times out of 
 ten. Never knew it to fail. Now look at this, 
 ain t it a gem ? none of your finical flutings and 
 notchings about it ; but a piece of plain unpre 
 tending glass, polished like a diamond. How 
 nicely it is filled, how smooth and white on its 
 surface : it looks like a piece of alabaster inserted 
 in a crystal. How fine and spotless ! look, it 
 scarce touches the steak before it is dissolved ; not 
 a particle of it will grate against your teeth, but 
 its delicate flavor will gratify your palate without 
 your being at all aware that you owe an exquisite 
 enjoyment to so common an article as salt. See, 
 the little heap on the side of your plate looks like 
 a snow flake just fallen." 
 
 " Salt is certainly a great thing," said the gen 
 tleman with the lilac shirt, who sat opposite, and 
 who had been listening, with his knife and fork 
 suspended, to the remarks of my double-chinned 
 friend. 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 27 
 
 " Tis indeed, a very great thing, very iwdeed." 
 " Quite an article of commerce," said the other. 
 "I should nt wonder if Congress laid a duty 
 upon it." 
 
 " T should nt wonder," replied the jolly gentle 
 man, winking slyly at me. 
 
 " Where on earth does salt corne from?" 
 "Knowing, aint he ?" said the jolly gentleman, 
 aside to me. 
 
 "Quite an extensive assortment on the table, 
 remarked the elegantly dressed gentleman, appa 
 rently ambitious of being noticed by the double- 
 chinned gentleman. But his sagacions remark 
 gained him no further notice from the object of 
 his attention, for just at that moment the tin trum 
 pet of the driver was heard, and a general rush 
 took place from the dinner table to the bar-room, 
 and after paying half a dollar a piece for our din-? 
 ner, we scrambled into the stage again ; the young 
 lady, I blush while I write it, was handed in by 
 the driver, after all were seated. 
 
 " Do you know the name of that individual 
 who helped you to steak ?" asked the supposed 
 governor s son in a whisper. 
 
 " No, Sir, I do not," I replied ; " do you ?" 
 " I know him all to pieces," replied the gentle^ 
 man. 
 
28 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 " Who is he ; some great man ?" 
 
 " He is so. He is the celebrated Mr. Bulbief, 
 the importer of spool cottons." 
 
 I looked again at Mr. Bulbief, but he had co 
 vered his face with his pocket handkerchief, and 
 was apparently sound asleep. I should soon have 
 dropped asleep myself but I sat on the middle 
 seat, with a gentleman each side of me, who com 
 menced smoking segars, very much to my annoy 
 ance. I thought it was ungentlemanly, and I had 
 a good mind to have told them so, for the smoke 
 made me deadly sick ; but I bore in mind my fa 
 ther s saying, " that in private, as well as in public, 
 the will of the majority ought to be the law, even 
 though the minority suffer in consequence ;" and 
 I bore the nauseous smoke from principle as long 
 as I could, for I supposed there was a point of endu 
 rance, beyond which rebellion would be justifiable. 
 When they lighted fresh cigars, I ventured to hint 
 that the smoke might not be agreeable to the 
 young lady. Whereupon one of the smokers re 
 plied, " that he would not smoke another cigar if it 
 was productive of the least discomfort to her; but 
 he presumed the fragrance was rather pleasant 
 than otherwise, as he smoked none but the best re 
 galias, which cost him three cents apiece." 
 
 41 J should be sorry to deprive the gentleman of 
 
A TA1E OF THE PANIC. 29 
 
 a pleasure," replied the young lady, very much 
 to my mortification. 
 
 " I thought so," replied the smoker, lighting 
 another cigar. 
 
30 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The Steamboat. 
 
 IT was dark when we reached the landing place 
 on the river, and we had but just time to get our 
 baggage on to the dock, before we heard the dis 
 tant ringing of the steamboat bell, which was soon 
 followed by the noise of her wheels splashing in 
 the water, and the hissing of the steam, and then 
 the boat herself came in sight, vomiting forth 
 smoke and fire. It was the first steamer I had 
 ever seen, and the dim outline of her huge form, 
 partially illuminated by the lights on her deck, as 
 she floated past on the dark bosom of the river, 
 filled my mind with extravagant and grotesque 
 ideas of her size and shape. As I stood gazing 
 at her with absorbing curiosity, a small boat sud 
 denly darted up to the dock with the velocity of 
 lightning, the sparkling white foam rising from 
 her bows like a snow drift. Two men jumped on 
 to the dock, and began to throw the baggage into 
 the boat, and one by one, my companions in 
 travel all disappeared. I was completely bewil 
 dered, and at a loss what to do with myself. 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 31 
 
 " Bear a hand," cried a gruff voice from the 
 boat, "or you ll be left." 
 
 " Why don t you get in, boss ?" said one of the 
 men on the dock. 
 
 " I don t see how I can," I replied, looking 
 over the end of the wharf. Without more ado, 
 somebody gave me a push, and I tumbled head 
 long into the boat ; fortunately, I lighted upon a 
 heap of carpet bags, and although I was not much 
 hurt, I was most terribly frightened. The boat 
 was drawn with amazing velocity through the wa 
 ter, and we were very soon alongside of the steam 
 er. The passengers scrambled on board, but as 
 I had so far recovered my senses as to perceive 
 my beautiful fellow traveller sitting in the stern 
 of the boat, I resolved not to let this last opportu 
 nity escape of showing my gallantry, and seeing 
 somebody near her, I stepped briskly past, and 
 asked her if I should have the pleasure of assist 
 ing her out of the boat ; she thanked me very 
 sweetly, and took hold of my extended hand ; but 
 as I stepped back my foot slipped, and I fell my 
 whole length in the bottom of the boat. When 
 I got upon my feet again, she was gone. I hob 
 bled on board the steamer, but I could see no 
 thing of her ; I had caught her pocket handker 
 chief in my fall, and as I could not find her to re- 
 
32 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 store it, I put it into my pocket, to keep in remem 
 brance of her. 
 
 The deck of the steamboat was crowded with 
 passengers, and a little bow-legged negro was run 
 ning about, with a bell in his hand, crying out, 
 "passengers what hasn t paid his passages ull 
 please call to the capn s office and set-tel." So 
 I obeyed the call of the little negro, and having 
 paid my passage, I ascended a pair of stairs close 
 by, and found myself alone on the upper deck. 
 There was no moon, but the stars were shining in 
 all their brightness and beauty, and by their light 
 I could trace the outline of the banks of the river, 
 which rose high above my head in black and in 
 distinct masses. The water looked black and cold, 
 and the night wind was damp and chilly. Below, 
 all was light and life ; but here, a step removed, all 
 was solitary, dark, and still. I took the handker 
 chief of my beautiful fellow-traveller from my pock 
 et and kissed it, and pressed it to my heart ; I felt 
 very grand, and clasped my hands together, and 
 looked up to the stars, but blushed as the thought 
 crossed my mind, that they might be intelligent ex 
 istences, which were looking down into my breast, 
 and reading my thoughts. 
 
 I now felt that I was in reality afloat upon the 
 wide world, ignorant of its ways, with no definite 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 33 
 
 object of pursuit, and with but slender means of 
 support. I thought of my mother and sister, and 
 my eyes filled with tears. Vague and indistinct 
 apprehensions of evil rushed through my mind, 
 and I looked forward to the termination of my 
 journey, and the return of day, with dread. And 
 then I called to mind the scornful prediction of my 
 proud cousin, and the feelings it awakened absorb 
 ed all others. I threw my hands above me with 
 a feeling of confidence and pride, and I vowed 
 never to despair, nor to slacken in my exertions, 
 until I had attained to wealth and fame, and prov 
 ed my haughty cousin a liar. 
 
 To prevent a return of dull and gloomy forebo 
 dings, I left the upper deck, and found my way 
 down into the cabin, where the brilliancy and 
 gayety of the scene completely staggered me ; so 
 great was the change from darkness and solitude, 
 to light and revelry. The cabin was crowded with 
 passengers ; some were lolling on the sofas ; some 
 were reading ; but the greater part were clustered 
 around the card tables, where they were playing 
 for money. My fellow traveller in the lilac shirt 
 was dealing out the cards at one of these tables, 
 and after dealing them round for a few times, he 
 exclaimed, " vantoon," and without more ceremo 
 ny, he caught up a little heap of sixpences and shiK 
 
34 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 lings, and rose up from the table ; and seeing me 
 standing by, took me by the arm, and would make 
 me drink with him at the little bar at one end of 
 the cabin; and then we went on deck together, 
 when he pulled out his pocket book, and asked me 
 to accept his card ; it was as follows : 
 
 J. SMITH DAVIS & CO. 
 DRY GOODS JOBBERS, 
 
 HANOVER SQUARE, 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 Presented by J. LCMMUCKS. 
 i j 
 
 I read this card over and over several times be 
 fore I could exactly understand its import; but the 
 thought occurred to me that it was intended for an 
 introduction, and that my new friend must be Mr. 
 Lummucks. I felt very much embarrassed, for I 
 had no card of my own to return, and I was at a 
 loss how to make myself known to him. 
 
 " Mr. Lummucks, I presume ?" I said, inquir 
 ingly. 
 
 " Yes, sir," replied the gentleman, lifting his hat. 
 
 "I have no card about me," I said, " but my 
 name is Franco." 
 
 " Mr. Franco, how do you do," said Mr. Lum 
 mucks, taking my hand and shaking it very warm- 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 35 
 
 ly, as though he had met with an old friend after a 
 long separation, " I am very happy to see you." 
 
 " I arn very well, I thank you, sir," I replied, 
 with as much solemnity as though I had an insur 
 ance upon his life, " how is your health f" 
 
 So our introduction being over, we talked quite 
 freely again, and I thought Mr. Lummucks was 
 the noblest hearted, the genteelest, and the finest 
 fellow breathing ; and I looked upon it as a very 
 favorable omen, that I should in the very outset of 
 my career, gain the friendship of so fine a gentle 
 man. Finding that I was unacquainted in New 
 York, he invited me to go with him to the City 
 Hotel, where he lived. I promised to do so, and 
 we parted for the night. 
 
 Being tired and sleepy, I went down into the 
 cabin again to go to bed, but to my amazement, I 
 found not only all the births occupied with sleepers, 
 but all the settees, and chairs, and tables. I look 
 ed all about, but I could find no vacant spot to 
 stretch myself out upon. The cabin was very warm, 
 and the air disagreeable, and the music of three or 
 four hundred men snoring in concert, was any 
 thing but pleasant. I went on deck again, and 
 having found a vacant place, I spread out my plaid 
 cloak and lay down to sleep. Seeing something 
 
36 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 round and glossy near me, and supposing it to be 
 a pumpkin, I rested my head upon it for a pillow, 
 and should very soon have been fast asleep, but for 
 the difficulty of keeping it steady. It kept rolling 
 away from under my head, till at length I caught 
 hold of it with both hands, determined, if possible, 
 to keep it still. 
 
 "Murdther! murdther ! murdther!" cried out a 
 voice close by my ear. I started up affrighted, and 
 half a doxen men, in red shirts and begrimed faces, 
 came running to the place where I lay, when I dis 
 covered by the light of a lantern, which one of 
 them carried, that the pumpkin which I had been 
 trying to keep under my head, was the bald pate 
 of a drunken deck passenger. When I had suc 
 ceeded in convincing the men that I had no mur 
 derous designs upon the deck passenger, I crept 
 away to another part of the boat, and was soon 
 fast asleep. 
 
 When I awoke, it was broad day light, the boat 
 had arrived at the wharf, and the passengers were 
 hurrying ashore ; I jumped up and rubbed my 
 eyes, very much alarmed, for fear that Mr. Lum- 
 mucks had gone off and left me ; but luckily I 
 found him, and he called a coach, and we rode up 
 to the City Hotel together, where I was accommo- 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 37 
 
 dated with a room in the fifth story ; it was a weary 
 long way up to it, and when I got there, I felt no 
 disposition to go down again. I had never been 
 so far from the earth before. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
38 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 My first dinner at a Hotel, and the consequences of taking wine 
 too freely. 
 
 HAVING thrown myself upon the bed, I slept until 
 the bell summoned me to dinner. I dressed my 
 self, and hurried down to the dining room; and see 
 ing at a glance that there was no standing upon 
 ceremony, took a seat at one of the long tables, 
 which were spread the whole length of a very long 
 room. I eat a plate of black looking soup which 
 was placed before me, and then waited to be help 
 ed to something else, but nobody spoke, nor even 
 looked at me. There was a constant shouting of 
 " waiter ! waiter ! waiter !" and a confused noise 
 of the popping of corks, the rattling of dishes, and 
 the smacking of lips, enough to have confused my 
 senses, if they had not been sharpened by hunger. 
 The gentleman who sat at my left hand, was a lank 
 cadaverous looking personage, with long black 
 hair, and keen glossy eyes ; he wore a white cam 
 bric cravat, tied in a large bow knot in front, the 
 projecting points of which had intercepted not a 
 few droppings of tobacco juice ; he spoke in a 
 drawling effeminate voice, but in a peremptory 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 39 
 
 manner, to a stout negro man who stood behind 
 his chair, and jumped at his commands with the 
 greatest alacrity, while I could not get a waiter to 
 listen to me. There was a decanter of wine stand 
 ing between this gentleman s plate and mine, with 
 a piece of paper stuck round the neck, on which 
 was marked No. 49, which I took for the number 
 of the cask out of which it was drawn. 
 
 Finding that nobody was disposed to help me 
 to anything to eat, I thought I would help myself 
 to something to drink. "Is this Madeira?" I 
 asked of my left hand neighbor, pointing to the 
 decanter. 
 
 " I imagine not, Sir," he replied sharply ; " I 
 kind o reckon its sherry." 
 
 " Is it indeed," I said ; " then I will try a glass of 
 it in remembrance of my father, for I have often 
 heard him say that sherry was his favorite wine." 
 So I filled my glass, and drank it off with a good 
 relish, for it was smooth and finely flavored. 
 
 " That s right cool," said my neighbor, fixing 
 his keen eyes upon me. 
 
 " Yes it is," I replied ; " I guess it has been iced. 
 I believe I shall try another glass." And so 1 
 took hold of the decanter again to help myself, 
 upon which the sallow faced gentleman started 
 upon his feet, and squealed out, " You infernal 
 
40 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 son of a northern abolitionist, I will teach you to 
 drink a gentleman s wine ;" and at the same time 
 seizing a table knife, he made a pass at me, which 
 I fortunately dodged, and seized hold of the de 
 canter of wine, and aimed a blow at his head, 
 which would infallibly have cracked his skull, had 
 not the big negro interposed his head, and caught 
 the decanter in its descent upon his own wool, 
 thereby saving his master s head, but not his wine, 
 for the decanter was shivered into a thousand pie 
 ces, and its contents flew over me and my antago 
 nist. My next impulse was to lay hold of a dish 
 of cranberry sauce, with which I might have 
 been more successful than with the decanter, but 
 before I had time to reach out my hand, I was 
 surrounded by a dozen, or more, men, who caught 
 hold of me, and dragged me out of the room, amid 
 a wild uproar of voices, which sounded in my ears 
 like the yells of demons. They dragged me 
 through the hall into a small room adjoining, two 
 having hold of my collar, and a stout fellow 
 hold of each arm. Some eight or ten men fol 
 lowed into the room, and then one of them stood 
 with his back against the door to keep the others 
 from crowding in. Somebody on the outside 
 knocked and kicked very hard against the door, 
 and demanded entrance on the score of his being 
 
VJ 
 
 1 
 
 A TALE OF THE PANIC. 41 
 
 one of the gentlemen of the press. But the man 
 who was guarding the door refused to move, and 
 the gentleman of the press on the outside gave 
 another savage kick, and swore that the public 
 should be informed of the outrage it had suffered, 
 in the disrespect shown to his person. 
 
 Among the gentlemen who were admitted into 
 the room, was an elderly man with gold spectacles, 
 and a high bald forehead ; they called him 
 " judge;" his heavy black eyebrows, and a pro 
 tuberant under lip, gave his face an expression of 
 sternness, and I trembled as he bent his eyes upon 
 me. He took a piece of paper and a pencil out 
 of his pocket, and asked me my name, and where 
 was from ; but I was so terrified I could make 
 no reply to him, but burst into tears. 
 
 " Don t be frightened, sir," said the judge, 
 quietly ; " nobody shall harm you, unless indeed 
 you deserve it very richly, which I am inclined to 
 believe is not the case." 
 
 After a few sobs, which I could not suppress, I 
 told the judge my name, where I was from, and 
 the particulars of the affray, without being at all 
 aware of the offence I had committed. 
 
 " Ha ! ha ! ha !" roared the judge, as I con 
 cluded my account ; " I see through it all, I think ; 
 4* 
 
42 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 you did not attempt, then, to entice away the gen 
 tleman s slave ?" 
 
 "A slave!" I exclaimed, in amazement, "I 
 never saw a slave in my life." 
 
 " Well, well ; but how is this, colonel ?" said 
 the judge, addressing one of the gentlemen, " you 
 said you could swear you saw the young man put 
 a tract into the nigger s hand." 
 
 " Well, I wish I mought never see ole Virginny 
 agin, if I could r nt a took a right smart oath I seen 
 him do it, any how ; but praps I was mistaken, it 
 mought a been a napkin. 7 * 
 
 " Very likely it was," said the judge. 
 
 "Hows ever," said the colonel, "I ll take my 
 oath I seen him, if you wish ; but as the young * 
 gentleman says himself he did nt done it, I reck 
 on I might as well not." 
 
 " Sol reckon," said the judge. " Well, gentle 
 men," he continued, " I think you must be pretty 
 well satisfied of the young gentleman s innocence." 
 
 " O, perfectly," they all replied, without ap 
 pearing to have any will of their own about the 
 matter. 
 
 "I am- satisfied if you is, judge," said the co 
 lonel, "but as you and I were at college together, 
 I should like just to swear to something to oblige 
 you." 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 43 
 
 The judge thanked him for his kind feelings, 
 but said there was no particular occasion just 
 then. 
 
 For my own part, my amazement and terror 
 increased ever moment, and I was expecting to 
 hear sentence of death pronounced upon me, when 
 the judge cleared up all the mystery which hung 
 about the proceedings. " Let me advise you, Mr. 
 Franco," said the judge kindly, " the next time 
 you feel an inclination for a glass of sherry, to 
 call for a bottle yourself, and not to drink ano 
 ther gentleman s, unless he should offer it to 
 you. I don t know what the custom may be where 
 you were raised, but such things won t do down 
 south. That gentleman whose wine you made 
 free with with, was no less a person than the Ho 
 norable Sylvanus Spliteer, the celebrated southern 
 orator, and these gentlemen are his particular 
 friends, who, hearing something said about abo 
 litionists, for their ears are very quick to catch 
 any thing that is said on that subject, and seeing 
 you and the orator in an antagonistic position, 
 they very naturally concluded that you were try 
 ing to entice away his black boy, who was waiting 
 upon him at table." 
 
 I did not think the conclusion was a very natu- 
 
44 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 ral one, by any means, but I felt no inclination to 
 dispute the point. 
 
 " But I am very happy to find that all the dif 
 ficulty has arisen from a very natural mistake of 
 yours, in supposing that the wine upon the dinner 
 table, like the brandy and the butter, was for the 
 benefit of the public." 
 
 Although the explanation of the judge had re 
 lieved my fears, yet I felt so mortified and abashed, 
 in finding that I had been guilty of a gross breach 
 of good manners, that my face burned with shame, 
 and I could not raise my eyes from the floor. But 
 one of the gentlemen having stepped out of the room, 
 returned again, bringing Mr. Spliteer himself with 
 him, who having heard all the particulars, shook 
 me heartily by the hand, and insisted on my re 
 turning to table, and drinking a bottle of wine 
 with him. The judge, and the colonel, and the 
 other gentlemen, said they would join us, and of 
 course I could not refuse so kind an invitation ; so 
 we all returned to the dining room, where, as the 
 orator himself expressed it, the remainder of the 
 afternoon was spent with " a perfect looseness." 
 
 I must confess that, after this, the titles of judge 
 and colonel lost something more than half their 
 awe inspiring influence over me ; for such songs, 
 and such speeches, as came from the mouths of 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 45 
 
 these gentlemen, I never listened to before nor since. 
 Even the orator himself outdid the colonel. The 
 other gentlemen, one of whom was a doctor, and 
 another a major, told several stories, and related 
 circumstances which they swore had happened to 
 themselves, although I had read of the same things 
 in an almanac when I was a little boy, and I re 
 membered that my grandmother told me they had 
 happened when she was a girl. I have no distinct 
 recollections of the manner in which the dinner 
 terminated ; but I remember very vividly, that I 
 found myself, the next morning, lying on my 
 chamber floor, with a burning thirst, and a violent 
 pain in my head. 
 
46 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Shows with what ease a man may enter into a commercial 
 speculation, when he has the means and the inclination so 
 to do. 
 
 I HAD as yet seen nothing of the city ; so after 
 breakfast, not being able to find my good friend Mr. 
 Lummucks, I ventured to take a stroll through 
 Broadway alone, to see the sights, and put myself 
 in the way of fortune. I had not rambled far, 
 when I caught sight of a little red flag hanging 
 upon a pole which was stuck out of a shop door, 
 and hearing a man talking very loud inside, I step 
 ped in, to see what was going on. 
 
 It was a little narrow place, hung round with 
 lithographic prints, and double barrelled rifles, and 
 duelling pistols, and other works of art, both in 
 structive and destructive. There was a counter 
 in the centre of the shop, and at one end of it, eleva 
 ted on a high stool, stood a little bald headed man, 
 with protuberant black eyes and prominent front 
 teeth. He had a little ivory hammer in his hand, 
 which he flourished about with great earnestness, 
 cyring out all the while, " a hof, a hof, a hof, a 
 hof," till at last he struck the counter fiercely 
 with it, and said, "Mr. Smit takes the lot at 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 47 
 
 eighteen and a hof." There were two or three 
 gentlemen standing about the counter, but I could 
 not discover that they took the slightest interest in 
 what was going on. 
 
 " Now, gentlemen," said the man with the ham 
 mer, "I will give you very great pleasure; you 
 shall all bless your lucky stars, which has superin 
 duced you to enter this store at this present time. 
 I shall now, gentlemen, put up lot number twenty 
 one, and it must be sold to the highest bidder, 
 pos-i-tive-ly it must indeed, upon my honor. 
 Here, gentlemen, is something worthy the very 
 highest consideration of connoisseurs, amateurs, 
 and epicures ; it is indeed. You see, gentlemen, 
 it is a most magnificent rose wood casket, all inlaid 
 with the mother of pearls and divers other waluable 
 minerals, very rare to be got or obtained. But, 
 gentlemen, before I open this casket, and dazzle 
 your precious eyes with the contents thereof, let 
 me tell you its history. 
 
 " This casket, gentlemen, is the property of a 
 wirtuous young orphan lady, which lives in the up 
 per part of the city, who is reduced to the unfor 
 tunate extremity of disposing of a part of her per 
 sonal effects, because she done so many charitable 
 acts to the poor, and therefore it must be sold. 
 Why don t you bid!" 
 
48 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 So saying, he opened the casket, and emptied 
 its contents on to the counter ; they consisted of a 
 necklace, a pair of ear rings, a silver bodkin, a 
 needle case, a musical snuff-box, and a cameo 
 breast pin. They all looked bright and new, and 
 for aught that I could discover, were none the 
 worse for wear. 
 
 " Come, gentlemen," exclaimed the little man, 
 flourishing his hammer, " why don t you bid ! I 
 shan t take offence at any thing, say two hundred ; 
 one hundred ; any thing to start with ; say fifty dol 
 lars ; the casket alone is worth five times the money. 
 Any gentleman as wants to make an operation, has 
 now a beautiful opportunity to make four or five 
 hundred dollars, by purchasing this splendid article. 
 Has nt he, Mr. Isaacs ?" 
 
 " You may well say that, Mr. Shooda," said 
 the gentleman addressed ; " any shentleman is a 
 fool which does nt buy that bargain at any price." 
 
 The demon of avarice whispered in my ear that 
 now was my time to turn a penny, and I resolved 
 to bid for the casket, and so lay the foundation of 
 my fortune. And then the blood rushed to my 
 cheek at the base thought of taking the advantage 
 of a poor orphan girl s necessities to enrich myself; 
 and then I resolved I would do no such thing. 
 But as the auctioneer went on setting forth the 
 
A TAt/R OF THE PANIC. 49 
 
 value of the casket, and the low price at which 
 he would sell it, I reasoned with myself thus : if I 
 do not buy the casket, another will ; and if I do 
 buy it, and give more for it than another would, of 
 course I shall do a good deed, and while I enrich 
 myself, I shall benefit the poor orphan girl. And 
 then I thought it might possibly belong to the beau 
 tiful young lady, my companion in the coach, for 
 whom I felt so great a regard, and if it should be 
 hers, with what pleasure I would restore it to her. 
 This last thought overcame all my scruples, and I 
 determined to buy the casket at all hazards. 
 
 I am ashamed to confess that, although these 
 thoughts did pass through my mind, still it was the 
 desire of gain that influenced me. So easy is it, 
 when we do a mean action, to flatter ourselves 
 that it is from good motives we do it. 
 
 "Do you think he would take a bid of fifty 
 dollars ?" I asked of the gentleman whom the 
 auctioneer addressed as Mr. Isaacs. 
 
 Mr. Isaacs had a nose both high and long, and 
 his eyes were very black, but large and heavy ; 
 his hair was black and crispy, and he had a stoop 
 in his shoulders ; he wore a blue frock coat, with 
 a black velvet collar, and altogether his dress had 
 a second hand appearance. Upon my putting 
 
 this question to him, he drew me aside, and whis- 
 VOL. i. 5 
 
50 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 pering in my ear, told me not to bid as high as fifty 
 at the first going off, although he didn t believe the 
 auctioneer would sell the casket for less than two or 
 three hundred dollars ; and then, in a very solemn 
 manner, he advised me not to let the opportunity 
 slip of buying the casket. And he told me upon 
 his honor as a gentleman, that he would buy it of 
 me the very next day at just double the money 
 which I might give for it, if I should buy it, pro 
 testing that he would bid it off himself, if he had 
 not left his pocket book at home. 
 
 So good an opportunity to make money, I was 
 fearful might not occur again very soon, and I 
 resolved to make the most of it. And according 
 to the advice of Mr. Isaacs, I bid thirty dollars for 
 the casket. 
 
 " For shame, for shame," exclaimed the auc 
 tioneer, " to bid thirty dollars for a magnificent 
 article like this." 
 
 I blushed very red, and bid forty. 
 
 " Forty, forty, forty, forty, forty, and five, did 
 you say ; five, five, five, five, five." 
 
 I did not hear any body bid five, but as the auc 
 tioneer had said that nods and winks would 
 be taken as bids, I supposed that some gentleman 
 had given him a sly wink. 
 
 " Forty-five, forty-five, forty-five, forty-five, for- 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 51 
 
 five, forty-five," he exclaimed with astonishing 
 rapidity, and just as he was on the point of letting 
 fall his hammer, I bid fifty. 
 
 "Fifty, fifty, fifty, fifty, fifty," he exclaimed 
 more than fifty times, my heart all the while beat 
 ing time to the flourishes of his hammer, till it 
 descended to the counter, and I found myself the 
 purchaser of the valuable casket, and its contents, 
 for the very small sum of fifty dollars. I paid for 
 it immediately, and to ma"ke sure of it, wrapped it 
 up in my pocket handkerchief, and tucked it un 
 der my arm. 
 
 Mr. Isaacs said I had made a great purchase, 
 and tried to persuade me to stop and bid for some 
 thing else ; but I was too much elated, and in too 
 great a hurry to get to my chamber, and glut my 
 eyes with my treasure. 
 
 As I left the store, I heard a loud whistle, and 
 suddenly turning my head, I perceived Mr. Isaacs 
 with his cheeks distended like a bladder, and his 
 broad lips screwed up like the mouth of a tightly 
 drawn purse, whistling with all his might; but 
 I was so eager to get to my chamber that I did 
 not turn back to inquire the cause of it. 
 
52 HARRY FRANCO,. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 A school for morals, and the beginning of an adventure. 
 
 AT the tea table I met Mr. Lummucks ; he had 
 heard of my encounter with the great orator from 
 the South the day before, and he laughed heartily 
 at my blunder, and said, if I would put myself 
 under his tuition, he wotild soon make a man of 
 me, and learn me what life was. By way of giv 
 ing me an introductory lesson, he said, I must go 
 to the theatre with him that evening ; and as he 
 offered to pay for my ticket, I did not feel at 
 liberty to refuse. 
 
 As I had often heard the theatre spoken of as a 
 school for morals, I was not much surprised to 
 meet a good many people there whose morals 
 seemed to stand in need of a pretty severe school 
 ing ; for my own part, I do not think my own 
 morals were much the better for any thing that I 
 saw or heard while there. 
 
 Mr. Lummucks said he was acquainted with all 
 the principal actors and actresses, and he promis 
 ed to take me behind the scenes, and introduce me 
 to some of them, but first he took me up two or 
 three flights of stairs into a long room with green 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 53 
 
 walls and red moreen curtains, with a bar at one 
 end, behind which were half a dozen yellow wo 
 men serving out cakes and coffee, and all manner 
 of liquors. There were a great many young la 
 dies moving about, some with gentlemen, and 
 some without, but all very gayly dressed, and very 
 free in their manners ; indeed, one of them had 
 the boldness to ask me to treat her to an orange, 
 which I did, and then she asked me to treat her 
 to a glass of cordial, which I could not refuse to 
 do, because she was a lady, and I judged from 
 the familiar manner in which Mr. Lummucks 
 spoke to her, that she was an intimate acquaint 
 ance of his. Another young lady came up to me, 
 and offered me her card, which I took, and pro 
 mised to call on her. Mr. Lummucks appeared to be 
 perfectly at home ; he called one Bess, another 
 Sue, and another Liz. If this, I thought, is the 
 first lesson in life, I shall not be astonished at any 
 thing which I may meet with hereafter. 
 
 I heard a great clapping of hands and stamp 
 ing of feet, and as I began to grow tired of the 
 company I was in, I made an excuse that I wanted 
 to see the play ; so I went out of the punch room 
 into the gallery to see what had called forth the 
 clapping of hands, and to take a lesson in morals. 
 
 On the stage, which was a long distance below 
 5* 
 
54 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 me, were a man and a woman singing with all 
 their might, with their hands stretched out as if 
 imploring mercy from the audience. He was tall 
 and thin, with sunken cheeks, which were, not 
 withstanding, very red ; and she was short and 
 fat : they were both dressed in the strangest look 
 ing clothes I had ever seen, but apparently very 
 richly. I listened attentively, but I could not un 
 derstand a word of the song, and the musicians 
 kept up such a noise I was hardly able to distin 
 guish the tune. I must acknowledge that I was 
 greatly disappointed in the exhibition ; but it 
 would be wrong in me to condemn what I could 
 not understand, and, as some do, pronounce every 
 thing bad which is above my comprehension. 
 
 Not feeling any interest for the people on the 
 stage, I began to look around among the audi 
 ence, and soon discovered something more inter 
 esting and beautiful than I had anticipated. There 
 were a great many ladies among the audience, 
 who, being dressed in gay clothes, gave a bright 
 and beautiful appearance to the theatre ; but the 
 lights were so glaring, and the whole scene was so 
 strange to me, it was some time before I could look 
 composedly, and view in detail the lovely beings 
 who were clustered together in the circle below 
 me. When my eye had become more familiar 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 55 
 
 with the scene, and my perception keener, as I 
 glanced from group to group, my attention was 
 suddenly arrested by a beautiful girl, who sat in 
 the lower tier of boxes, dressed in white, and look 
 ing like a lily in a bed of tulips. Upon looking 
 at her more attentively, I was electrified at disco 
 vering in her my gentle companion of the stage 
 coach. It gave a momentary shock to my feel 
 ings to find one whom I had, in imagination, in 
 vested with a pure and holy character, breathing 
 the atmosphere of such a place ; but descending to 
 the next tier of boxes, I took a seat opposite to her, 
 and soon became so completely absorbed in the 
 contemplation of her beauties, as to be insensible 
 to every thing else. She was very beautiful, and 
 having gazed on her for hours, I thought her im 
 age was stamped upon my heart, and that it would 
 be ever present to the eyes of my mind ; but when 
 I could see her no longer, and I tried to recall her 
 to my mind, it was in vain ; I could only remem 
 ber that I had seen a being of light and loveliness, 
 but the form she wore had left no distinct impres 
 sion upon my memory. 
 
 She sat between an elderly gentleman, and a 
 lady apparently older than herself, to whom she 
 occasionally spoke ; and I thought I could distin 
 guish the gentle tones of her voice above all the 
 
56 
 
 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 noise of the orchestra and the hubbub of the pit. 
 When the performances were ended, I hurried 
 down to the lobby, that I might catch a parting- 
 glimpse of her as she left the theatre. I saw her 
 come out leaning on the arm of the elderly gen 
 tleman who sat by her side, and I got as close to 
 her as I dared, hoping to catch the sound of her 
 voice. They stood on the steps a few minutes, 
 until a carriage drove up, into which they got with 
 the other lady ; the footman banged too the door 
 and got up behind, and away they drove. I stood 
 for a moment almost bewildered, and then dart 
 ed off in pursuit of the carriage ; I ran with all my 
 might, and hard work I had to keep it in sight. 
 It was a weary long chase, up one street and down 
 another, till at length, when 1 was quite exhaust 
 ed, and scarcely able to move another step, the 
 sweat pouring from every pore in my body, and 
 my wind quite gone, it stopped in front of a brick 
 house opposite to a large square filled with trees. 
 The party got out of the carriage, and the old 
 gentleman handed the ladies up the steps of the 
 house. " Good night, uncle," said the youngest 
 lady, in a voice which I could have distinguished 
 among all the babel tongues of the world. " Good 
 night, Georgy, good night," said the old gentle 
 man. The door closed upon the ladies, and the 
 
A TALE OP THE PANIC. 57 
 
 old gentleman stepped into the carriage again, 
 and drove off. 
 
 I sat down opposite to the house, under the 
 shade of the trees, to recover my breath ; and 
 having rested myself, I very reluctantly quitted 
 the spot ; but not until I had noted down the num 
 ber of the house, and read the name on the silver 
 door plate ; it was simply, " Mrs. Smith." 
 
 It was past midnight when I got back to the 
 hotel, but I found Mr. Lummucks sitting in the 
 bar-room, drinking and smoking with two or three 
 bilious looking gentlemen, whom he introduced 
 to me as merchants from Mississippi. Mr. Lum 
 mucks tried to make me sit down and smoke and 
 drink with them, but I resolutely refused, notwith 
 standing the Mississippi merchants joined in the 
 request, promising me that they would tell me a 
 mighty big heap of good stories, and that the way 
 they would amuse me would be sinful to a chris- 
 tian. But I was in a hurry to be alone in rny 
 chamber, where I could shut my eyes upon the 
 world, and think only of her who had enchanted 
 me. 
 
 When I got to my chamber, I locked the door, 
 and took out the pocket handkerchief, of which I 
 had by a lucky accident become the possessor, and 
 having pressed it to my heart, spread it out for 
 
58 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 examination, with the hope of discovering about 
 it some clue to the name of its owner. It was a 
 beautiful handkerchief; the material was of a 
 delicate texture, surpassing any thing of the kind 
 I had ever seen before ; it was edged with broad 
 lace, and the corners were curiously embroidered 
 with fruits and flowers, the like of which I had 
 never seen in nature ; on one of the corners was 
 a scroll, surrounded by a wreath of roses, and on 
 it was printed, in delicate little letters, " Georgiana 
 De Lancy." I pressed the name to my lips, and 
 kissed it a thousand times, and did many other 
 foolish things, till at last growing weary, I lay 
 down upon my bed with the handkerchief in my 
 hand, and dreamed that the lovely Georgiana was 
 hovering over me, poised in the air by a pair of 
 purple wings, the gentle motion of which fanned 
 the cool air across my brow. 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 59 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Getting into a Newspaper. 
 
 IN the course of my limited reading, I had met 
 with accounts of men who had become famous by 
 accident, and gained an immortality without hav 
 ing labored for it ; but, I had never, in my wildest 
 dreams, imagined that such a lot would be mine. 
 I did, indeed, indulge in the pleasing hope of 
 achieving fame and fortune, but I did not expect 
 to have notoriety thrust upon me at the very com 
 mencement of rny adventures. 
 
 The morning after my visit to the Theatre, I 
 was sitting in the bar room of the hotel, reading 
 the morning papers, when I was startled at seeing 
 my own name in print. The sensations which I 
 experienced on the occasion, can be imagined by 
 those who have found themselves unexpectedly in 
 a newspaper. I was seized with such a fit of 
 trembling, that it was some time before I could 
 gather my senses sufficiently together to enable 
 me to read the following article, which fully ac 
 counted for the mark of distinction which had 
 been bestowed upon me. 
 
 " Serious Affair. We have been at great pains 
 
60 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 to gather the particulars of the late disgraceful 
 outrage at the City Hotel, knowing the anxiety 
 of the public miud in relation to this event, and 
 feeling the full weight of the responsibility which 
 rests upon our shoulders, as public journalists, to 
 furnish our subscribers, who, we are proud to say, 
 are daily increasing, having added more than two 
 thousand to our lists within the last week, which 
 we happen to know, is more than the entire sub 
 scription of any of our cotemporaries, with the 
 latest and most correct in formation. 
 
 " Now we distinctly charge, that our contempo 
 rary, with whose vile name we will not soil our 
 columns, has presented his readers (?) with a gar 
 bled and incorrect statement of the transaction 
 alluded to, notwithstanding he knew we were in 
 possession of the entire particulars of the affair, 
 which we had obtained at a great expense, and 
 with vast trouble. However, we feel ourselves 
 touched in a very tender point, and we shall con 
 descend to hold the wretch personally accountable ; 
 and were it not beneath the character of a gentle 
 man to bandy terms of abuse with a blackguard, 
 we should call him an ingrained villain, a brute 
 dyed in the wool, a dirty contemptible creature 
 who could not speak the truth, though it were for 
 his interest to do so, and who never does stumble 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 61 
 
 upon it, unless he surreptitiously filches it from our 
 columns ; but we will not make use of the homely 
 phrases of our vernacular ; we forbear ; we have 
 no wish to take the bread out of innocent lips* 
 We understand our contemporary has an interest 
 ing family dependent upon him ; but how he came 
 by any thing interesting, is to us a matter of astonish 
 ment, and, indeed, we doubt the fact. We leave 
 the creature to work his own ruin, and hasten to 
 lay the particulars of this gross outrage before 
 our numerous readers, premising, merely, that a 
 paper is left at our office for signatures, requesting 
 the Mayor to call a meeting of our fellow citizens 
 to express their feelings on the subject. 
 
 " One of those pestiferous vermin, a travelling 
 abolitionist, by the name of Franco, had the un 
 paralleled audacity to enter the City Hotel 
 yesterday, and endeavor, by his damnable arts, to 
 entice away the faithful slave of the Honorable 
 Sylvanus Spliteer, the chivalric orator of the 
 South, who being at his dinner, and having just 
 finished a plate of oxtail soup, a delicacy than 
 which none know better how to crncoct than the 
 worthy hosts of the City, and having taken a de 
 canter of sherry in his hand for the purpose of 
 taking wine with a distinguished Senator, and 
 
 perceiving an attempt made by the abolitionist to 
 VOL. i. 6 
 
62 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 force an incendiary pamphlet into the hands of his 
 honest negro, with that promptness peculiar to 
 southern climes, and with that indignant energy 
 with which the chivalry of the South defend their 
 rights, jumped from his seat, and, with unerring 
 aim, hurled the decanter at the head of the fanatic. 
 But unfortunately the decanter was shivered to 
 pieces instead of the head, and the shrivelled crea 
 ture got his hide well soaked with good wine, a 
 piece of good luck which, we will venture to assert, 
 never befel one of the fraternity before. We re 
 gret to add, that Franco was allowed to escape 
 without farther chastisement. 
 
 " Now we sincerely deprecate any attempt at 
 violence or an infringement of the peculiar privi 
 leges of the law, but there are cases, which of ne 
 cessity must occur, which call upon the high-souled 
 and the chivalrous to take the law into their own 
 hands, and inflict summary punishment. This 
 maybe one of those cases ; we do not say it is, and 
 therefore if any violence should be committed, let 
 no one lay the blame at our door. We have not 
 recommended a coat of tar and feathers, neither 
 have we made any allusions to the salutary effects 
 of a ride upon a rail. 
 
 " Franco s first name, we gather from the books 
 of the Hotel, is Harry ; he is a youngish person, 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 63 
 
 apparently not r more than twenty-one, of a fair 
 complexion, light blue eyes, and chestnut hair. His 
 clothes are healthy in their appearance, that is, 
 they appear never to have suffered from a fit of 
 any kind." 
 
 Having 1 always believed implicitly every thing 
 which I saw in print, I could hardly persuade my 
 self that I had not been guilty of the outrage of 
 which I saw myself accused. I felt all the shame, 
 at least, of a real culprit, and hung down my head 
 and pulled my hat over my eyes for fear of meeting 
 the scornful glances of the men who were moving 
 about me. I was terrified beyond measure at the 
 allusion to the coat of tar and feathers, and a ride 
 upon a rail. The prophecy of my haughty cou 
 sin flashed across my mind, and now, I thought, 
 the time of its fulfilment had come. The unfeel 
 ing allusion to my clothes filled me with indigna-- 
 tion ; for my mother had exhausted her skill, and 
 her strength too, in making them, and I thought they 
 fitted me to a hair. I sat in a corner of the bar-room, 
 with apprehension, trembling and expecting every 
 moment that violent men would lay their hands 
 upon me, when I heard the voice of Mr. Spliteer 
 himself in the bar-room. 1 rose up, and with tears 
 in my eyes, showed him the paper, and begged him 
 to screen me from the threatened violence. He 
 
64 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 read the article, and laughed heartily at it, which 
 I thought showed a great want of feeling in him ; 
 but he could well afford to do so, for he got a 
 good deal of praise at my expense. 
 
 "Don tbe alarmed, young man, "he said, "abuse 
 and misrepresentation are the unavoidable penal 
 ties of newspaper notoriety. I have had a heap of 
 it in my day, I can assure you, and I care no 
 thing for it now ; but I must confess it did grind me 
 at first no ways slow. As for tar and feathers, and 
 a ride upon a rail, dont care a fig about them ; 
 there s not a bit of danger ; nobody cares any 
 thing about a newspaper, for although there is 
 nothing which men read more eagerly, there is 
 nothing which they heed so little, not even their 
 Bibles. However, to make all sure, I will take it 
 upon myself to see the Editor, who is a personal, 
 as well as a political friend of mine, and to-mor 
 row you shall see that he will contradict every 
 word he has said to-day in relation to you. And 
 now, do me the favor to drink a julep with me, 
 and you will feel better, I dare say." 
 
 I thanked the honorable Mr. Spliteer for his 
 kindness, for I did not know how to refuse, 
 and I had, moreover, a curiosity to know 
 what a julep was. He gave the necessary orders 
 to the bar-keeper ; and after a great display of 
 
A TALE OP THE PANIC. 65 
 
 nutmeg graters and muddling sticks, and of sous 
 ing and flourishing of tumblers by the latter gen 
 tleman, the juleps were mixed ; and the honorable 
 Mr. Spliteer himself reached me one of them, for 
 it would have been quite beneath the dignity of 
 the bar-keeper to have stooped so far below his 
 proper level as to have acted in the capacity of a 
 waiter. What the ingredients were of which the 
 juleps were composed I could form no idea ; there 
 was a bunch of green mint in the tumbler, topped 
 off with a cap of snow, and a slender glass tube 
 was stuck in the middle. As I had never seen a julep 
 before, I watched the motions of the orator before 
 I touched the glass ; he drew his tumbler up to him 
 and applied his mouth to the tube, and I did the 
 same. 
 
 " Are you fond of juleps ?" he asked, taking 
 a long breath. 
 
 "Very," I replied, for I found it very palatable. 
 
 "So am I," said Mr. Spliteer, "I like them 
 because they are so wholesome." 
 
 " Are juleps healthy, then ?" I inquired. 
 
 " Very," he said, drawing another long breath. 
 " My father drank so many juleps, that when he 
 died the mint sprouted up all over his grave, and 
 one of these days you will see it growing on 
 
 6* 
 
66 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 "I hope not," I replied. 
 
 " Do you, indeed," said the chivalrous ora 
 tor, "why so?" 
 
 " Because," I answered, " Ihope you will never 
 die." 
 
 " Good, good," he exclaimed, apparently highly 
 delighted, " right good, considering you tried 
 only yesterday to break my head with a decanter." 
 
 " You must expect when you take wine, that it 
 will get into your head," I replied. 
 
 " So I do," he said, " but not through my 
 skull." And then he laughed very heartily, and 
 I laughed too, and said a thousand other foolish 
 things. Having sucked the last drop out of our 
 tumblers, Mr. Spliteer ordered two more juleps, 
 and told the bar-keeper to make them stiff. 
 
 I have not a very clear recollection of what oc 
 curred after drinking the second julep, neither do 
 I remember exactly how many I did drink ; but I 
 know I felt very valiant and very witty, and that 
 I threw a tumbler at the head of the bar-keeper, 
 and told the honorable Mr. Spliteer that he look 
 ed like a bilious baboon. And, I was afterwards 
 told, that I soon grew stupid and sleepy, and was 
 taken up into my chamber, and put to bed by some 
 of the waiters. 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 67 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Recovering from a Julep. 
 
 HAD I been philosopher enough to have doubt 
 ed the truth of a spiritual existence independent of 
 the body, the effects of the juleps would have 
 cured me of skepticism forever. It is a curious 
 fact, that when the senses are benumbed with the 
 fumes of strong drink, and our limbs can no lon 
 ger perform their offices, and we fall down drunk, 
 stupid, insensible our bodies deprived of all sense, 
 sympathy or feeling ; when the noble mansion, 
 which was created for the in-dwelling of our im 
 mortal spirit, has been prostrated by our own fol 
 lies, and become a mere heap of breathing mat 
 ter, and all of our faculties are benumbed by the 
 fumes of strong drink, and all of our sympathies, 
 and feelings, bodily and mental, are paralyzed 
 and drunken, then our souls, as if exulting in the 
 release, which our deadened bodies give them, or 
 as if ashamed of the disgraced habitations to 
 which their destiny has assigned them, spread out 
 their wings, and soar away to scenes where the 
 body is incapable of accompanying them. At 
 least such was the case with me, for although I 
 
68 HARRY FRANCO, " 
 
 lay on ray bed stupid and insensible as a log, 
 never before, was my mind so actively employed 
 as then, and never did my fancy play such wild 
 and fantastic tricks, or bear me so high on her 
 wings, in my sober moments. 
 
 It was late in the afternoon when I roused up, 
 and found myself upon my bed with my clothes all 
 on. It was a long while before I could convince 
 myself that I was not somebody beside myself, 
 and I should have rubbed my eyes and doubted 
 for a long time, had I not been impelled by a burn 
 ing thirst to go in search of water ; luckily there 
 was a goblet full in my chamber, which I soon 
 emptied, and by degrees became convinced that 
 I was indeed nobody but myself; a very uncom 
 fortable conclusion to arrive at, for I should just 
 then have been glad to have been convinced that 
 I was anybody in the world besides myself, for I 
 felt very wretched. Although I soon established 
 my own identity, I could not easily separate and 
 distinguish the transactions of the past two days 
 from the transactions of my drunken visions. 
 
 My father was very particular, when I left home, 
 to caution me against eating an egg out of a wine 
 glass, but he never said a word about abstaining 
 from juleps. It was wrong in me to blame him 
 for my own misdeeds, but I could not help think- 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 69 
 
 ing, that, if he had cautioned me against drinking, 
 I might have been spared the bitter feelings which 
 I then experienced. The prophetic words of my 
 cousin were constantly ringing in my ears, and 
 the reflection that I might, by my own folly, have 
 aided to bring on their fulfilment, filled me with 
 grief and shame. I had not yet done any thing 
 towards bettering my condition, and I made fresh 
 resolves not to let another day pass without ma 
 king a vigorous effort to obtain employment. But 
 the saddening thought came over me, that I was 
 without friends, and I knew not to whom I could 
 apply for help or advice, and I had not even fixed 
 in my own mind what kind of employmentl should 
 seek. But I had met with nothing but kindness 
 thus far, and I felt assured that I should still meet 
 with kindness and polite treatment ; for if men 
 would, when unsolicited, show me kindness and 
 favor, surely when I did solicit them they would 
 grant it more readily. Thus I reasoned with my 
 self, and very sound reasoning I thought it. 
 
 Of all the men whom I had seen, none had 
 treated me half so politely as Mr. Lummucks. 
 I never met him, but he would make me drink with 
 him ; he slapped me across the shoulder with the 
 familiarity of a brother ; he would make me go to 
 the Theatre with him, and he would pay for my 
 
70 HARRY FRANCO, . 
 
 ticket ; if I sat near him at table, he would send 
 me his wine, and after dinner he would offer me a 
 cigar, although I always refused it; he had given 
 me his card on board the ( steamboat, and he had 
 since pressed me to call at his store and see him. 
 What but the kindliest feelings, and the most gene 
 rous nature^could cause a man to show such civil 
 ities to a stranger. Fortune, I thought, had 
 evidently thrown me in his way, and I determined 
 to second her endeavors to help me along, by 
 applying to him for assistance in procuring a 
 situation ; and, I had riot a doubt, but that a gen 
 tleman of his benevolent feelings, would be very 
 glad of an opportunity of doing so. 
 
 With these soothing and comfortable reflections, 
 I lay down again, to sleep off all effects of my 
 dissipation, that I might get up in the morning 
 refreshed and invigorated, and better prepared to 
 prosecute my schemes for defeating the malicious 
 prophecy of my cousin. And so I fell asleep, and 
 dreamed of my mother and sister, and of the 
 beautiful Georgiana. For all the cares and 
 anxieties and disappointments of this wicked 
 world, cannot deprive us of the privilege of visiting, 
 in our dreams, the gentle beings whom we love. 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 71 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Tells of my reception by Mr. Lummucks, and of the manner 
 in which that polite gentleman answered my solicitations. 
 
 HAVING dressed myself in my very best clothes, 
 which, to tell the truth, were my very worst also, 
 I set out, soon after breakfast, in search of the 
 store of Messrs. J. Smith Davis & Co., whose 
 names were on the card which Mr. Lummucks had 
 given me. 
 
 It was a bright and pleasant morning; the 
 streets were full of life and animation, and every 
 thing looked promising and joyous to me. Men 
 were hurrying past me in every direction, with 
 looks full of business and importance, and I 
 thought, where all seemed to be so well employed, 
 and in such haste, there could be no difficulty in 
 finding something to do. But, as I was not stinted 
 for time, I did not hurry myself, and walked 
 leisurely along beneath the awnings, stopping 
 occasionally to gaze at the heaps of goods which 
 were displayed in the stores, or to read some curi 
 ous sign which attracted my attention. After a 
 while I succeeded in finding Hanover Square, 
 which I was astonished to timl was triangular in 
 shape, and soon discovered the large gilt sign of 
 
HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 Messrs. J. Smith Davis & Co. Luckily, Mr. 
 Lummucks was standing in the door with his hat 
 off, and his hair brushed down smooth and glossy. 
 As soon as he saw me, he caught me by the hand, 
 and dragged me into the store. 
 
 " How are you this morning, Colonel ?" he 
 said. 
 
 " Very well, I thank you," I replied, speaking 
 as respectfully as I knew how ; " are you well?" 
 
 " Fine as silk," said Mr. Lummucks. 
 
 I was glad to hear him say so, and congratu 
 lated myself upon finding him in such a pleasant 
 humor. 
 
 The store of Messrs. J. Smith Davis & Co. 
 was not very large, but it was crowded with goods 
 to the very ceiling, and in the middle of the floor 
 were long piles of calicoes, about which were 
 several young gentlemen, as busily employed as 
 bees in a hive. 
 
 A very little man approached us from the fur 
 ther end of the store, jerking his little arms and 
 legs with the precision and ease of an automaton. 
 His dress was new, and bright, and neat. Mr. 
 Lummucks introduced me to him. He was no 
 other than Mr. Smith Davis himself, the principal 
 of the firm. I was almost struck dumb to see so 
 much importance confined within so small a com- 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 73 
 
 pass. He shook me cordially by the hand, and 
 asked Mr. Lummucks if he knew me. 
 
 " Know him like a book," replied Mr. Lum* 
 mucks. 
 
 Mr. Smith Davis shook me by the hand again, 
 and said he was very happy to see me ; he asked 
 me how the times were, and offered me a cigar, 
 which I took for fear of giving offence, but the 
 first opportunity I got I threw it away. 
 
 " Buy for cash, or time ?" he asked. 
 
 I was a little startled at the abruptness of the 
 question, but I replied, " for cash." 
 
 " Would you like to look at some prints, Ma 
 jor ?" he asked. 
 
 " I am much obliged to you," I replied, " I am 
 very fond of seeing prints." 
 
 With that, Mr. Smith Davis commenced turn 
 ing over one piece of calico after another, with 
 amazing rapidity. 
 
 " There, Major, very desirable article splen 
 did style only two-and-six ; we done a first rate 
 business in that article last season ; cheapest goods 
 in the street." 
 
 Before I could make any reply, or even guess 
 at the meaning of Mr. D avis s remarks, he was 
 called away, and Mr. Lummucks stepped up and 
 
 supplied his place. 
 
 VOL. i. 7 
 
74 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 " You had better buy em, Colonel," said Mr. 
 Lummucks, " they will sell like hot cakes. But 
 did you say you bought for cash." 
 
 "Of course," I said, " if I buy at all." 
 
 He took a memorandum book out of his pocket, 
 and looked in it for a moment. 
 
 "Let me see," he said, "Franco, Franco, 
 Franco, what did you say your firm was, some 
 thing and Franco, or Franco and somebody ?" 
 
 " I have no firm," I replied. 
 
 "O, you haven t, haven t you ? all alone, hey? 
 but I don t see that I have got your first name down 
 in my tickler." 
 
 " My first name is Harry," I said. 
 
 " Right, yes, I remember," said Mr. Lummucks, 
 making a memorandum ; " and your references, 
 Colonel, who did you say were your references ?" 
 
 "I have no references," I replied, "indeed I 
 know of no one to whom I could refer, unless to 
 my father." 
 
 " What, the old boy in the country?" 
 
 61 My father is in the country," I answered seri 
 ously, not very well pleased to hear my parent 
 called the old boy. 
 
 " Then you have no city references, hey ?" 
 
 " None at all, sir ; I have no friends here except 
 yourself." 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 75 
 
 "Me!" exclaimed Mr. Lummucks, apparently 
 in great amazement. " Oh, ah ! But how much of 
 a bill do you mean to make with us, Colonel ?" 
 
 " Perhaps I may buy a vest pattern," I replied, 
 " if you have got some genteel patterns." 
 
 " A vest pattern," cried Mr. Lummucks, " what, 
 hav nt you come down for the purpose of buying 
 goods ?" 
 
 " No, sir," I replied, " I came to New York to 
 seek for employment, and as you had shown me 
 so many kind attentions, I thought you would be 
 glad of an opportunity to assist me in finding a 
 situation." 
 
 Mr. Lummucks countenance underwent a very 
 singular change when I announced my reasons for 
 calling on him. 
 
 " Do you see any thing that looks green in 
 there ?" he said, pulling down his eyelid with his 
 forefinger. 
 
 " No, sir, I do not," I replied, looking very ear 
 nestly into his eye. 
 
 " Nor in there, either ?" he said, pulling open 
 his other eye. 
 
 " Nothing at all, sir," I replied. 
 
 " I guess not," said Mr. Lummucks ; and with 
 out making me any other answer, he turned on his 
 heel and left me. 
 
78 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 A change of quarters, and a new friend. 
 
 I FOUND that the high rate which they charged 
 me for board at the hotel, would soon exhaust my 
 slender means, so I applied at a genteel boarding 
 house in Pearl street, kept by a Mrs. Griggs, and 
 agreed with her for a bed in a room with only five 
 other young gentlemen ; the price which she asked 
 was something less than half what they charged at 
 the hotel. I was very glad to make the exchange, 
 for I was not only continually annoyed by the sight 
 of Mr. Lumrnucks, but by the frequent mention of 
 my ludicrous encounter with the Southern orator. 
 
 The first time I dined at Mrs. Griggs s, I was 
 reminded of the advice given me by my fellow 
 traveller, about the salt cellar, for on casting my 
 eyes upon that piece of table furniture, I perceived 
 that it did not indicate a very sumptuous dinner t 
 it was a little gilt edged glass dish, with a piece 
 broken out of each corner, and its contents were 
 coarse and damp ; consequently I was prepared to 
 find the soup cold, the mutton overdone, the vine 
 gar sweet, and the salad warm. But, thanks to the 
 poverty of my parents, I had learned to eat my 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 79 
 
 dinner without finding fault with its quality, always 
 satisfied if it was not deficient in quantity ; and al 
 though I flattered myself I could distinguish a good 
 meal from a poor one, I could be content with 
 either. 
 
 Mrs. Griggs s boarders were all young gentle 
 men, fashionably dressed, apparently full of fun r 
 and with most excellent appetites. Their greatest 
 care seemed to be who should eat the greatest 
 quantity in the shortest space of time. I must con 
 fess I could not but regard them with feelings of 
 envy, for they were mostly clerks in counting 
 houses and stores, and I knew it was employment 
 which gave them such light hearts and happy faces. 
 They were somewhat rude in their behavior, but r 
 as it was the rudeness of buoyant spirits, and not 
 of ill nature, there was nothing offensive about it- 
 A very tall young gentleman, with a ring on his 
 forefinger, and a gold chain round his neck, filled 
 the office of carver, and his perquisites of office 
 were, as a matter of course, sundry little pieces of 
 the outside, which he contrived very ingeniously 
 not to touch when he was helping round. 
 
 " Mister Barilla, will you, if you please, sir," 
 said one of the young gentlemen to the carver, " be 
 so kind as to send me, per bearer, a small invoice 
 of that mutton?" 
 
80 HARRY FRANCO, . 
 
 " Sorry to be under the disagreeable necessity 
 of informing you, sir," said Mr. Barilla, " have 
 none remaining in first hands, but will be stremely 
 happy to send you this tumbled lot," pointing to a 
 scrag on the side of his plate. 
 
 "Not as you know on, you may say to your 
 friends when you write home," replied the other. 
 
 "I say, Mrs. Griggs," said another, " hav nt 
 you a very good memory, mem ?" 
 
 " Why yes, sir," said Mrs. Griggs, " I believe I 
 have, I was never called unforgitful ; my husband 
 used to say I was very good at remembering 
 things. Why did you ask, sir ?" 
 
 " Nothing in particular, mem, I only wanted to 
 inquire how long it might be since this bread was 
 baked ?" said the boarder. 
 
 Mrs. Griggs blushed very red, but all the young 
 gentlemen tittered as though they were highly de 
 lighted at this piece of wit ; but for my part, I 
 looked upon it as a piece of great rudeness, and I 
 did not even smile. 
 
 ts I will tell you what I do remember," said Mrs. 
 Griggs to the quizzical boarder, " and that is, that 
 you hav nt paid your last month s board, you im 
 pudence, and I wish you would, or else leave my 
 house. A poor widow lady, like me, can t afford 
 to keep a genteel boarding house for nothing." 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 81 
 
 There was a general burst of laughter at this 
 reply of Mrs. Griggs ; and the witty gentleman 
 turned very red, and looked very sheepish, but he 
 made no reply. 
 
 A young gentleman, who sat at my right, ob 
 serving, I suppose, that no one took any notice of 
 me, and pitying my loneliness, commenced a con 
 versation with me, by asking if I was fond of Man 
 hattan water. 
 
 " Is it mineral ?" I asked. 
 
 " I should think it was," he replied; " it is very 
 hard, at least." 
 
 " Does it promote longevity," I inquired, think 
 ing that my neighbour must be a scientific gentle 
 man, and that it would be necessary to speak in a 
 dignified manner. 
 
 "It promotes longevity of office," he replied ; 
 " his honor, the Recorder, drinks a pint before 
 breakfast every morning, and he has held his office 
 these twenty years. And the company which sup 
 plies it will live forever, they have got a perpetual 
 charter." 
 
 " Indeed," said I, " that is very curious," not 
 knowing exactly what else to say. "Pray, what 
 are its component parts ?" 
 
 " Professor Silliman analyzed it once," replied 
 my communicative neighbor, " and found it con 
 tained two parts cats and dogs, and the other parts 
 
82 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 different kinds of salts, the names of which I have 
 forgotten." 
 
 " Does any body besides his honor, the Recor 
 der, drink it ?" I inquired. 
 
 " O, yes, sir, it is drank to a very great extent in 
 this community you have been drinking it your 
 self." 
 
 " O, no, I have never tasted it, I am certain," I 
 replied. 
 
 " O, yes, I am certain you have." 
 
 " No, sir, I have not," I replied sharply, not 
 liking to be contradicted in so positive a manner. 
 
 "Allow me to insist that you have, sir ; that is 
 the very article in your tumbler." 
 
 At this moment, Mrs. Griggs removed my plate, 
 and placed before me a saucer full of bread pud 
 ding, and a copper tea spoon to eat it with ; but the 
 remarks of my communicative neighbor had taken 
 off the keen edge of my appetite, and I rose up 
 from the table without tasting it. 
 
 After dinner, I wandered about the streets until 
 I was tired and weary, and then I returned to my 
 boarding house, and went early to bed, with a 
 vague hope of being warned in a dream of some 
 piece of good fortune, which might be in store for 
 me. 
 
 About midnight, I was aroused out of a deep 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 83 
 
 slumber, by the entrance of three of my room 
 mates ; two of them had been to the theatre, and 
 they commenced singing "Meet me byJMoon- 
 light," while the third, who had been practising 
 at a Thespian club, delivered himself of Hamlet s 
 soliloquy, trying to make my head answer the pur 
 pose of Yorick s skull, which caused a great deal 
 of merriment ; but I twitched my head away, 
 arid drawing the counterpane over it, pretended to 
 be asleep. 
 
 It was not long before my other two room mates 
 came in. They were firemen. They were dressed 
 in red flannel shirts, drab jackets and trowsers, 
 and large leather caps. They were not both mem 
 bers of the same company, and they began talking 
 about their respective machines in a very animat 
 ed manner, and I expected every moment to see 
 them get into a fight ; but after they had abused 
 each other, in a shacking manner, for a few mi 
 nutes, they suddenly stopped, and joined in the 
 song of " Meet me by Moonlight." I ventured 
 to lift up my head to take a peep at them, when 
 one of the firemen, a little black haired man, with 
 steel spectacles, cried out, " hollo ! chummy ! come 
 jump out of that, and see the lions dance;" and 
 without more ado, he took hold of my heels and 
 dragged me out on to the floor before I had time 
 
84 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 to make any resistance. I jumped upon my feet, 
 full of indignation, but perceiving it was all a joke, 
 I joined in the laugh, which was raised at my ex 
 pense, and was very soon on as good terms with 
 my five room mates as need be. 
 
 They were whole-souled liberal hearted young 
 fellows, and therefore they would have something 
 to drink. They cast lots to see who should pay 
 for the drink, and then drew a card out of a pack 
 to see who should go after it, and oddly enough it 
 fell to the lot of the same person to do both ; the 
 amateur Thespian was the unfortunate individual. 
 He went out to a neighboring bar-room, and soon 
 returned with a couple of tumblers, and a pitcher 
 full of mint juleps, which were no sooner drank, 
 than we were all seized with a desire to sing. 
 
 The little curly-headed fireman, it is proper that 
 I should mention, being pious, refused to drink 
 any of the juleps, but he lighted a cigar, and al 
 most suffocated us with smoke. 
 
 The breakfast bell rang the next morning be 
 fore any of us were awake, but my room-mates 
 all started up at its summons, and began to dress 
 themselves with great expedition, and with a most 
 generous indifference about whose clothes they put 
 on. There appeared to be a complete abandon 
 ment of all individual ownership in such articles 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 85 
 
 as shirt collars and stockings, and one of these 
 free-hearted fellows put on my stockings without 
 showing the slightest compunction of conscience. 
 One furnished a bottle of cologne water, and ano 
 ther a pot of bear s grease ; one a hair brush, and 
 another a comb. But I believe each one confined 
 himself to his own particular tooth brush ; at all 
 events, I was determined to do so myself. 
 
 These young gentlemen made a very genteel 
 appearance when they were dressed, and I have 
 no doubt they made a great show in Broadway of 
 an evening, when they were released from their 
 business. I could not avoid reflecting on the ease 
 with which mankind can be imposed upon ; and 
 as I had myself been most grossly deceived by 
 outward appearances, I determined to be on my 
 guard for the future, and take nothing upon trust. 
 
 I was highly delighted with the profundity of 
 my reflections, and flattered myself that I had made 
 a discovery in morals. The reader will discover, 
 long before he will arrive at the conclusion of my 
 adventures, in what manner I profited by this great 
 discovery. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
86 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 A new field, and another speculation. 
 
 ONE of my room-mates was a tall slender youth, 
 with light blue eyes and whitish hair ; he wore a 
 blue frock coat, with a stand-up collar ; a black 
 stock, and a blue cloth cap very much pulled over 
 his eyes ; he usually carried a little ebony stick 
 under one arm, and a half-bound book under the 
 other. Sometimes, when he did not forget to put 
 them on, he wore a pair of steel bowed spectacles, 
 the glasses of which were slightly tinged with 
 blue. He had once been a cadet at West Point, and 
 he still wore a certain military air, which, although 
 very easily recognised, would be very difficult to 
 describe. He was very grand in his conversation, 
 and made use of the choicest words in the diction 
 ary. His name was D. Wellington Worhoss. 
 
 I was sitting in my room after breakfast, with 
 m y e y es resting on Miss De Lancey s handker 
 chief, while the eyes of my mind were looking 
 into the dim future which the light of my imagi 
 nation was beginning to enliven, when Mr. Wor 
 hoss came in, and having pulled off his cap and 
 gloves, he sat down, and resting his heels upon the 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 87 
 
 mantel piece, he tipped himself back in his chair, 
 and without apparently observing that I was in 
 the room, began to read aloud. 
 
 I did not feel myself very highly complimented 
 by the little notice which Mr. Worhoss took of 
 me, and to show him that I held him as cheaply 
 as he seemed to hold me, I opened a book, and 
 began to read aloud myself. He looked at me 
 over his shoulder with as much sternness as a 
 young gentleman with blue eyes and whitish hair 
 could assume, but perceiving that I showed no 
 signs of immediate dissolution from the effects of 
 his glances, he threw down his book, and I did the 
 same. 
 
 Mr*. Worhoss and I were, a very few minutes 
 after, established friends. He swore he would 
 never desert me, and made me his confidant on 
 the spot. 
 
 I was sorry to learn from Mr. Worhoss that 
 times were hard. He informed me that the 
 11 House " in which he had been employed as a 
 clerk, had " bursted up," and that he was, in con 
 sequence, a gentleman at large. " However," he 
 said in a solemn manner, " I don t care a tenpence 
 about it ; I never did like mercantile pursuits. It 
 indicates a want of soul to be devoted to them. 
 Business has a tendency to blunt the finer feelings 
 
88 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 of our nature, and I will acknowledge to you in 
 confidence, that I always found it an extremely 
 difficult operation to adjust my mind to the level 
 of a counting-room." 
 
 " Ah," I said, " I should be very glad of an 
 opportunity to adjust my mind to any occupation 
 which would yield me a small salary." 
 
 " Be content," said Mr. Worhoss, " to cultivate 
 your sensibilities in some gentlemanly manner, 
 and don t throw away your talents upon trade. 
 However," he continued, " if gain is your object, 
 I can put you in a way of making a handsome 
 per centage on a small investment." 
 
 I told Mr. Worhoss I should feel myself under 
 great obligations to him, if he would; that I had 
 got a little money left, and that I should have no 
 objection in the world to investing it to a good 
 advantage. 
 
 " Then you are just the gentleman I wanted to 
 see," he replied, taking my hand, and squeezing 
 it very warmly. " I have written a prize article 
 for the Mirror, for which I expect to obtain fifty 
 dollars, and if you will advance me five dollars, I 
 will return you ten, when I receive the prize." 
 
 I thanked Mr. Worhoss for his liberal offer, 
 and ventured to ask, if there was not a possibility 
 of his not receiving the prize ? 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 89 
 
 "Not the slightest in the world," he replied ; 
 " it is to be awarded by a committee of literary 
 gentlemen, all men of taste, and they cannot do 
 otherwise than decide in favor of my article. 
 But you shall judge, yourself, of the probability 
 of their doing so. I will read the article to you." 
 
 I told Mr. Worhoss he might spare himself the 
 trouble, as I had great confidence in his represen 
 tations. But, in spite of all I could say, he would 
 read it to me. 
 
 As mankind are prone to wreak their vengeance 
 on the innocent when they cannot on the offend 
 ing, I do not feel myself at liberty to break through 
 an established custom, as I might thereby subject 
 myself to be called a fanatic, or some other evil 
 name ; I shall, therefore, revenge myself upon 
 you, most gentle reader, for the sin of Mr. Wor 
 hoss, by repeating to you the prize article which 
 that gentleman wrote for the Mirror. Here it is: 
 
 AUGUSTUS DE SATINETT, 
 
 A TALE OF FASHION ; 
 OR, 
 
 THE MYSTERIES OF THE PASSIONS. 
 
 Dedicated to the Thoughtful. 
 
 Augustus de Satinett was a jobber ; a choicer 
 
 spirit the region of Hanover square boasted not. 
 
 8* 
 
90 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 Pearl street and Maiden Lane may have known 
 his equal, his superior never. He had risen from 
 junior clerk to junior partner, in one of the oldest 
 firms. The best blood of the revolution flowed in 
 his veins ; his mother was a Van Buster, his father 
 a de Satinett ; a more remote ancestry, or a more 
 noble, it were vain to desire. Augustus had a no 
 ble soul, it was a seven quarter full ; his virtues 
 were all his own, and they were dyed in the wool ; 
 his vices were those of his age they were dyed 
 in the cloth. 
 
 At the time of which I write, Augustus was per 
 fect in manly beauty ; his teeth were white and 
 even, his lips were finely chiselled, a profusion of 
 chestnut curls clustered upon his noble brow, and 
 genius flashed from his hazel eyes. He lifted his 
 hat to all his acquaintances with an air of easy 
 dignity, which spoke, as plainly as an air could 
 speak, that Augustus had travelled in foreign parts, 
 for he had drummed in Arkansas, and collected 
 in the lithograph cities of the west. 
 
 It required no stretch of classic fancy, in those 
 who saw de Satinett, to believe that some fond 
 Pygmalion of the sex, whose existence is a senti 
 ment, had loved into life a marble Antinous, 
 which, stepping from his eternal pedestal, had put 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 91 
 
 on the habiliments with which fashion clothes her 
 votaries. 
 
 Eugenia Bergen ville was the only daughter of a 
 doting mother. She, Eugenia, and not her mother, 
 was all loveliness and all sentiment. In her were 
 all the elements of beauty combined, in parts har 
 monious. She was like one of those glorious visions 
 of light and loveliness, which sometimes visit us 
 when the soul is warm and plastic, and which leave 
 upon the tablets of memory, an impression which 
 time cannot efface. 
 
 Her mother had seen much of the world, for she 
 had once dispensed the culinary offerings of Po 
 mona, in the temple which bears the honored name 
 of Fulton ; to speak plain, she used to sell kitchen 
 vegetables in Fulton market. But she had become 
 rich by the purchase of a lucky ticket in a lottery, 
 and retired to private life ; and all the energies of 
 her soul were devoted to the education of the young 
 Eugenia, whom she determined to bring up in the 
 genteelest manner; with her, to determine was to 
 do. Eugenia was genteely brought up. 
 
 She was an accomplished performer on thepiano, 
 and sang in the Italian style ; how could she be 
 otherwise than accomplished had she not taken 
 forty lessdns of Coward ? Not having a decided 
 taste for reading and writing, those ordinary 
 
92 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 branches were dispensed with, they not being 
 deemed essentials in a genteel bringing up. But 
 she knew several French phrases by heart, and she 
 could sing an Italian song. What more conld the 
 most fastidious desire? But, she could boast of 
 more. Her dresses were made by Madam Marti- 
 neau, who received the Petit Cornier by the Havre 
 packets, direct from Paris. It was the boast of 
 Eugenia s mother, that her daughter dressed in the 
 very first style. 
 
 Augustus and Eugenia met : the Fates had de 
 signed them for each other ; there was, therefore, 
 no reason why they should be kept asunder. It 
 was at a benefit ball in St. Tammany that they first 
 saw each other. 
 
 It may be thought by some, that this was an 
 improper place for two such beings to visit. Per 
 haps it was. Charruaud s might have been more 
 select, or Niblo s a thought genteeler. But perils 
 are to be encountered wherever youth and beauty 
 meet ; and we have no desire to interfere with the 
 doings of those peremptory personages, the Fates ; 
 it was by them ordained, that Augustus and Eu 
 genia should meet within the walls sacred to St. 
 Tammany. 
 
 Many and fair were the forms that graced that 
 benefit ball. Chatham street sent forth its beau- 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 93 
 
 ties, and the Bowery held not back its gay crea 
 tures from the festive scene. Long wreaths of 
 greens and paper roses, were suspended from the 
 pillars of the hall, and the gas lights burned with a 
 brilliancy which made every thing short of liquid 
 rouge look pale. Augustus danced a pas dctrois 
 with the Misses P., and Eugenia danced a pas de 
 deux with Mr. P. 
 
 Augustus had no sooner seen Eugenia, than he 
 felt that his time was come, and he sought for the 
 master of ceremonies, who wore a white riband in 
 his button hole, snd requested to be introduced. 
 Now, the master of ceremonies had never seen Au 
 gustus before ; but being a perfect stranger, is no 
 bar at a benefit ball, to an introduction ; so the 
 master of ceremonies took Augustus under his 
 arm, and introduced him to Eugenia, as his parti 
 cular friend. Augustus bowed to Eugenia, and 
 requested the pleasure of dancing with her in the 
 next quadrille. Now, Eugenia had engaged her 
 self for every dance that might be danced, and for 
 the rustic reel at the close ; but feeling that her 
 destiny was sealed, with an ingenuousness peculiar 
 to the place, she suddenly forgot all her promises, 
 and yielded at once to the solicitations of Augus 
 tus ; and he had the pleasure, not only of dancing 
 
94 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 the next quadrille with her, but/of dancing all the 
 quadrilles that were danced on that eventful night. 
 
 Many months did not pass by before Augustus 
 spoke of marriage; but Eugenia was a child of na 
 ture, and with an artless simplicity, peculiar only to 
 children of nature, and to the disciples of Madam 
 Darusmont, she exclaimed, " what is marriage ?" 
 
 Augustus endeavored to explain to her how it 
 was necessary, before two souls could be made one, 
 that some form of ceremony should be submitted 
 to, although a very trifling one would satisfy the 
 law ; very trifling indeed, compared with its en 
 during effects. But Eugenia could not understand 
 why she could not love and be loved, as purely 
 and as ardently, without the aid of priests as with. 
 11 What is marriage ?" she exclaimed again, in sim 
 ple purity of soul ; " if it is to love my dear Augus 
 tus better than any other object on earth, better 
 even than my music master, or my mother, then 
 am I married already." 
 
 But, if Augustus was satisfied that Eugenia 
 needed not the ties of the matrimonial statutes to 
 ensure her felicity, he knew that they were neces 
 sary to ensure his, so he insisted on being married 
 in the old fashioned manner. Eugenia at last con 
 sented, and one bright and pleasant moonlight 
 night, they were made one by a Roman Catholic 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 95 
 
 priest, in his back parlor, in Orange street. The 
 priest being an Irishman, his foreign accent im 
 parted a degree of romance to the ceremony; 
 which, in a measure, softened the feelings of* Eu 
 genia, and made the requirements of the law less 
 odious to her susceptible soul. 
 
 The honey moon had fulled and waned, when I 
 received an invitation to spend a sociable evening 
 with Augustus. I found him seated with his wife. 
 He welcomed me with a cordial welcome, but she 
 neither looked at me nor welcomed me. An ill- 
 natured observer might have said she was in the 
 sulks, but doubtless her heart was too full ; she was 
 too happy to speak. 
 
 Augustus was a ripe scholar, and he loved to 
 talk of books. His library was choice and ele 
 gant ; it contained Bulvver and Scott complete, and 
 the " Encyclopedia Americana," and books of a 
 graver cast were not wanting; the works of Han 
 nah Moore held a conspicuous place on his shelves, 
 and their contents were familiar to his mind : he 
 had read Coelebs when a boy, and he had the 
 highest regard for its author ; and when speaking 
 of her, he called her "his Hannah," and his "fa 
 vorite Miss Moore. 11 In the course of the evening, 
 he frequently spoke of her by these familiar names, 
 
96 
 
 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 which showed the warmth of his affection for his 
 favorite authors. 
 
 Time will pass away even when familiar friends 
 are discussing their favorite authors. Mrs. de Sa- 
 tinett, for so we must call Eugenia, began to give 
 hints, which could not be misunderstood, that it 
 was time to retire. The rain was pattering against 
 the windows, and the house was far up town. Au 
 gustus pressed me to take a bed ; I could not re 
 fuse. As he showed me to my chamber, he took 
 my hand, " Belville," he said, with a solemn ear 
 nestness, " you are not married." 
 
 " No," I said, " but you are." 
 
 " Yes," he said, " I feel that I am." 
 
 He could say no more, and I bid him good 
 night. 
 
 My chamber adjoined that of Augustus and his 
 wife, and as it was a genteel house, the wall was 
 not so thick but that I could hear the conversation 
 that passed between them. J was unwilling to do 
 so, of course, but I could not avoid it. 
 
 " I wish I was dead and in my grave," said 
 Eugenia. 
 
 " How can you, my dear, distress me to death," 
 said Augustus to this unnatural wish of his wife. 
 
 " No danger of your being distressed to death," 
 said Eugenia, sobbing. 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 97 
 
 " What on earth have I done, ray dear, to de 
 serve this ?" said Augustus. 
 
 "You have broken my poor heart," said Eu 
 genia. 
 
 "My dear, you will drive me mad," said Au 
 gustus. 
 
 " No danger of your going mad," sobbed Eu 
 genia. 
 
 " Don t say so, dear, don t ; there," a kiss, 
 " there, then." 
 
 " Let me alone," exclaimed Eugenia. 
 
 " Oh ! oh !" groaned Augustus, " what have I 
 done or said to offend you ?" 
 
 I could hear him pacing the room with quick 
 and rapid strides, and I thought to myself, how 
 surprising it was, that he did not pursue the only 
 obviously proper course in such a case. I will not 
 name the course of action which appeared to me 
 proper on the occasion, for fear of giving ofTence ; 
 for I am aware that there are differences of opinion 
 on this as well as on other subjects. 
 
 Eugenia, after sobbing hysterically a few min 
 utes longer, exclaimed again, " I wish I was dead 
 and buried." " Don t, my dear," said Augustus, 
 " tempt me to say I wish you were." " You cruel 
 wretch," exclaimed Eugenia, "you are trying to 
 
 VOL. i. 9 
 
98 HAKKif FRANCO, 
 
 kill me. To sit there all the evening, before my 
 face, and talk about that nasty Hannah." 
 
 " What Hannah f" exclaimed Augustus, in 
 great consternation. 
 
 "Your old flame, Miss More, your favorite, as 
 you call her ; to my face too." 
 
 Augustus laughed outright. He expostulated 
 with Eugenia ; he explained to her that Hannah 
 More was only his favorite author ; that he had 
 never seen her in his life ; that she was an ugly old 
 maid, and above all, that she was in her grave. 
 But it was all to no purpose, he might have re 
 buked the angry sea with as much effect. Euge 
 nia had no conception of such a thing as a favorite 
 author ; all books were alike to her, from a penny 
 magazine to a polyglott bible ; and as to a book hav 
 ing been written by a woman, it was something en 
 tirely beyond the circumference of her understand 
 ing ; she would not believe a word of it. She would 
 have it that Hannah More was nothing more nor 
 less than an old flame, or something worse, of her 
 lord s. She sobbed, and at last he swore. 
 
 How they settled the difficulty for the night I am 
 ignorant to this day, for I soon fell asleep, and 
 heard nothing farther of their conversation. 
 
 From that memorable night I saw a great 
 change in Augustus de Satinett; but, why pro- 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 99 
 
 long a painful tale, or dwell upon the events which 
 prostrated a noble nature. Thenceforth Augus 
 tus knew no rest. Eugenia would sit for hours, 
 and the only words which would escape her lips, 
 were, " Miss More." When he sought his home, 
 after a day of fatiguing toil, the first sound that 
 struck his ear, was, " Hannah ;" and when he laid 
 his head upon his pillow, instead of the sweet 
 spirit of sleep which once closed his eye lids, the 
 sound of his no longer favorite " Hannah s" name 
 chased the kind sprite away, and he was doomed 
 to hear more of Miss More. 
 
 At last, Augustus took to gin ; but, that old 
 fashioned alleviator failing to bring relief, he 
 sought for peace arnid the din of battle, and on 
 the plains of Texas joined the brave spirits who 
 poured out their blood in the cause of liberty and 
 land speculations. 
 
 When Mr. Worhoss concluded his article, he 
 exclaimed triumphantly, " what do you think 
 now ?" 
 
 The truth is, thought I, that fifty dollars would 
 be an extravagant price to pay for the history of 
 Mr. de Satinett, but I was afraid to say so, for 
 fear of offending Mr. Worhoss, so I took out my 
 pocket book and lent him five dollars, and he gave 
 
100 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 me a promise in writing, to return ten dollars in 
 case he should receive the prize of fifty. 
 
 As Mr. Worhoss had been so free in his remarks 
 to me, I frankly told him what my own condition 
 was, and asked him to recommended me to some 
 employment. He advised me to take an office 
 in Wall street, and commence the brokerage busi 
 ness, or to open an eating house, or to study for 
 the ministry. But, as neither of these employ 
 ments exactly suited my expectations, he promised 
 to take me under his protection, and procure a 
 situation for me immediately, with some respect 
 able jobber. 
 
 I felt myself fortunate in securing, at so cheap 
 a rate, the friendship of so accomplished a gen 
 tleman as Mr. Worhoss, and I listened to his 
 conversation for two or three hours with great sat 
 isfaction. 
 
 " For my own part," said Mr. Worhoss, as he 
 threw his heels over the back of a chair and lighted 
 a cigar, " I am determined to live easy, to live 
 well and genteely ; and work, I wont." 
 
 "Then you have got a rich father to lean upon ?" 
 I said. 
 
 " No, I haven t," said Mr. Worhoss ; " I am 
 sorry to say it, but, my father is very poor. He 
 was a member of Congress a good many years, 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 101 
 
 and as he spent all his time in -attending to the 
 affairs of the nation, of course his own affairs all 
 went to sixes and sevens ; and all he ever got for 
 his patriotism, was an appointment at West Point 
 for myself, and a midshipman s warrant for my 
 brother, who was dismissed the service for sleep 
 ing in his watch ; and I left the Point, because I 
 couldn t brook the restraints that were put upon 
 my actions. The fact is, I had a penchant for a 
 remarkably fine turkey cock of the Colonel s, 
 which I endeavored one Christmas eve to intro 
 duce into rny room ; and this trifling circumstance, 
 some how or other, caused me to leave the Point. 
 But, it is not absolutely necessary to have a rich 
 father, in order to live without work. Society, 
 you must know, that is, the civilized world, have 
 agreed that a few of their number shall live in 
 ease and elegance, while the many shall work and 
 sweat like slaves." 
 
 " I knew that such was the case," I remarked, 
 " but I never knew before that there was any 
 agreement about the matter. Pray how long is 
 it since the arrangement was made ?" 
 
 " Ever since the flood," replied Mr. Warhoss, 
 " and probably long before. I do not positively as 
 sert that there have been any writings drawn up and 
 
 signed by the parties, but still the agreement ex- 
 9* 
 
102 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 Jsts, and- it has .been strictly adhered to in all ages, 
 and will be in all time to come, at least in my 
 time ; so I have resolved to make the most of it, 
 without stopping to inquire into the justice of the 
 arrangement." 
 
 " Ah," I said, " it is the tyranny of custom, and 
 not an agreement between the parties that causes 
 such an unnatural state of things to exist." 
 
 " All stuff," replied Mr. Warhoss ; " how can 
 you call it tyranny, when the strongest party vo 
 lunteers to serve the weakest. Tyranny is an un 
 righteous exercise of power over those who are 
 incapable of resistance. If seven eighths of man 
 kind choose to endure all manner of privations, 
 that the remaining eighth may enjoy all manner 
 of comforts, you may call it infatuation, but call 
 it not tyranny. However, if you are fond of ar 
 gument, I will argue with you about the moon 
 being made of green cheese, because that is a 
 subject on which there may be doubts ; but to ar 
 gue about an established fact is an absurdity. 
 The truth is as 1 have stated it to you, and I will 
 tell you in confidence that I have enrolled myself 
 in the ranks of the minority who receive tribute 
 from the majority, but in what manner I shall re 
 ceive my portion I have not determined. You, I 
 perceive, are anxious to join the many, and labor 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 103 
 
 for us ; well, every man to his liking ; I shall not 
 dispute with you in a matter of personal tastes, 
 but, one thing I will advise you to do before you 
 proceed any farther ; and that is, to have your 
 head examined." 
 
 " My head," I exclaimed in astonishment, 
 11 there is nothing the matter with my head." 
 
 " Perhaps not," replied Mr. Worhoss ; " I 
 mean the developments of your skull, that you 
 may know what pursuit is best adapted to your 
 powers of mind, and in which you would of course 
 be most likely to succeed." 
 
 As this was a point on which I was most anx 
 ious to receive information, I thanked Mr. Wor 
 hoss for his suggestion ; and he proposed that I 
 should go with him to the phrenological rooms of 
 his friend, Mr. Fingrum ; whither I accompanied 
 him, to submit my head, with all its imperfections, 
 to the examination of that celebrated philosopher. 
 
104 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Like a previous chapter, adds another link to the chain of my 
 adventures, without increasing the intensity of interest which 
 they may have excited. 
 
 THE " phrenological rooms," were a very small 
 office iu Nassau street, with a dark closet attached 
 to it. There was a little cupboard in one corner, 
 filled with plaster busts, and most hideous looking 
 skulls. In the little closet, the floor of which was 
 covered with a dirty carpet, sat a lady on a high 
 stool, with her hair over her face, and Mr. Fin- 
 grum the phrenologist standing over her, poking 
 his long bony fingers over her head, and calling 
 out the size of her organs to a pale young man, 
 who marked them upon a phrenological chart, as 
 they were announced. Mr.Fingrum was a tall gaunt 
 man, with a very thin face and a very red nose. 
 He wore a rusty suit of black, and a dirty white 
 cambric cravat. Altogether, his appearance was 
 philosophical in the extreme. 
 
 After the manipulation of the lady s head was 
 completed, and all her organs were properly set 
 down, she glanced over the chart, apparently with 
 great satisfaction ; but, she thought her " amativ." 
 was put down a number too high ; upon which, 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 105 
 
 the phrenologist requested her to take off her 
 bonnet again, and he re-examined that particular 
 organ, and decided, that instead of Ko 
 too high, it was actually a number iuu io\v. He 
 explained, that the reason why the lady had doubts 
 about it, was all owing to her " self-esteem " being 
 so very small. 
 
 With this explanation, she appeared entirely sa- 
 tised ; and when she left the " rooms," she said she 
 should recommend several of her female acquain 
 tances, who had very interesting heads, to call on 
 Mr. Fingrum and be examined. 
 
 As the phrenological rooms were conducted on 
 the strictly republican principle of " first come first 
 served," I was forced to wait my turn, and a stout 
 red faced gentleman next took his seat upon the 
 stool. 
 
 Mr. Fingrum hesitated for a minute before he 
 put his hands upon the head of his sitter, and going 
 to a glass case, he took out a half decayed skull, 
 which he appeared to regard with great delight. 
 
 " This," said the phrenologist, with great so 
 lemnity, "is the skull of Saint Paul." 
 
 " What, the apostle !" exclaimed the stout gen 
 tleman, starting upon his feet. 
 
 " The very same," replied Mr. Fingrum. 
 
 "Bless my heart, bless my heart," said the 
 

 106 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 w . --. o 
 
 upon the stool again, " that ever I should live to 
 sue the skull of Saint Paul the Apostle. Why he 
 has been dead these eighteen hundred years." 
 
 " No he hasn t," replied the phrenologist, " you 
 must remember that Saint Paul was a very old gen 
 tleman when he suffered martyrdom, and that he 
 was not converted until some years after the as 
 cension." 
 
 " That is true," said the gentleman, " he has not 
 been dead as long as I thought at first." 
 
 " I want you should observe, sir," continued Mr. 
 Fingrum, while he polished the skull with the 
 palms of his hands, " that a gentleman may have 
 a development of very bad propensities, and yet 
 be the best and noblest of his race. Or rather he 
 may have organs which might be productive of 
 evil, but which, under proper guidance, will be 
 come instruments of good. Thus you see that des- 
 tructiv. and combativ., which are so fully deve 
 loped in Saint Paul, and which once sent him on 
 an errand of cruelty to Damascus, afterwards, when 
 his conscientiousness, which you observe is also 
 very large, had aided the Holy Spirit to work his 
 conversion, caused him to speak out so bravely 
 before Festus and Agrippa, and enter valiantly 
 jnto the theatre at Ephesus." 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 107 
 
 " Well, well, I shouldn t wonder, said the 
 sitter. 
 
 Mr. Fingrum replaced the skull of Saint Paul 
 in the glass case, and commenced the examination 
 of the stout gentleman, who shut both eyes, and 
 held down his head as reverently as though Mr. 
 Fingrum was about to pronounce a benediction 
 upon him. 
 
 The phrenologist pressed his hands upon the 
 head of his sitter, and began to name over the de 
 velopments to his assistant, who sat, pen in hand, 
 ready to take down his remarks on a chart. 
 
 " Amativ. large," mumbled Mr. F. ; " Philopro- 
 genitiv. full; Adhesiv. large; Inhabitiv. small; 
 Concentrativ. large; Combativ. very large; Des- 
 tructiv. very large." 
 
 " What," exclaimed the gentleman, opening his 
 eyes, and turning redder in the face, " do you 
 mean to tell me that I am a destructive ?" 
 
 " I say that you have combativeness and des- 
 tructiveness very largely developed, and that you 
 must, in consequence, be addicted to fighting, 
 and" 
 
 * I say I am not," replied the gentleman, " and 
 don t you tell me that again. I am one of the 
 most peaceable men in my Ward." 
 
 " Perhaps you are," said the phrenologist, " but 
 
108 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 I am not accountable for your developments, and 
 I must repeat, that your destructiveness is very 
 large." 
 
 " Take your hands off of my head," exclaimed 
 the gentleman, jumping up, " and take that for 
 your insolence, you red nosed ghost." And with 
 out more ado, he struck the phrenologist a blow 
 under the ear, which sent him reeling up against 
 his assistant, who stumbled against the case which 
 contained the head of Saint Paul, which he over 
 turned, and smashed the glass plate which covered 
 that valuable relic. The destructive gentleman 
 then took his hat, and walked out of the " rooms," 
 in a state of high excitement. 
 
 The phrenologists got upon their feet again, after 
 a while, but it was a long time before either could 
 speak. 
 
 " That is all owing," said Mr. Fingrum, as soon 
 as he had recovered from his fright. " to my cau 
 tiousness being so small ; confound it, I wish it was 
 bigger. I perceived, at a glance, that that man s 
 self esteem and combativ., would make him a dan 
 gerous subject to handle, and so I showed him the 
 peculiarities of Saint Paul s skull, to prepare his 
 mind for what I should be obliged to say about 
 his own ; but I ought to have been more cautious." 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 109 
 
 " And was that really Saint Paul s skull ?" I 
 asked. 
 
 " That, no," said the phrenologist, " it was the 
 skull of Gibbs, the pirate. I saw that the man s 
 marvel, was so large that he would believe any 
 thing I might tell him ; if I had told him it was the 
 skull of Cain, he would have believed it. But he 
 shall find that my combativeness is as large as his 
 own ; I will go immediately to the police office 
 and have him arrested." And so he took his hat 
 and cane, and walked oft", and I was obliged to 
 leave the rooms without having my head examined, 
 a circumstance which I regretted very much, as I 
 felt myself entirely at a loss to determine what pur 
 suit my talents best qualified me for. My inclina 
 tions rather leaned to the course which my new 
 friend, Mr. Worhoss, had marked out for himself; 
 but I thought it would be prudent to try something 
 else first before I joined his party. 
 
 At the tea table I met Mr. Worhoss again, and 
 that kind hearted young gentleman invited me to 
 take a walk with him after tea and see the town. 
 As I was anxious to see every thing worth seeing, 
 I thanked him for his kindness, and accepted his 
 offer. He said he would just step up to his room 
 and dress, and then he should be ready for a walk. 
 
 As Mr. Worhoss s "to dress," meant /.nothing 
 
 VOL. i. 10 
 
110 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 more than buttoning up another button of his coat, 
 and brushing his hair, and pulling down his wrist 
 bands, I thought he was an unreasonable long time 
 in doing it. At length, however, he made his ap 
 pearance, with his slender ebony stick in his hand, 
 and we walked out together. The street lamps 
 were lighted, and Mr. Worhoss remarked that as 
 it was too late to see any thing in Broadway, it 
 would be advisable to go direct to the theatre. He 
 said there was to be a sterling English comedy, and 
 a new French dancer, and consequently, all the 
 beauty and fashion of the city would be present. 
 
 I very gladly assented to his proposal, thinking 
 that where all the beauty of the city was gathered 
 together, rny beautiful Georgians could not be 
 absent. 
 
 Mr. Worhoss proposed that we should sit in the 
 pit, as it was decidedly respectable, although not 
 as genteel as the boxes. Of course, I made no 
 objections ; and when we reached the entrance, I 
 stopped short, expecting that he would procure the 
 tickets, as Mr. Lummucks had done, when he pave 
 me an invitation to go to the theatre with him. 
 But Mr. Worhoss only pointed to a little round 
 hole in the partition, and observed that that was 
 the place where they took the money for the 
 tickets. 
 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. Ill 
 
 " Is it indeed ?" I said. 
 
 " Yes," said Mr. Worhoss, " and you had bet 
 ter get a couple of tickets before they begin to 
 crowd about the doors." 
 
 " O, ah," I said, feeling very foolish, " I didn t 
 think of that." 
 
 "I knew you didn t," replied Mr. Worhoss, 
 " and that is the very reason why I reminded you 
 of it." 
 
 According to the delicate suggestion of my new 
 friend, I bought two tickets, and we entered the 
 pit about half an hour before the performances 
 commenced, which gave me an opportunity to ob 
 serve all the beauties as they took their seats in 
 the boxes. I watched them very narrowly, hoping 
 to discover my beautiful Georgiana among them, 
 but I was disappointed ; she did not come. It was 
 some consolation, however, to me, to know that 
 her ears would not be offended by the rude and 
 ribald language of the people in the pit. They 
 were a rough set. I thought that the respectabi 
 lity of the pit was not quite so decided as Mr. 
 Worhoss had intimated ; but he remarked, that 
 there was an unusual number of butcher boys pre 
 sent, who were always a great annoyance to the 
 lovers of the legitimate drama, by their eating of 
 roasted pea nuts, and encoring all the songs. 
 
1J2 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 I forget the name of the sterling comedy which 
 was played, but it was nil about a wild young fel 
 low, who. ran away with a beautiful young lady, 
 whom he succeeded in marrying in spite of the 
 exertions of her old guardian to prevent him. I 
 was delighted with the plot, and thought that the 
 moral was most excellent. After the comedy, Mr. 
 \Vorhoss, who appeared to know every body in 
 the Theatre, told me not only the names, but the 
 personal histories of a good many of the audience. 
 Amongst the rest, he pointed out to mean elderly 
 gentleman, with a good humored broad counte- 
 nance, a high nose, and a pair of twinkling black 
 eyes. " That gentleman," said Mr. Worhoss, " is 
 Major Rigmaroll, the editor ; he has written criti 
 cisms about the stage for the last thirty years. I 
 know him all to pieces. He is goinu to publish a 
 book about Shakspeare, and he has already pub 
 lished one, in which he proves as plain as the nose 
 on his face, which you see is plain enough, that the 
 American Indians are descended from Shem, Ham, 
 or Japheth, I forget which; he claims relationship, 
 by the way, with one of them himself." 
 
 "Perhaps." I said, "he wants to lay claim to 
 some Indian lands, on the score of family con- 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 113 
 
 " Upon my soul I believe he has done so al 
 ready," said Mr. Worhoss. 
 
 " He must be a very learned man," I said, " to 
 be able to trace the origin of a people who are 
 themselves ignorant of their own descent." 
 
 "I guess he is learned," replied Mr. Warhoss ; 
 "he knows Josephus Millerius by heart. But 
 look, see what a long glass he has got in his 
 hand ; he has come here on purpose to criticise 
 the new danscusc" 
 
 In a few minutes the stage bell rung; the musi 
 cians in the orchestra began to play. " Hats 
 ofT," cried the people in the pit. Up went the 
 green curtain, and disclosed a scene representing 
 a forest of trees growing out of a board floor, and 
 in bounced a fat woman, who, as soon as she got 
 to the centre of the stage, elevated one foot to a 
 horizontal position, and whirled round on the 
 other like a top. I must confess I was shocked 
 beyond measure, for I had some how or other im 
 bibed an idea that an opera dancer was a light 
 and gentle little creature, who tripped and bound 
 ed before your vision in graceful movements, 
 like a sprite ; but nothing could be more unlike 
 the reality, for here was a full grown woman 
 throwing about her legs in all manner of ungain- 
 10* 
 
114 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 \y attitudes, and with such an indecent scantiness 
 of clothing as to fairly make me blush. 
 
 But my ideas on this subject, I must acknow 
 ledge, differed very much from those of Mr. Wor 
 hoss, for he declared she was a magnificent dan 
 cer, and he said, that, after witnessing such an ex 
 hibition, it would be a down right bore to sit 
 through the farce. As I agreed with him in his 
 last opinion, we came out of the theatre, and I 
 was glad to get into the open air again. Mr. 
 Worhoss proposed taking something to prevent 
 our taking cold, and I followed him into a showy 
 bar-room, next door to the theatre. He called 
 for two glasses of port wine sangaree, and after 
 he had emptied his tumbler, he appeared to be 
 deeply absorbed in the contemplation of a hunt 
 ing piece which hung opposite to the bar. As 
 there were a good many young men standing 
 around, and the bar-keeper seemed to be waiting 
 for the pay for the sangarees, I threw down a 
 shilling, upon which Mr. Worhoss turned sudden 
 ly round, and putting his hand into his pocket, 
 exclaimed, " you don t say you have paid ?" 
 
 4 Yes I have," T replied. 
 
 " Well, that is too bad ; come, let us go, n said 
 Mr. Worhoss. 
 
 " Now, sir," said Mr. Worhoss, " let us have 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 115 
 
 some oysters, and then we shall be prepared to 
 finish the evening." 
 
 I observed that I was not in the least hungry. 
 
 " That is nothing," said Mr. Worhoss ; " peo 
 ple don t eat oysters because they are hungry, 
 any more than they drink wine because they are 
 thirsty." 
 
 I did not want to show my ignorance, so I 
 made no further objections, but followed Mr. Wor 
 hoss down a steep pair of stone steps into a cel 
 lar, which was brilliantly lighted up with gas 
 lights, and we took our seats in a little box just 
 big enough to hold two persons. The front of 
 it was enclosed by a red rnoreen curtain, behind 
 which a man s head obtruded itself as soon as we 
 entered, and ejaculated, " stewf" 
 
 " What is the meaning of that," I asked, star 
 ing at the head. 
 
 " Stew?" ejaculated the head again. 
 
 " He wants to know if you want a stew," said 
 Mr. Worhoss. 
 
 But I did not know whether I wanted a stew or 
 not. So I made no reply, and the man exclaim 
 ed once more, "stew?" 
 
 " No," said Mr. Worhoss, " none of your stews. 
 Give us two half dozens fried, and whilst they 
 
116 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 are cooking, two half dozens of raw ones in the 
 shell, and a lemon." 
 
 The head disappeared, and very soon returned 
 with the raw ones, which were large and deli 
 cious. Although I was not hungry, I succeeded 
 in swallowing half a dozen without any diffi 
 culty. 
 
 " I suppose you don t often drink anything?" 
 remarked Mr. Worhoss, in an inquiring tone. 
 
 "Not often," I replied. 
 
 " Neither do I," said Mr. Worhoss, " but a 
 glass of brandy and water is indispensable with 
 oysters. Shall I order a couple of glasses ? " 
 
 " Certainly," I replied, and the brandy and 
 water was brought. 
 
 In the next box were two young men regaling 
 themselves with a bowl of oyster soup. From 
 the sound of their voices I thought they were ve 
 ry young. As they talked very loud, I could not 
 avoid hearing their conversation. 
 
 11 1 say, Nick," says one, "how much does your 
 old man allow you per week ?" 
 
 " Only a dollar," replied the other. 
 
 "Only a dollar! what a mean old skunk he 
 must be !" 
 
 " Isn t he, proper? I m blistered if I aint asha 
 med of him. But I tell you how I manage it. 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 117 
 
 When I want money, I go to the old woman and 
 tell her I want to subscribe to the Missionary So 
 ciety, and she always forks out." 
 
 " Ha, ha, that is first rate. But you know I 
 haint got no mother, so I can t do that, of course. 
 But I will tell you how I work it; when I want 
 money, I go down to the store and get a new 
 suit of clothes, and then go and pawn them in 
 Chatham street." 
 
 " You do ? Well I m blest if that aint capi 
 tal. I mean to try that myself. But hurry and 
 eat up your soup, or we shall miss the after 
 piece." 
 
 " YVhat, aint you going to have some pie?" 
 
 * No, I never eats pastry." 
 
 "Then let us have some brandy." 
 
 When these interesting young gentlemen were 
 gone, I remarked to Mr. Worhoss that I didn t 
 like the cellar at all, it was so close and confi 
 ned. 
 
 "Not like it," he exclaimed; "why, oysters 
 would not be oysters if they were not eaten in 
 a cellar. Don t you know there is an eternal 
 fitness about every thing, but particularly about 
 eating. The luxury of a dish does not consist so 
 much in its material, as in the place and manner 
 in which it is served. A bowl of greasy soup, 
 
118 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 for instance, with kernels of pimento floating in 
 it, may be eaten in such a place as this with great 
 gusto ; but if it were placed before you at a regu 
 lar dinner table, it would cause a rebellion in 
 your bread-bearer. And what man, in his senses, 
 would sit down to a table so narrow that his knees 
 interlocked with his neighbor s opposite, in any 
 place but an oyster cellar. But there is one ex 
 ception to the eternal fitness of things. Fried 
 oysters are fitting on all occasions and in all pla 
 ces." 
 
 The fried ones were now brought, and Mr. 
 Worhoss called for more cold slaw, and two more 
 glasses of brandy, and during the next quarter of 
 an hour he did noi speak a word. When we had 
 finished our oysters, he drew a long breath, and 
 we rose up to-go, and instead of going up to the 
 bar, to pay, he took up a newspaper, and pored 
 over it as earnestly as though he was reading it 
 for a task. The bar-keeper looked at me very 
 hard, and as Mr. Worhoss was so intensely inte 
 rested in the paper he w T as reading, I could not do 
 less than offer a bill in payment for the oysters and 
 brandy. After I had received my change, he 
 threw down his newspaper, and walked up to the 
 bar with his hand in his pocket, but the bar-keep 
 er told him the oysters were paid for, 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 119 
 
 " Franco," says Mr. Worhoss, putting on a ve 
 ry stern look, " don t do that again." 
 
 "No, 1 won t, I assure you," I replied. 
 
 ik If you do you will oflend me," he replied. 
 
 And so we ascended into the upper world 
 again. 
 
 " It has just occurred to me," said Mr. Wor 
 hoss, when he had reached the pavement, ** that 
 to-night is soiree night at No. 8. We will go there 
 if you have no objection ; they will admit me be 
 cause [ am a volunteer, and they will not object 
 to you because you are a stranger." 
 
 I told Mr. Worhoss 1 was entirely at his dispo 
 sal, and he might lead me wherever he liked. 
 
 " Perhaps you would prefer to go to a musical 
 party at the Shades/ he said. 
 
 " Which will cost the most?" I inquired ; " the 
 Shades or the soiree." 
 
 " O, the Shades, of course," he said ; " it will 
 cost nothing at the soiree." 
 
 " Then I think I should a little prefer the soiree," 
 I said. 
 
 * That is a bright idea," said Mr. Worhoss, 
 " so come along." 
 
 We walked down Broadway a short distance, 
 and then turned into a dimly lighted street, where 
 there appeared to be no dwelling houses, and the 
 
120 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 side walks were lumbered up with bales and boxes. 
 We had not travelled far before _we came to a very 
 small house, jammed in between two very high 
 warehouses, with large folding doors, painted in 
 fancy colors, and gilt block letters over the en 
 trance, indicating that it was the Engine Company 
 No. 8. 1 thought it was a very strange place for 
 a soiree, but I said nothing, and Mr. Worhoss took 
 a small key out of his pocket, and opened the door, 
 and I followed him through a dark and narrow 
 passage, up a pair of steep steps, wondering where 
 in the world he was leading me, when suddenly he 
 opened a door, and I found myself ushered into a 
 brilliantly lighted room, with a long table in the 
 centre, around which were seated fifteen or twenty 
 young men; they were all dressed in drab jackets 
 and trowsers, and red shirts, in the bosoms of 
 which was the figure 8, embroidered with white 
 tape. At one end of the table, seated in an arm 
 chair, which was elevated above the others, I 
 immediately discovered the little curly headed 
 captain, with steel spectacles, who had pulled 
 me out of bed the night before. The room 
 elegantly furnished, and every thing in it 
 a strong contrast to the rough dresses of the c 
 pany. The chairs were of mahogany, with 
 figure 8 carved in their backs ; the floor was car 
 
 illed 
 was 
 
 :om- 
 i the 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 121 
 
 peted, and the walls were hung round with pictures 
 in gorgeous gilt frames. One of the pictures re 
 presented the apotheosis of a chief engineer, 
 whose name I have forgot. 
 
 The little captain in the chair requested us to be 
 seated, but remarked that it was against the rules 
 of the company to allow any but members to be 
 present at a soiree. I put my hand upon the han 
 dle of the door to retire, but the little captain beg 
 ged that I would remain for his sake, and I hung 
 up my hat among the leather caps, and took a seat 
 at the table by Mr. Worhoss. 
 
 " That is just the way," muttered a sallow look 
 ing member, " we make laws and hang them up 
 in gilt frames, and then we obey them if we 
 please." 
 
 " Of course," said the chairman, " it must be a 
 very bad community where they have not the grace 
 to make good laws, for nothing can be easier than 
 to pass virtuous resolutions ; and any society or 
 company, that neglects to do that, must be in a 
 very bad way. That I take to be an axiom, to 
 say the least of it." Saying which, the little chair 
 man took off his glasses, rubbed them with his 
 pocket handkerchief, and put them on again, and 
 looked as though he was determined to frown down 
 
 all opposition. 
 
 VOL. i. 11 
 
122 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 But the discontented member went on growl 
 ing and grumbling, utterly regardless of the 
 chairman s axiom and his severe frowns. 
 
 " That is the very thing that I find fault with," 
 he said; " we pronounce our own condemnation by 
 making laws which we have not the virtue to ob 
 serve. It is just the way with us as a nation ; our 
 fathers were willing to stake their lives, their for 
 tunes, and their sacred honors, to maintain the as 
 sertion that all men are born free and equal, while 
 at the same time they held one quarter part of the 
 population of their country in bondage." 
 
 " Fine him, fine him," cried a dozen voices, " he 
 is talking politics." 
 
 " I won t be fined," said the grumbling member; 
 " I am only speaking the truth, and that is not po 
 litics, no how you can fix it." 
 
 "You must be fined," said another, "for you 
 are talking religion." 
 
 " I am not talking religion," said the grumbler; 
 " I am only speaking my sentiments. I appeal to 
 the chair." 
 
 " There is no religion in your sentiments, I will 
 swear," said the chairman. " But you shall be 
 fined and turned out too, for you have been talk 
 ing abolition, and that is worse than either politics 
 or religion." 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 123 
 
 " Turn him out, turn him out," they all ex 
 claimed, starting upon their feet. 
 
 " I won t be turned out," said the refractory 
 member, putting himself in a position of defence ; 
 " Let not a soul of you dare to put a finger on 
 me." 
 
 But firemen dare do any thing, and the aboli 
 tionist was seized and hustled down stairs, and into 
 the street, in spite of all his threats and struggles. 
 Order was very soon restored, and the chairman 
 being called on for a song, he sang the following, 
 which he said was his own composition, and we all 
 joined in the chorus : 
 
 When years twice as many as o er me have flown, 
 
 Shall have dropped from their pinions more sorrows and cares, 
 
 And I m left to bear onward the burthen alone, 
 
 Whose weight now a lov d one endearingly shares. 
 Fond memory then, with her pencil of light, 
 Shall depict in bright colors the joys of this night. 
 
 When health shall desert me, when friends shall depart, 
 When wealth shall have open d his pinions and flown; 
 
 When love, even love, shall have fled from my heart, 
 Then friendship shall cling to me still, though alone. 
 And memory then, with her pencil of light, 
 Shall depict in bright colors the joys of this night. 
 
 When death, even death, shall approach like a friend, 
 
 And I yield myself up to his chilling embrace ; 
 With a hope of hereafter, though here all shall end, 
 
124 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 My last effort shall be to help memory trace, 
 The forms of my friends with her pencil of light, 
 As she paints in warm colors the joys of this night. 
 
 All the rest of the company either sang a song or 
 told a story, as they were called upon. And then 
 the little captain was called upon to relate how he 
 got stuck upon the gable end of an old Dutch 
 house, down in Coenties slip, one winter night, at 
 the time of the great fire, by the seat of his trow- 
 sers freezing to the ridge pole ; and how all the 
 engines played upon him two or three hours with 
 out any body discovering his perilous situation, 
 and how it took two or three kettles of hot boiling 
 water to make Jack Frost relieve his hold of him. 
 
 This he did with surprising exactness, as Mr. 
 Worhoss observed, considering he had told it so 
 many times before ; for men, he said, were apt to 
 forget the particulars of a story after having re 
 peated it two or three hundred times. 
 
 The captain appeared gratified by the compli 
 ment which Mr. Worhoss paid to his memory, 
 and shook his head despondingly, and said, fires 
 are not what they used to be, and intimated that 
 the department might go to blazes, for all he 
 cared, if there was not a turn out soon. 
 
 " There has not been a fire worth mentioning 
 since the great fire," said one of the members, 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 125 
 
 who had not opened his lips before, and who 
 now looked up and down the table very saga 
 ciously. 
 
 " That is a fact," exclaimed one or two other 
 members, with as much solemnity as though it 
 was the only fact that had been uttered for the 
 evening. 
 
 " Wasn t that a first rate fire ?" said another. 
 
 " I guess it was," said two more simultane 
 ously. 
 
 "Wasn t it?" said another. 
 
 " Didn t Bill Davis do something that night?" 
 said another. 
 
 "Do something?" said another little member; 
 " you may well say that ; he did more than some 
 thing ; he saved ever so many children. How 
 many was it, captain ?" 
 
 " One only," said the captain, " and a little 
 one too." 
 
 " Of course it was a little one, or it could have 
 saved itself," said another. 
 
 " How did it happen," I asked, for I did not 
 care to remain silent any longer. 
 
 " Is Bill Davis present?" asked the gentleman 
 to whom I addressed myself. 
 
 "No, I see he is not, so I will tell you all about 
 
 11* 
 
126 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 it. You have heard about the great fire in 
 Chatham street of course," he said. 
 
 "No, sir," I replied, "I never heard it spoken 
 of before." 
 
 "You neverdid?" he exclaimed ; "well, wonders 
 will not soon cease, I do believe. I thought eve 
 ry body had heard about that ; why, it was on that 
 memorable occasion that I turned out for the 
 first time with number eight. It was a bitter cold 
 night in the month of January, and when I went 
 up to bed, says I, Mrs. Mix, says I, I should nt 
 think strange if we had a fire to-night. I should nt 
 wonder, says she, if we had, for I have always 
 observed, Mr. Smith, that fires happen in very 
 cold nights. So I went up to bed, and just as I 
 was in the very act of undoing my stock, bang 
 goes the jail bell, so down I went and ran for 
 dear life, and reached the house just as Bill Da 
 vis was taking the machine out all alone by him 
 self." 
 
 " Isn t that Bill Davis a smart fellow?" said 
 one of the members, interrupting the story tel 
 ler. 
 
 "Isn t he?" said another. 
 
 "I guess he is," said a third. 
 
 " That is a fact," said another, striking the ta 
 ble enthusiastically with his fist. 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 127 
 
 The important truth that Bill Davis was a 
 smart fellow being established, the story teller pro 
 ceeded. 
 
 " Hallo, Smith, is that you," said Bill ; " yes," 
 says I; is that you, Davis? That is me, 
 says Bill, and so we never exchanged another 
 word until we reached the fire, and then, says he 
 to me, I tell you what, Smith, it is going to be a 
 rouser. Isn t it ? says I, and then at it we 
 went. Bill took the pipe, and we began to play, 
 when up started a lady ; where she came from, 
 we couldn t tell ; save my child, she screamed, 
 save rny child. Where is he, says Bill ; up 
 there, says the lady, pointing to a window in the 
 third story, out of which the flames were bursting. 
 Bless my heart, says Bill, if he is in there, he is 
 gone already. O don t say he is gone, says she 
 I must save him, he is my only boy; and with that, 
 she steps on the ladder ; I can t stand that, says 
 Bill, turning to me, and letting go the pipe; she 
 is the ladiest woman lever saw, and I will save 
 the child or lose myself; and so he lifted the lady 
 oft the ladder, and up he went, and into the win 
 dow ; we never expected to see Bill again ; but 
 I m blest if he didn t soon make his appearance 
 again, with the child in his arms ; and down he 
 came, and put it into its mother s lap, who was 
 
128 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 sitting on the curb stone wringing her hands, and 
 crying enough to break the heart of a loco foco. 
 Didn t she then kneel right down in the gutter, 
 and begin to invoke blessings on to Bill s head. 
 But, Bill says, don t bother me, good woman, 
 with your nonsense. We got comfortable lodg 
 ings for her that night, and the next day we got 
 up a complimentary benefit-ball for her and the 
 rest of the sufferers, and I wish I may never see 
 another house afire if her part of the proceeds of 
 that ball didn t set her up in an elegant thread and 
 needle store in the Bowery. And they do say 
 Bill means to marry that woman." 
 
 "Ah, that was something like a fire," said the 
 little captain, shaking his head mournfully; " that 
 happened before the hydrants were invented. 
 You don t see such fires now-a-days." 
 
 One of the company, after this, favored us with 
 the following song : 
 
 Whose fate twill be to weep, 
 Whose fate twill be to die, 
 Before our feast again we keep, 
 You neither know, nor I. 
 
 But since this hour hath found us, 
 
 And friendship together hath bound us, 
 
 Pluck memory s flowers, while these moments are ours, 
 
 And throw her gay garland around us. 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 129 
 
 Whose fate twill be to prove 
 Women are not all true, 
 Is known to one above, 
 But not to me nor you. 
 
 But since this hour hath found us, 
 &c. &c. 
 
 Whose fate twill be to find 
 How weak is friendship s tie, 
 We do not know, but may it bind 
 Most firmly you and I. 
 
 But since this hour hath found us, 
 &c. &c. 
 
 Whose fate will t be to know 
 The griefs which spring from wine, 
 To taste the dregs of human wo, 
 May t be nor yours nor mine. 
 But since this hour hath found us, 
 &c. &c. 
 
 The captain declared the song to be so deci 
 dedly sentimental that he proposed a turn out and 
 a race with the machine, to work off its de 
 pressing effects. The proposal was received with 
 general approbation ; but there being nothing on 
 fire just at that moment, they requested Mr. Wor- 
 hoss to go up to the head of the street and give 
 an alarm. I- thought it was a very strange pro 
 position, but he considered it a very good joke, 
 and agreed to do as he was requested. So the 
 soiree broke up, and we all repaired to the en 
 gine house, the members in high glee, and the 
 
130 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 little captain full of importance. The prepara-* 
 tions for rolling out were no sooner completed, 
 than we heard the cry of "fire! fire! fire!" 
 The doors of the engine house were immediately 
 thrown open, and away we started, dragging the 
 engine after us like horses, for I had volunteered 
 my services, expecting to see some fine sport. 
 Two ragged little boys ran on ahead with flaming 
 torches, and another followed in the rear with a 
 blue signal lantern. The little captain made as 
 much noise as he possibly could with his speaking 
 trumpet, shouting out, " pull away, boys, pull 
 away, boys," with as much earnestness as though 
 half the city had been on fire. We had not rat 
 tled over the pavements long, nor far, before the 
 church bells began to ring, and other engines and 
 hose carts began to dash up Broadway, thunder 
 ing over the pavements, and adding to the din 
 and confusion. But I got out of breath very 
 soon, and was compelled to let go the drag rope. 
 In escaping to the sidewalk, I came very near be 
 ing crushed beneath the wheels of a hose cart. 
 The lights from innumerable torches and signal 
 lanterns was flashing and flickering on every 
 side, lighting up the faces of the firemen as they 
 hurried past, and displaying the gorgeous orna 
 ments of the engines which they dragged after them. 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 131 
 
 It was a picturesque and novel sight to me, and 
 as I looked on to the confused scene, I forgot for 
 a time that it was all a farce, and that all the 
 noise, and turmoil, and display, was caused by 
 half a dozen thoughtless young fellows wanting to 
 have a spree. The uproar did not continue a 
 great while, for as soon as it was discovered that 
 there was no fire, the bells ceased ringing, and the 
 firemen dragged their machines slowly back to 
 their respective engine houses. 
 
 As I returned to my boarding house, I could 
 not help reflecting, as I went, on the many false 
 alarms there had been in the world, calling man 
 kind from their quiet homes to march like fiends 
 to battle, neither knowing whither they went, nor 
 for what reason they offered up their own or 
 sacrificed the lives of others ; and accomplishing 
 no better end than to furnish picturesque subjects 
 for painters and poets. 
 
132 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Shows the benefit of studying morals at the theatre, and the 
 difference between falling in love on the stage and off. 
 
 BEING left alone the next morning after the 
 night of adventures related in the last chapter, I 
 had abundant time to ruminate on all I had seen, 
 as well as to form new plans for my future con 
 duct. But the moral of the sterling English 
 comedy which I had seen, took so strong a hold 
 of my imagination, I could think of nothing else. 
 I could not but fancy myself in the situation of 
 the fine, free-hearted, thoughtless young fellow, 
 who ran away with a beautiful young heiress from 
 her boarding school, and then cajoled her cross 
 old guardian into good humor, just before the 
 curtain fell, by a witty repartee. Nothing could 
 be more palpable than the moral of such a con 
 clusion, and nothing more desirable than to imi 
 tate such a proceeding. I found no difficulty in 
 comparing myself with the hair-brained hero, and 
 the ingenious architect of airy castles lent her 
 ready aid to help transform the gentle Georgiana 
 DeLancey into the heroine of the comedy. That 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 133 
 
 she was rich I had no doubt ; that she was at a 
 boarding school I knew, for a silver plate on the 
 door of the house into which I had seen her enter, 
 announced that fact to the world ; that she loved 
 me was not to be cjuestioned ; I had travelled 
 with her in the stage coach ; and that I loved 
 her, every fibre in my body, and every pulsation 
 of my heart, bore witness. Nothing could be 
 plainer. The fates had very obligingly given me 
 possession of the young lady s handkerchief, as 
 if on purpose to aflbrd me an opportunity of seek 
 ing an interview with her ; and to neglect such 
 evident advantages would be to tempt fortune ; 
 something 1 could not well aflbrd to do, seeing 
 that all my hopes rested upon her caprices. As 
 I thought over these things, and revolved in my 
 mind the ease with which an heiress could be ob 
 tained and her guardian mollified, my imagina 
 tion became wrought up into a perfect phrensy of 
 delight. But nothing gave me half so much 
 pleasure as the thought of triumphing over my 
 haughty cousin, and of giving the lie to his pre 
 diction. 
 
 To make all the points of resemblance to my 
 model as exact as possible, I went to a clothing 
 store in Maiden Lane, where I furnished myself 
 
 with a suit of clothes, at a moment s warning, pre- 
 VOL. i. 12 
 
134 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 cisely like his, namely : a claret colored frock 
 coat, a pair of striped pantaloons, and a figured 
 satin vest. It took nearly all the money I had in 
 the world to pay for them; but I bore in 
 mind the valuable casket that I had purchased on 
 speculation, and the ten dollars which Mr. Wor- 
 hoss was to pay me when he got paid for his prize 
 article. But I should not have hesitated in the 
 purchase, even though I had not had these valua 
 ble reliances to fall back upon in case of need ; to 
 have done so would have been quite out of charac 
 ter with my original. 
 
 Having dressed myself in my new clothes, and 
 made a pretty liberal use of a bottle of cologne 
 water which I found in my room, I liked the ap 
 pearance of myself so well, that I resolved to set 
 off without any delay, and call on Miss De Lan- 
 cey, under the pretence of returning her pocket 
 handkerchief, and trust to the kind power who 
 takes venturesome young fellows under her charge, 
 to bring matters to the wished for conclusion. 
 
 There had been a slight shower in the morn 
 ing ; but now the sky was clear and blue, and the 
 sun was shining bright and warm, but the snowy 
 white awnings stretched across the side walks 
 gave a cool and delightful shade. The activity 
 and bustle which I encountered as I made my way 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 135 
 
 through the crowded streets, added to my hilari 
 ous feelings, and as I emerged from a bye street 
 into Broadway, they were still more excited by 
 the lively and elegant scene which that famous 
 promenade presented, and I pulled up my shirt 
 collar and mingled in the throng with as conse 
 quential an air as I could assume, and probably 
 with as light a heart as any in the crowd. When 
 a man s happiness is based upon things in posses 
 sion, it must, of necessity, be limited in extent ; 
 but when it springs from his hopes, there need be 
 no limits to the amount of it. There was, there 
 fore, no reason why I should not be perfectly hap- 
 p} , for I had nothing but my hopes to build 
 upon. 
 
 Although I was sufficiently engrossed with a 
 sense of my own importance, I could not avoid 
 bestowing a glance, as I sauntered along, upon 
 the numerous groups of gayly dressed and beau 
 tiful women who tripped past me, chatting and 
 laughing, and showing their brilliant white teeth. 
 Some of them were leading by the hand cherub- 
 like* children, with golden locks flowing down 
 their graceful shoulders. Others were stepping 
 in or out of elegant carriages at the doors of the 
 fancy stores, while the liveried servants, with gold 
 bands round their hats and white gloves on their 
 
136 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 hands, stood, either holding open the carriage 
 doors, or leaning idly against the awning posts. 
 Neatly dressed young gentlemen, with ebony 
 sticks in their hands, and a tuft of hair on their up 
 per lips, made a part of the crowd, and paced 
 along with measured step, and with an air as sol 
 emn and important as though the sun was shining 
 expressly for their particular pleasure and bene 
 fit. 
 
 What with the attractions of the shop win 
 dows, the beauty of the women, the loveliness of 
 the children, and the odd airs of the men, my at 
 tention got completely diverted from myself, and 
 I forgot the errand on which I was bound, until 
 I was reminded of it by reaching the street which 
 led to Miss Smith s boarding school. My heart 
 fluttered, and the blood rushed into my face, as I 
 found myself so near the end of my journey ; but 
 I got fresh courage, and strengthened my nerves 
 with a glass of wine and a cracker at the Inde 
 pendent Coffee House, and then walked briskly 
 on until I reached Miss Smith s establishment. I 
 felt in my pocket to make sure that the handker 
 chief was there, and then ran boldly up the white 
 marble steps, and gave the beil handle a pull. 
 The door was opened by a stout black girl, and 
 J asked if Miss De Lancey was at home. " Walk 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 137 
 
 into the parlor," said the girl, " and I will call 
 Miss Smith." I did walk into the parlor, where 
 I was left to my reflections for a length of time, 
 which I could have sworn exceeded an hour, had 
 not a French clock on the mantel piece assured 
 me it did not exceed five minutes. The parlor 
 was altogether the handsomest room I had ever 
 seen, and besides a great abundance of furniture, 
 it contained a good many curious works of art, 
 principally composed of shells, such as grottos and 
 temples, vases of flowers, and card racks in the 
 shape of harps set off with blue ribands; there 
 was also the picture of a young lady and a weep 
 ing willow, looking very much like two sis 
 ters, embroidered on white satin, and hung up in 
 a highly ornamented gilt frame ; this last work 
 of art was executed by Miss Isabella Davis, aged 
 eleven years. Having at a glance observed all 
 these things, and a good many more, I began to 
 feel very uneasy, and I had just made up my 
 mind to steal out of the house as quietly as possi 
 ble, when I heard a light step on the stairs. It was 
 light- to the ear only, for each step seemed to 
 strike as palpably upon my heart as though it 
 had been trod upon ; and I am certain if I had 
 died at that moment, the print of a little shoe 
 
 would have been distinctly seen there. I held my 
 12* 
 
138 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 breath with apprehension, but tried to look re 
 markably easy. The door opened, and in walk 
 ed, not the beautiful Georgiana, but a tall lady, 
 dressed in a snuff colored silk gown and a tur 
 ban of fearful dimensions. It was no less a per 
 son than Miss Smith herself. I made a low bow, 
 and being entirely at a loss for a remark, waited 
 for Miss Smith to speak. 
 
 " Which of the young ladies did you wish to 
 see f" asked Miss Smith. 
 
 " I called for the purpose of seeing Miss De Lan- 
 cey," I replied, blushing very red. 
 
 " Have you a letter from her guardian ?" inqui 
 red Miss Smith. 
 
 " Not exactly a letter," I replied. 
 " Only a note, then, I suppose," remarked Miss 
 Smith. 
 
 "I believe not," I replied, feeling in my pock 
 et for the handkerchief. 
 
 "Perhaps," said Miss Smith, "you are not 
 aware, that it is contrary to the rules of my estab 
 lishment to allow any young lady under my 
 charge to see a gentleman without the permission 
 of her parents or guardian." 
 
 " Indeed I was not," I replied, drawing a long 
 breath. 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 139 
 
 " I must then inform you that such is the case," 
 replied Miss Smith, with cold dignity. 
 
 " Ah, it is very unfortunate that I did not know 
 that before," I said, as the recollection of the cost 
 of my new clothes flashed across my mind. 
 
 " Pray, could I have the liberty of addressing 
 a few lines to Miss De Lancey ?" 
 
 " By all means," replied Miss Smith, " provid 
 ed you allow me to read them first." 
 
 I thanked Miss Smith for her kindness, made 
 her another low bow, and wished her a good morn 
 ing. As I turned to go out of the hall, I discover 
 ed there were a score of bright eyes peeping over 
 the bannister at the head of the stairs, and not 
 doubting that the brightest and bluest pair among 
 them belonged to the beautiful Georgiana, I con 
 soled myself with the reflection, that she would re 
 cognise me, and give me credit for trying to see 
 her. I could not prevail upon myself to give up 
 her pocket handkerchief; for now that I had been 
 disappointed in my attempt at an interview with 
 her, it was more precious than ever in my sight, 
 and I resolved henceforth, that I would wear it 
 next to my heart. 
 
 I could no longer compare myself with the lucky 
 scapegrace in the comedy, and nothing could 
 have been more undramatic than my interview 
 
140 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 with Miss Smith. I felt unhappy and dispirited, 
 and I made my way back to my boarding house, 
 through lanes and bye streets, avoiding Broadway, 
 with its gewgaws and crowds. 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 141 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Is full of disappointments, and ends with the commencement of 
 a new career. 
 
 MR. WORHOSS repeated his kindnesses to me so 
 often, in showing me the lions, as he called it, that 
 I was soon left without a sixpence in my pocket ; 
 for it so happened that I was always left to pay 
 all the expenses incurred for drink and oysters, for 
 these were necessaries, it appeared, which could 
 not be dispensed with on any occasion. And as 
 he had not yet received the money for his prize 
 article, I had no other resource but the casket and 
 its contents ; and I determined to avail myself of 
 the offer of Mr. Isaacs, who had promised to buy 
 them of me at just double what I gave for them ; 
 so I took the casket under my arm, and went in 
 pursuit of that gentleman, expecting to find him at 
 the auction store where I made the purchase. But 
 I was disappointed in not finding him there. I 
 asked the auctioneer if he could inform me where 
 Mr. Isaacs was to be seen. 
 
 " Bless your innocent heart, my friend," said 
 the auctioneer, " how should I know any thing 
 about him ?" 
 
142 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 " Why, I thought he was a friend of yours," I 
 replied. 
 
 "A friend of mine," said the auctioneer con 
 temptuously, " why I never seen the gentleman 
 but once in my life, and I probably shall never see 
 him again." 
 
 I was struck aghast at this intelligence, for all 
 my expectations of profit were founded upon Mr. 
 Isaacs promise. I told the auctioneer that as he 
 had not promised to give me double the cost of the 
 casket, although Mr. Isaacs had, I did not think I 
 could, in strict justice, demand it of him, notwith 
 standing he had sworn that it was worth more than 
 three times the money that I gave for it ; therefore, 
 I would only request him to take back the casket, 
 and return me the money that I gave for it, as it 
 was much too costly an article for me to keep. 
 
 " That is a very unmercantile proposition, young 
 man," said the auctioneer, " it is quite out of the 
 common course of business. I couldn t think of 
 doing any such thing." 
 
 " Perhaps it may not be strictly according to 
 mercantile usages," I replied, " but as the advan 
 tage will all be on your side, I should not think 
 you would refuse my offer." 
 
 II You talk exactly like a book, young man," re 
 plied the auctioneer, " but it would never do for 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 143 
 
 me to make such an unmercantile operation ; if I 
 should, there is no knowing what the Board of 
 Trade might do with me ; they would haul me up 
 to Albany right off." 
 
 " Is it possible," I asked, " that the rules of 
 trade are so positive ?" 
 
 " Certainly, my dear sir," replied the auc 
 tioneer ; " the Board of Trade is a very positive 
 body of individuals ; look how that respectable 
 institution used up the Phenix, down there in Wall 
 street, just because it conferred a favor on an indi 
 vidual one morning, just as you want me to do to 
 you. It will never do in the world. But I will 
 tell you what I can do for you, and perhaps it will 
 meet your views. I will take the casket, and sell 
 it for you to-morrow. I expect a very good com 
 pany, as I have advertised some splendid watches." 
 
 Being unwilling to take the casket back again, 
 I thanked the auctioneer, and told him he might 
 sell it the next day, provided he could get what it 
 cost me. 
 
 " You had better not limit it, young man," said 
 the auctioneer, " it would be a pity to lose the sale 
 of it for the sake of a shilling or such a matter." 
 
 "Well, then," I replied, " sell it for what it 
 will bring ; but if Mr. Isaacs should come in, 
 
144 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 please ask him to take it at the price which he of 
 fered." 
 
 " I will with pleasure, sir," said the auctioneer, 
 " but I think it is extremely improbable whether 
 he comes." 
 
 Heft the auctioneer s store, and sauntered about 
 the streets in a very unpleasant state of mind, for 
 the disappointment of not seeing Miss DeLan- 
 cey, and of not finding Mr. Isaacs, added to the 
 mortifying reflection that I had, in so short a 
 space of time, spent the little money that my father 
 had given me, made me very unhappy. I was 
 still without any prospect of a situation, although 
 Mr. Worhoss had promised to procure one for 
 me, and T resolved to keep closely all the money 
 that I might receive from the sale of my casket. 
 
 The next day I called at the auction store, and 
 was told that my casket was sold for five dollars. 
 
 The auctioneer reached me four dollars and a 
 half, saying that his commissions were half a dol 
 lar. 
 
 "Five dollars!" I exclaimed ; " you mean fif 
 ty-five, I presume." 
 
 " No I don t," said the auctioneer, " I mean 
 five dollars ; it was every cent the casket fetched ; 
 I can prove it by my book-keeper." 
 
 I grew sick at the intelligence. " Certainly the 
 silver was worth more than that," I said. 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 145 
 
 " German silver is not very valuable," replied 
 the auctioneer, at the same time winking to a 
 man who was paying a bill. " Is it, mister ?" 
 
 "Not very," replied the man; "German sil 
 ver is something like German philosophy, not 
 worth much when you come to use it." 
 
 " Here is your money, young man," said the 
 auctioneer, reaching me four dollars and a half. 
 
 " I won t have it," I replied, growing angry 
 at the insolence of the auctioneer. "You have 
 cheated me most grossly either in the first or the 
 last sale." 
 
 But the auctioneer, instead of resenting my im 
 putation on his honesty, only laughed and picked 
 his teeth. "Very well, young man," he said, " if 
 you don t choose to take the money, I shall be ve 
 ry glad to keep it these hard times." 
 
 "You had better take it," said the man who 
 had given his opinion about German philosophy. 
 "It will be the only satisfaction you can ever ob 
 tain ; he has the law on his side." 
 
 After a moment s reflection I came to the same 
 conclusion, and I took the money and put it in rny 
 pocket, feeling that I owed my disappointment to 
 my own credulity and avarice. I said nothing 
 farther to the auctioneer, but as I was going out 
 
 VOL. i. 13 
 
144 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 please ask him to take it at the price which he of 
 fered." 
 
 " I will with pleasure, sir," said the auctioneer, 
 " but I think it is extremely improbable whether 
 he comes." 
 
 Heft the auctioneer s store, and sauntered about 
 the streets in a very unpleasant state of mind, for 
 the disappointment of not seeing MissDeLan- 
 cey, and of not finding Mr. Isaacs, added to the 
 mortifying reflection that I had, in so short a 
 space of time, spent the little money that my father 
 had given me, made me very unhappy. I was 
 still without any prospect of a situation, although 
 Mr. Worhoss had promised to procure one for 
 me, and T resolved to keep closely all the money 
 that I might receive from the sale of my casket. 
 
 The next day I called at the auction store, and 
 was told that my casket was sold for five dollars. 
 
 The auctioneer reached rne four dollars and a 
 half, saying that his commissions were half a dol 
 lar. 
 
 "Five dollars!" I exclaimed ; "you mean fif 
 ty-five, I presume." 
 
 " No I don t," said the auctioneer, " I mean 
 five dollars ; it was every cent the casket fetched ; 
 I can prove it by my book-keeper." 
 
 I grew sick at the intelligence. " Certainly the 
 silver was worth more than that," I said. 
 
A TALE OP THE PANIC. 145 
 
 " German silver is not very valuable," replied 
 the auctioneer, at the same time winking to a 
 man who was paying a bill. " Is it, mister ?" 
 
 " Not very," replied the man; " German sil 
 ver is something like German philosophy, not 
 worth much when you come to use it." 
 
 "Here is your money, young man," said the 
 auctioneer, reaching me four dollars and a half. 
 
 " I won t have it," I replied, growing angry 
 at the insolence of the auctioneer. "You have 
 cheated me most grossly either in the first or the 
 last sale." 
 
 But the auctioneer, instead of resenting my im 
 putation on his honesty, only laughed and picked 
 his teeth. " Very well, young man," he said, " if 
 you don t choose to take the money, I shall be ve 
 ry glad to keep it these hard times." 
 
 "You had better lake it," said the man who 
 had given his opinion about German philosophy. 
 "It will be the only satisfaction you can ever ob 
 tain; he has the law on his side." 
 
 After a moment s reflection I came to the same 
 conclusion, and I took the money and put it in my 
 pocket, feeling that I owed my disappointment to 
 my own credulity and avarice. I said nothing 
 farther to the auctioneer, but as I was going out 
 
 VOL. i. 13 
 
146 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 of the store, I happened to look behind a green 
 baize curtain at the end of the counter, and there, 
 to my great astonishment, I saw Mr. Isaacs him 
 self, scouring a watch case. It was well both 
 for him and myself, that I had no deadly weapon 
 in my hand, for I felt that I could kill him on the 
 spot. As it was, I said nothing to him, but I 
 gave him a look which he must remember till 
 his dying day. 
 
 The sale of my casket was a bitter disappoint 
 ment to me, and when I reached my chamber I 
 could not refrain from tears. Mr. Worhoss came 
 in while I was crying, and asked me if I had 
 heard any bad news. I told him the cause of my 
 grief, and requested him to return me the money 
 I had loaned him, as I wanted it to pay my board 
 with. But that scrupulous gentleman said that 
 he could not return it until the committee of lite 
 rary gentlemen had decided about his prize arti 
 cle, as it would not be fulfilling the condition? on 
 which he borrowed it, if he should. But I told 
 him if he would return me the five dollars I 
 would not require ten. He said, however, that 
 his principles were too honorable to allow him to 
 do so, and that he could not think of paying me 
 less than he agreed to. I then reminded Mr. 
 Worhoss of his promise to procure me a situation, 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 147 
 
 thinking, of course, that a gentleman who was so 
 scrupulous in fulfilling all his promises, would 
 like to be reminded of any that he had forgot 
 ten. 
 
 " That is very true," said Mr. Worhoss, " there 
 is a house of my acquaintance that wants a young 
 man from the country, and I will give you their 
 number, and then you can make your own ar 
 rangements with them." 
 
 " What kind of a house is it ?" I inquired. 
 
 " O, a first rate house," replied Mr. Warhoss, 
 " Stripes & Co. ; they do a splendid domestic 
 commission business in Pine street." 
 
 My feelings were so elated with the prospect of 
 employment, that I told Mr. Worhoss I would for 
 give him the debt he owed me, in consideration of 
 his kindness, and begged him to give me the ad 
 dress of Stripes & Co., that I might call on 
 them without delay. He took a newspaper out of 
 his pocket, from which he cut an advertisement, 
 stating that Stripes & Co. were in want of a 
 clerk. I asked him if I should make use of his 
 name, and he said I might if I chose, but he 
 didn t think it would be of any particular benefit 
 to me, as they didn t know him, although he knew 
 them very well. So 1 started immediately for 
 Pine street, hoping to make a favorable impres- 
 
148 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 sion upon Stripes & Co., but I was so agitated by 
 my hopes and fears, that, when I got to their 
 counting room I could scarcely speak, and my 
 agitation was not at all soothed by meeting five or 
 six young men coming out as I went in. I inqui 
 red for Mr. Stripes, and was shown into a little 
 room just big enough to contain Mr. Stripes and 
 the desk at which he sat writing. I held my hat 
 in my hand, and in a trembling voice, asked him 
 if he was in want of a clerk. 
 
 "We have advertised for one," said Mr. 
 Stripes, laying down his pen, and looking me full 
 in the face, " are you an applicant?" 
 
 I replied that I should be glad to obtain the 
 situation, if it would afford me a living. 
 
 " What do you think you could live upon ?" 
 asked Mr. Stripes. 
 
 I replied that I was a stranger in the city, and 
 consequently ignorant of the expenses of a clerk, 
 but that I could, no doubt, live on whatever sala 
 ry he might pay me. 
 
 " I dare say," said Mr. Stripes, " young men 
 can live very cheap when they are so inclined. I 
 used to live on a shilling a day when I first came 
 to the city. Do your parents live in the coun 
 try ?" 
 
 Yes, sir." 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 149 
 
 "Are they wealthy ?" 
 
 " Not very ; indeed, I am afraid they are quite 
 poor." 
 
 " Ah, then they are not in the manufacturing 
 line ?" 
 
 " Not much ; my mother used to make all my 
 clothes." 
 
 " Indeed ; did she make those you have got 
 on!" 
 
 " No, sir, I bought these in Maiden Lane." 
 
 "Any relations living in the city?" 
 
 " None, sir, that I know of." 
 
 " Are your parents pious ?" 
 
 " I dont know, indeed." 
 
 " Then I guess they are not. Are you pious 
 yourself?" 
 
 As I didn t know what answer to make to this 
 question, I only blushed and remained silent, feel 
 ing sensible that I looked very foolish. 
 
 " Would you like to distribute tracts?" con 
 tinued Mr. Stripes. 
 
 " I should be willing to do any thing that was 
 not dishonorable." 
 
 " What did you say your name was ?" 
 
 "Franco." 
 
 "Franco, hey, what is your first name ?" 
 
 " Harry." 
 
 13* 
 
150 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 " Harry Franco, Harry Franco, it seems to 
 me I have heard that name before. Are you not 
 the abolitionist ?" 
 
 " No, sir." 
 
 " Are you not mistaken ? I am pretty certain 
 I saw it in the papers. Are you a colonization- 
 ist ?" 
 
 " I dont know exactly ; I believe not." 
 
 "I don t know what to think about it. I 
 wouldn t have an abolitionist in my employ. Can 
 you write well?" 
 
 " Tolerably ; I can show you a specimen." 
 
 " I suppose you have been a good deal to 
 school ?" 
 
 "No, sir, but very little." 
 
 " Have you any brothers?" 
 
 " No, sir, I am an only son." 
 
 "Are you, indeed! There were thirteen of 
 us ; two are dead, and the rest are all doing a good 
 business. Are you acquainted with domestics ?" 
 
 "What, servants?" 
 
 "No, no; Ticks and Shirtings and bleached 
 goods." 
 
 "Not at all, sir." 
 
 " Hem, I don t think we shall want to engage 
 you now ; we have had applications from let 
 me see how many I will foot up the list : six 
 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 
 
 151 
 
 hundred and eighty-three. But we have enga 
 ged a young man who is to come in the morning. 
 He is to have nothing for his services the first 
 year, and the empty boxes the second." 
 
 I was completely astounded at the termination 
 of Mr. Stripes catechism, for I had made up my 
 mind that he meant to employ me, from the mi 
 nuteness of his inquiries, and I stood looking at 
 him without moving, thinking I had certainly 
 misunderstood him. 
 
 "That will do," said Mr. Stripes, "I have no 
 farther inquiries to make; we have engaged 
 an individual to fill the vacancy in our office." 
 
 " Then why did you put all these impertinent 
 questions to me," I said, my anger getting the 
 better of my discretion. 
 
 " Don t be saucy, sir," exclaimed Mr. Stripes, 
 turning blue, for his face before was as white as his 
 bleached goods, " or I will send you to the police 
 office." 
 
 I came out of the store of Stripes & Co. with 
 my heart in my throat ; the last hope on which I 
 rested was knocked from under my feet, and the 
 terrible prophecy of my cousin seemed about to 
 be fulfilled. His words sounded in my ears, and 
 the forms of my heart-broken mother and sister 
 were the only objects that presented themselves to 
 
152 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 my vision. " Alas ! alas !" I exclaimed, " O that 
 the earth would open and swallow me up." But 
 my wish was unheeded, and I continued to walk 
 on over the hard bosom of the earth, if the paved 
 streets of a city can be so called, until I found 
 myself at the foot of Pine street, in sight of the 
 East River and the shipping. This was a new 
 scene to me, for since the morning on which I 
 landed from the steamboat, I had not seen the wa 
 ter. The life and bustle and novelty of every 
 thing about me soon engrossed my attention, and 
 I forgot my chagrin and disappointments ; and even 
 the sound of my cousin s hateful voice no longer 
 rang in my ears ; it was completely drowned in 
 the cheerful " ho, cheerly !" which proceeded 
 from the ships, where they were discharging and 
 taking on board their cargoes. Every thing around 
 was full of liveliness and joy, and I wondered at 
 the stupidity of Mr. Worhoss in taking me to 
 walk in Broadway, while here was a scene so full 
 of noble sights. The sky was bright and blue, 
 and a thousand penons and signals, and the flags 
 of many nations, floated gracefully upon the breeze. 
 The magnificent proportions of the ships, with 
 their beautiful figure-heads, and rich gilding, and 
 bright waists, and tall taper masts, and outstretch 
 ed spars, filled me with amazement ; and the 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 153 
 
 countless multitude of smaller vessels, their cu 
 rious and varying shapes, and the regular confu 
 sion of their ropes and spars, gave me no less as 
 tonishment. Perhaps those who are in the daily 
 habit of seeing sights like these, may think it ex 
 travagant in me to speak of them in such terms ; 
 but those who have spent their lives in a secluded 
 village will remember with what wondering eyes 
 they first looked upon the crowded wharves of a 
 thronged seaport like New York in its hey day of 
 activity, and they will think my words are cold, 
 and my descriptions tame, as in truth they appear 
 to me. Since that day I have seen the navies of 
 half the world, and the crowds of merchant ships 
 which fill the walled docks of London and Liver 
 pool, with their flags floating heavily in the murky 
 atmosphere of those smoky cities ; and I have 
 visited most of the seaports worth seeing in the 
 old world and in the nfew, but I have never seen 
 any, for brightness and beauty, for liveliness and 
 joy, that can compare with New York. 
 
 As I sauntered along the wharves, I thought of 
 Robinson Crusoe, and Sinbad the Sailor, and 
 Christopher Columbus, and Americus Vespucius, 
 and all of a sudden it struck me that greater things 
 were to be accomplished on the ocean than upon 
 the land, and that it would be a greater triumph 
 
154 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 if I could achieve a fortune in a foreign land than 
 if I were to acquire one by regular drudgery at 
 home. It as suddenly occurred to me, that I had 
 heard my father speak of a relation of his, whom 
 he used to call Tom Gunnell, who came down to 
 New York, a wild youth from the country, and 
 went to sea in one of my father s ships previous 
 to the embargo. 1 thought that by this time he 
 certainly ought to be captain of a ship at least, 
 and I determined if possible to find him, and if it 
 should prove that he had a ship, to ask him to take 
 me to sea with him. I popped into the first gro 
 cery store I came to, and took up the morning 
 paper to look over the marine list, with the hope 
 of finding the name of Captain Gunnell, and al 
 most the first advertisement that I caught sight of 
 was the " Ship Two Marys, Captain T. Gunnell, 
 for Buenos Ayres ;" I could scarcely believe my 
 eyes at first, and I read the advertisement over 
 three times before I was convinced that there was 
 no deception about it. This was a piece of real 
 good luck. I thought the tide of fortune had 
 turned in my favor, and I took heart again ; but 
 remembering the many disappointments I had en 
 countered already, I controlled my feelings, and 
 set off immediately in pursuit of Captain Gun 
 nell s ship, determined to know, before I went back 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 155 
 
 to my boarding-house, whether he was my rela 
 tion or not. With the help of an old sailor, who 
 offered his services in consideration of a glass of 
 gin, I found the Two Marys. She was a smaller 
 ship, and much blacker and dirtier looking than 
 those which had attracted my attention at first ; 
 she had neither gilding on her stern, nor a var 
 nished waist, nor a figure-head ; but the old sailor 
 who had assisted me in finding her, observed that 
 she was a " good wholesome lump of a barkey." 
 Without being very critical in my observations, I 
 climbed up a rope-ladder at her side and jumped 
 upon deck. A stout red-faced man, with whiskers 
 of the same hue, and dressed in a blue coat and a 
 white marseilles vest, was standing under an awn 
 ing on the after part of the deck. I stepped up 
 to him, and asked him if Captain Gunnell was on 
 board. 
 
 " That is my name, sir," he said. 
 
 I then informed the captain who I was, upon 
 which he lifted his hat very politely, and shook 
 me by the hand, and said he was yery happy to 
 seem ; told me I was welcome on board the 
 Two Marys, and inquired very kindly after my 
 father, and asked me how many sisters I had, and 
 whether all the girls were married up in the coun 
 try. And then Captain Gunnell called out in a 
 
156 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 gruff voice, " Steward !" But no steward came, 
 and in a few moments he called again still more 
 gruffly, " you steward !" But still no steward 
 came, and then Captain Gunnell called " Mr. 
 Ruffin !" * Ay, ay, sir," answered a voice in 
 the ship s hold, in a still gruffer tone than Cap 
 tain Gunnell s. " Mr. Ruffin," said the Captain, 
 " send that black rascal to me." " Ay, a} T , sir," 
 answered a voice, which I presume was Mr. Ruf- 
 fin s. Presently, a dirty looking negro, with his 
 head covered with flour, made his appearance from 
 below. 
 
 "You black scoundrel," said Captain Gunnell 
 to the steward, " why did nt you reply to me 
 when I called ?" 
 
 " Cause I don t hear," replied the steward ; "I 
 was stowing away eggs, with my head in flour 
 barrel." 
 
 " Silence, sir," said the captain, " don t ma e 
 any back answers ; but the next time I call, do 
 you answer me whether you hear me or not, or 
 I ll pick your ears with a crowbar, you black 
 rascal." 
 
 " Ay, a} r , sir," said the steward. And he was 
 turning to go away, when Captain Gunnell again 
 called out, " steward !" 
 
 "Sir," replied the steward. 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 157 
 
 " What did I call you for, steward ?" said 
 Captain Gunnell. 
 
 " Captain Gunnell didn t say what he call me 
 for," replied the negro, meekly. 
 
 " Steward," again exclaimed the captain, 
 " bring me two chairs." 
 
 "Ay, ay, sir," said the steward, and disappeared 
 down the cabin stairs, and soon returned, bringing 
 two chairs with him ; one had no back, and the 
 other but three legs. Captain Gunnell invited 
 me to sit down, apologizing for not inviting me 
 into the cabin, as they were stowing away the ship s 
 grub, and it was not in a fit condition to receive 
 company. 
 
 I was impatient to know whether Captain Gun 
 nell would take me to sea w 7 ith him or not, and in 
 a very few words I told him the object of my visit, 
 the which he no sooner heard than he put his hat 
 upon his head, and looked at me from head to 
 foot. I have found it to be almost invariably the 
 case, that when I have asked a favor of a man, his 
 bearing towards me has undergone an immediate 
 and by no means an agreeable change. Captain 
 Gunnell was not an exception to this rule. 
 
 However, I was not disposed to be very par 
 ticular, so I did not pretend to notice that he spoke 
 to me, after he heard the object of my visit, very 
 
 VOL. i. 14 
 
158 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 much in the same manner that he spoke to his 
 steward, as he consented to take me with him, if I 
 chose to go as a green hand. I did not exactly 
 understand the meaning of the term, but I told 
 him I had no objections to going in any capacity 
 that he thought me qualified for. 
 
 " Qualified !" said the captain, " I don t think 
 you are qualified for any thing but eating duff. 
 However, young fellow, you are like a young 
 bear, all your troubles are before you, and if you 
 insist on going, I will take you with me for your 
 father s sake ; he did me a good turn once, and 
 one good turn deserves another." And then he 
 called for Mr. Ruffin. 
 
 Mr. Ruffin answered "ay, ay, sir," from below, 
 and then followed his voice by springing out of the 
 hold on to the deck. He was not by any means a 
 very pleasant man to look at ; he was short, and thin 
 visage d, and bow legged ; he had a most awful 
 squint, and his nose was all bent on one side ; his 
 shirt sleeves were rolled up above his elbows, and 
 displayed his long ape like arms as brown as a 
 piece of old mahogany, and with all their cords 
 and sinews plainly developed ; he was dressed in 
 a pair of canvass trowsers and a calico shirt, 
 neither of which was remarkably clean, and on 
 his head he wore a low crowned drab wool hat. 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 159 
 
 with a piece of red quality for a band ; every time 
 he spoke he turned over an enormous quid of to 
 bacco in his mouth, and squirted out a torrent of 
 juice ; he was the chief mate of the ship. 
 
 "Mr. Ruffin," said Captain Gunnel], address 
 ing the mate, " is all the hands shipped ?" 
 
 " No, sir," replied Mr. Ruflin, " there is one 
 vacancy." 
 
 " Then don t give another order, sir," said the 
 captain, " this youngster wants to ship as a green 
 hand, and I will give him an order myself on the 
 notary." 
 
 " Ay, ay, sir," replied the mate ; and then 
 bringing his eyes to a focus, he surveyed rne from 
 head to foot, and jumped down into the hold 
 again ; he had no sooner disappeared, however, 
 than the captain again called out in his gruff 
 voice, "Mr. Ruffin!" 
 
 " Ay, ay, sir," again answered the mate, and 
 sprang on deck once more. 
 
 "Mr. Ruffin," said the captain, "you under- 
 derstand, sir, that I will give this young man an 
 order myself." 
 
 " Ay, ay, sir," replied the mate, without show 
 ing the slightest impatience at being called up on 
 so trifling an occasion, or indeed on no occasion at 
 all. 
 
160 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 Captain Gunnell then gave me an order on the 
 notary, to ship me as a green hand, at ten dollars 
 per month, and told me if I wanted a month s ad 
 vance, to tell Tom Coin that he would be security 
 for me. After I had left the ship, he called me 
 back, and told me to be on board the next day at 
 twelve o clock. 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 361 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Will giveapeep into a ship s forecastle, and some other places , 
 which the gentle reader may never have had an opportunity 
 of peeping into before, and therefore he is advised not to miss 
 this opportunity of doing so. 
 
 IT may be thought that my prospects were not 
 very bright, and that I had no great cause for re 
 joicing ; but whether I had or not, I left the Two 
 Marys with a heart much lighter than when I went 
 on board of her. My mind was not occupied with 
 Captain Gunnell and his mate, but with the silver 
 mines of La Plata, and my proud cousin, and the all 
 lovely Georgiana De Lancey. 
 
 It is a blessed thing for the poor wretches who 
 are, by some means or other, defrauded of their 
 rightful portion of the good things which surround 
 them, that they can wander at will, and appropriate 
 to their own use the greenest spots that they can 
 find in the broad region of Hope. This was my 
 privilege, and I was by no means heedless of my 
 prerogative. 
 
 I hastened back to my boarding house, packed 
 
 up my clothes, paid Mrs. Riggs for my board, and 
 
 told her I should leave her in the morning. For 
 
 the first time, I wrote to my father, and informed 
 
 14* * 
 
162 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 him of my determination to go to sea, and hinted 
 that I should not come back until I could come 
 with a fortune. I said not a word to Mr. Worhoss 
 about my intentions, for I didn t consider him en 
 titled to any consideration. As soon as it was dark, 
 I strolled up to the establishment of Miss Smith, 
 with the hope of catching a glance of Miss De 
 Lancey, but without success ; there was not a light 
 to be seen, nor a soul stirring about that respecta 
 ble school ; so I gave a parting look to the brick 
 walls, which enclosed the form of the gentle Geor- 
 giana, and turned my back upon them with a sigh, 
 without even daring to hope that I should ever be 
 hold her agsin. 
 
 In the morning I went to the Notary s office, 
 and signed my name to the ship s papers ; and 
 while I was reading the articles of agreement, and 
 the act of Congress which they contained, the no 
 tary s clerk snatched them away from me, and 
 asked me if I wanted to eat them. I replied, that 
 I didn t like to sign my name to an agreement 
 without reading it; upon which he cursed both his 
 eyes most profanely, and wished he might be 
 knocked into the shape of a cocked hat, if such a 
 thing was ever heard of, as a sailor reading a 
 ship s articles. 
 
 A blufflooking sailor who was standing by, said 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 163 
 
 he had got an old " articles" in his chest, and as 
 he was going in the Two Marys himself, he would 
 let me read them in my watch below, when we got 
 to sea. The notary asked me if I had got a pro 
 tection, and on hearing that I had not, he wanted 
 to know who was going to swear that I was an 
 American, as it was necessary for some body to do 
 so before I could get one. I expressed my fears 
 that I should not be able to get a protection, as I 
 knew of nobody who could swear to the fact of my 
 being a native born. As I said this, a greasy look 
 ing man, in a bob tail green coat, said he would 
 sell me a protection that would exactly answer the 
 description of my person, if I had no objections to 
 changing my name to Smith. 
 
 " No, sir, I thank you," I replied, " I don t like 
 the name of Smith." 
 
 " You are a real fool," exclaimed the Notary, 
 " Smith is as good a purser s name as a man need 
 have." 
 
 "I think so too," said the bob-tail-coated gen 
 tleman, " it s a good name enough for a green 
 hand any how." 
 
 " But why don t you swear for him, Pete ?" 
 asked the notary. 
 
 " So I scall," said the obliging Pete, " if he 
 scall give me two skillings ?" 
 
164 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 " I would do so with pleasure," I replied, " but 
 will it not be perjury ?" 
 
 "Don t make ajosey of yourself," said the no 
 tary s clerk, " if the man is willing to swear for 
 you, what do you care about his perjuring him 
 self?" 
 
 " Well," I replied, " I am willing." 
 
 So the gentleman swore that to the best of his 
 belief, &c. that I was born, &c. ; and some other 
 form having been observed, a protection was pro 
 cured for me from the custom house, and I receiv 
 ed a month s pay in advance, and was told to be 
 on board the ship with my duds by two o clock. 
 The sailor who offered to lend me the " articles," 
 asked me to take a horn with him, and as I was 
 anxious to offend no one, I followed him into a 
 grocery close by ; he walked up to the counter, and 
 filled a tumbler half full of whiskey, nodded to me, 
 and said, " here s luck, shipmate," and drank it off, 
 without adding a drop of water to it. But for my 
 part, I took a very little gin, and a good deal of 
 water, and nodded to Jack, and repeated his words, 
 but I could not for the life of me swallow a drop of 
 the gin and water, the scent of it was so nauseous. 
 Jack threw down a sixpence, but the bar-keeper re 
 turned him a cent, saying he charged three cents 
 a glass at retail, but as Jack took his whiskey by 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 1G5 
 
 the wholesale, he should only charge him two. 
 There were three or four dirty looking fellows, and 
 a couple of negroes, standing round the bar, and 
 they all laughed very loud at the bar-keeper s wit, 
 as though they had never heard the joke before. 
 Jack himself laughed, and the bar-keeper giggled, 
 and swore it was " too good j" the negroes said it 
 was " too sweet ;" and they all swore with one 
 voice, that Jack was bound to treat the company ; 
 so he told them to " take hold ;" one of the negroes 
 beckoned in two more darkies, who were luxuriat 
 ing in the hot sun on a lazy bench at the door. 
 While these amiable gentlemen were filling their 
 glasses, I contrived to make my escape unper- 
 ceived. 
 
 As I had no farewells to take, all my little ar 
 rangements for the voyage were soon completed, 
 and at the appointed hour, I was on board the 
 Two Marys, with my chest, which contained a 
 couple of calico shirts, a pair of duck trowsers, a 
 monkey jacket, a black silk handkerchief, Blunt s 
 Navigator, and a jack knife. As soon as I got on 
 board, Mr. Ruffin, the mate, told me I must take 
 my long-tail coat off; I told him I would as soon 
 as I had put my chest away, and found a conve 
 nient place to undress myself in. 
 
 I had got my chest half way down the cabin. 
 
HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 stairs, when Mr. Ruffin called out in his gruff 
 
 voice. 
 
 Hollo . youngster, if you want to get into the 
 
 ter part of the ship, you musn t crawl in at the 
 
 cabm windows, but come aft as I did, by degrees, 
 
 "rough the hawse holes, and through every ring- 
 
 bolt in the ship s deck." 
 
 I have generally found it a safe way, when any 
 body addressed any conversation to me which I 
 d not understand, to make no reply, and as I 
 d,dn t comprehend a word of what Mr. Ruffin said 
 i made no answer, but continued to take my chest 
 down into the cabin. 
 
 "Do you hear me, youngster?" growled Mr. 
 Kuffin. 
 
 "Yes, sir," I replied, looking up, I hear you, 
 but I don t understand you." 
 
 " Don t understand me . " exclaimed Mr. Ruffin 
 with an oath, "can t you understand English ? 
 1 ake your traps forward into the forecastle. Do 
 you understand that ?" 
 
 I did not exactly understand it, but the steward 
 
 ame to my assistance, and showed me where the 
 
 forecastle was, and helped me to put my chest into 
 
 I could not help thinking that so much vio- 
 
 e was entirely uncalled for on the part of Mr 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 167 
 
 Ruffin, as I would have obeyed the most gentle sig 
 nification of his will with the greatest alacrity. 
 
 The forecastle was a dark and dirty looking 
 hole, without a particle of paint, and destitute of 
 every kind of convenience, for either dressing or 
 eating. If I had seen it before I signed the ship s 
 articles, I doubtwhether I should have had courage 
 to have ventured on going to sea. It was not, 
 however, in my nature, to repine long at anything, 
 so I hauled off my coat, and went upon deck, and 
 bustled about and made myself as busy as possible, 
 trusting that I should do right, but I doubt whe 
 ther I was of much service. Tlie decks were full 
 of ropes and sailor s chests, and all manner of ar 
 ticles, not one of which could I call by its right 
 name. 
 
 The crew being all on board, the pilot took 
 charge of the ship, the lines were cast loose, and 
 we drifted off into the river, Captain Gunnell stand 
 ing on the end of the wharf, hallooing and cursing 
 until we were out of the sound of his voice. When 
 the ship reached the middle of the river, the anchor 
 was let go, the riggers were sent ashore, and the 
 cook, whom Mr. Ruffin called the " Doctor," was 
 ordered to give the crew their suppers. It was an 
 order I was very glad to hear given, for I was very 
 hungry ; but I looked in vain for the preparations 
 
168 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 for eating, which I expected to see. My heart sank 
 within me, when on going into the forecastle, I 
 discovered that our supper consisted of a tub of 
 salt beef, some hard biscuits, and an iron kettle 
 filled with black tea, sweetened with molasses. 
 
 The sailors were the roughest looking set 
 of men I had ever seen in my life ; they were 
 seated in a half circle on their chests, with each a 
 tin pot of smoking hot tea, and a long sheath 
 knife in his hand ; they grumbled and damned, 
 and found fault with every thing before them, for 
 which I did not think they were much to blame. 
 They called the tea " water bewitched," and one 
 of them swore it was the regular "Yawpan," which 
 he had seen sold for sixpence the bushel in Macao. 
 Another said the beef was part of an old horse, and 
 swore he found a horse s hoof, with the shoe on it, 
 in the cook s coppers. As for the bread, they said 
 they should be obliged to carry a ten penny nail 
 in their pockets, whenever they went to their 
 meals, to nail the biscuit down to the deck, to keep 
 the worms from running away with it. 
 
 " I suppose, Bob," said one, " we shall have 
 small stores all the voyage ?" 
 
 " You may swear to that," replied another, 
 " Philadelfy small stores, a tar pot and a scraper." 
 
 At the first sight of the beef, I thought I could 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 169 
 
 not prevail upon my stomach to become a recepta 
 cle for a mouthful of it; but, by degrees, my hun 
 ger got the better of my scruples, and I borrowed 
 a knife from one of the sailors, and commenced 
 cutting myself a slice ; forks there were none, but 
 I found that good carving was an accomplishment, 
 indispensable even in a ship s forecastle, for as my 
 knife diverged a little from a strait line, to include 
 a morsel of fat in the vicinity, one of my shipmates 
 growled out in no very pleasant tones, " cut square, 
 matey;" "none of your Philadelfy slices," ex 
 claimed another, and without further notice, I re 
 ceived a rap across the knuckles, from the knife 
 handle of the last growler. 
 
 " Who did that?" I exclaimed, starting upon 
 my feet. 
 
 " Who did it? you Johnny raw, I did it," 
 replied a sailor ; at the sight of whom all my valor 
 melted away. A stouter person than myself might 
 have pocketed an insult from him, without suffer 
 ing an imputation of cowardice; his huge fists and 
 broad shoulders inspired me with a feeling of re 
 spect rather than fear. But I felt that I had been 
 insulted, and a feeling of shame made me shrink 
 from the notice of my companions, and I crept into 
 one of the berths, from whence I could look down 
 
 VOL. i. 15 
 
170 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 and take a leisurely survey of all that was going on. 
 As I gazed upon the rough faces, and listened to 
 the profane conversation of the sailors, I felt a mis 
 giving that there were evil days in store for me, 
 and I could not but wish that I had never left my 
 quiet home, to seek my fortune in the turbulent 
 world ; but thoughts of home were always accom 
 panied with recollections of the cause of my leav 
 ing it ; and I dismissed all fears, and thought only 
 of the sneering prophecy of my cousin. 
 
 A smoky lamp, suspended from the ceiling of 
 the forecastle, gave but just light enough to show 
 the hard faces of the men who sat immediately 
 under it ; and to reveal but dimly the prominent 
 features of those who were farther removed, leav 
 ing a part of their persons completely wrapped in 
 obscurity ; so that they appeared like half formed 
 beings, emerging out of chaos. They were all either 
 drunk, or in that surly and brutish state, which 
 succeeds to a drunken revel. When their supper 
 was over, they kicked the tub of beef into a corner, 
 and threw their tin pots on one side, and all signs 
 of a meal were gone : clearing away the supper 
 things was a short ceremony. Notwithstanding 
 their apparent surliness and ill humor, one of them 
 volunteered a song, and in a voice like a north- 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 171 
 
 wester, was proceeding with great solemnity to 
 sing 
 
 " It was a ship and a ship of fame, 
 
 Launched off the stocks, and bound for the Main," 
 
 when he was suddenly interrupted by a voice on 
 deck, exclaiming, " hallo there below ! stand from 
 under!" And down jumped a young sailor, with 
 a little blue keg under his arm. "Who knows 
 me ?" exclaimed the new comer ; " here I am, Je 
 remiah Bowhorn !" 
 
 Whether it was because of the light hearted and 
 merry tones of the young sailor s voice, or his neat 
 and good-looking person, or the sight of the little 
 blue keg which he brought with him, I cannot sa} , 
 but his presence seemed to give universal satisfac 
 tion ; and the sailors all gave him a hearty wel 
 come, although none of them recognized him for 
 an old acquaintance, which gave Mr. Bowhorn, 
 some surprise, for he said he thought he knew 
 every body. After he had satisfied sundry inqui 
 ries about the names of his landlord, his sweet 
 hearts, and his last ship, he sat down and called for 
 a tort, upon which, one of the sailors took a little 
 horn drinking cup out of the till of his chest, and 
 Jeremiah filled it with gin, out of his little cask, 
 which he called his " bull," and passed it in turn 
 to each of the sailors. As he filled the last tort, 
 
172 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 he caught sight of my head, as I stretched it 
 out over the side of the berth, to see what was go 
 ing on, and he swore he would have me out of my 
 hiding place in a trice, if I didn t jump out and 
 take a horn. " Come, come, shipmate," he said, 
 " it is too early to go to prayers yet, so haul your 
 self out, and take a tort of the real stuff." So I 
 jumped out of my birth, for my heart yearned to 
 wards the new comer the moment I heard his 
 voice ; and in a valiant attempt to swallow a horn 
 of new whiskey, I came near being strangled. My 
 imminent danger, instead of exciting sympathy, 
 caused the most boisterous merriment among my 
 shipmates ; and to show me what a green horn I 
 was, each of them drank another tort of the newly 
 distilled poison without winking. A song appears 
 to be always the natural effect of drinking. The 
 singer, who had been interrupted by the sudden 
 dropping in of Jeremiah Bowhorn, again commen 
 ced his solemn ditty, which was patiently listened 
 to by all hands until the close. But I will only tran 
 scribe this one verse, for the benefit of my readers : 
 
 " It, \vrs a ship and a ship of frme, 
 Launched off the stocks, and bound for the Main, 
 "With a hundred and fifty bold young men, 
 They were picked and chosen every one." 
 
 It may, however, be considered ungenerous to 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 173 
 
 give but one verse, and as the next one seems to 
 be necessary to complete the sense of the first, I 
 will transcribe that too : 
 
 " Benjamin Jones was her captain s name, 
 He was a fine and a brisk young man, 
 And as brave a sailor as ever went to sea, 
 And we were bound for the coast of Africa." 
 
 After this song, there was more whiskey drank, 
 and another song was sung, " T was down in Cu 
 pid s garden," and then another and another. All 
 the songs had choruses, in which I joined with all 
 my might, and a terrible uproar we made. The 
 fish in the river, as they swam past our ship s 
 bows, must have been frightened at the noise. 
 For my own part, I began . to think myself for 
 tunate in falling into the society of such a fine set 
 of fellows, and my unfavorable impressions were 
 fast wearing away. Even the man who had rap 
 ped me over the knuckles with his knife handle, 
 no longer looked as forbidding as at first sight he 
 appeared ; his black shaggy eyebrows, it is true, 
 cast a dark shadow over his face, but the eyes 
 which looked out from beneath them were as blue 
 and as mild as an infant s ; and then his broad, 
 manly chest, and bull like neck, to which his curly 
 black hair clung like the tendrils of a vine to the 
 15* 
 
174 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 trunk of an oak, gave an assurance of strength 
 which it was comfortable to know I could depend 
 upon in time of need. 
 
 The tort was passed around so freely, that at 
 last my pleasant companions began to lose their 
 relish for music, and commenced making sounds 
 which were any thing but indicative of harmoni 
 ous feelings. In the place of singing, they all 
 evinced a decided inclination for fighting, and 
 more than one boasted of his individual prowess. 
 Fearing that I might get into a broil, and distrust 
 ing my ability to defend myself with credit, I 
 again retreated to my berth, that I might be out 
 of harm s way; but it was no easy matter to get 
 into it, for it appeared to be flying round and 
 round, and I was obliged to stand still some time 
 before it got steady. 
 
 The stout sailor with the shaggy eye brows, 
 whose name I found was Jack Snaggs, had re 
 mained remarkably quiet for some time, sitting 
 with his lips tightly compressed together, appa 
 rently waiting for one of his shipmates to begin 
 a quarrel with him. But stout men are general 
 ly the last ones that quarrelsome individuals 
 choose to interfere with, and Jack Snaggs would 
 probably have had to forego the pleasure of a 
 fight, if he had not provoked one himself. He 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 175 
 
 sat for some minutes looking steadily at Jerry 
 Bowhorn, who, nothing daunted by his frowns, 
 shot fiery glances at him from his keen hazel 
 eyes. 
 
 " I say, shipmate," at last said Jack Snaggs to 
 Jeremiah Bowhorn, " what are you looking at 
 me for ?" 
 
 " Because you were looking at me," replied 
 Jerry. 
 
 " Well, how do you like the looks o me ?" 
 said Jack. 
 
 " I don t like the looks of you at all," replied 
 Jerry, with an oath. 
 
 " How are you going to help yourself, ship 
 mate ?" growled Jack. 
 
 To this interrogatory, Jerry made no other re 
 ply than to untie his black silk neckhandker- 
 chief and throw it upon the floor. 
 
 " I say, shipmate," said Jack, " warn t you 
 once in Jib-boom alley f" 
 
 " Idisrernember," replied Jerry, " whether I was 
 or not ; spose I was ?" 
 
 "I know blasted well you was," replied Jack, 
 getting more excited, " and you are the highbin 
 der which took away my young woman, the boy 
 Jack, one night at old mother Dooqueen s, when 
 I was swipy." 
 
176 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 " Did I ?" said Jerry, tauntingly. 
 
 " Yes, you are the very highbinder, which did 
 that thing," replied Jack. 
 
 " Do you call me a highbinder, you drunken 
 swab," exclaimed Jerry, starting upon his feet, 
 and at the same time pulling off his shirt, and 
 flourishing his fists in the air. 
 
 Jack Snaggs no sooner witnessed this feat, 
 than he imitated it without the least possible de 
 lay, -and made a pass at Jerry with one of his 
 huge fists. But the other sailors interfered, and 
 said if there was going to be a fight, it should be 
 done in ship-shape fashion or not at all. They 
 then pulled a chest into the middle of the floor, 
 and having placed the two combatants astride of 
 it, with their faces to each other, at a proper dis 
 tance apart, they fixed them in their places 
 by driving a couple of nails through the seats of 
 their trowsers to prevent them from rising and 
 closing in. 
 
 Jerry squared his arms, and looked with an un 
 daunted eye upon his antagonist ; but I trembled 
 with fright when I contrasted his slight and deli 
 cate form with that of Jack Snaggs, who, now 
 that he had divested himself of his shirt, display- 
 a broad chest covered with crispy hair, and an 
 arm with prodigious muscular developments ; my 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 177 
 
 heart was in my month, and I felt that the only 
 hope for Jerry was, that liquor might have ren 
 dered that arm powerless. 
 
 They made several ineffectual passes at each 
 other, and at last Jerry succeeded in giving his 
 antagonist a blow in his left eye, which immedi 
 ately began to swell and turn black. Jack, how 
 ever, didn t appear to notice it, but sparred away, 
 and presently Jerry got a blow in his chest which 
 staggered him for a moment, and then, . as if he 
 had received new vigor from the effects of it, he 
 plied his fists so well, and parried his antagonist s 
 blows with such dexterity, that he soon planted 
 another blow on his right eye, which evidenly dis 
 composed him, so much so, that it was plain to 
 perceive he threw about his fists at random, and 
 although he had a decided advantage in the 
 length of his arms, yet Jerry, from the quickness 
 of his motions, soon succeeded in gaining com 
 plete mastery over him, when the sailors inter 
 fered, and declared Jerry the victor. Poor Jack 
 was dreadfully disfigured ; the blood was stream 
 ing from his mouth and nostrils, and his eyes 
 were frightfully swollen; he acknowledged that 
 Jerry had flogged him fairly, and threw his arms 
 around his neck, and wept like a child. I could 
 not refrain from weeping myself to see him, ap 
 parently without a particle of animosity, take the 
 
178 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 young sailor in his arms, who had so beaten and 
 bruised him, and hug him to his shaggy breast, 
 while tears, mingled with blood, ran down his 
 rough face. 
 
 One of the sailors took a bottle of brandy out 
 of his chest, and washed the faces and hands of 
 both the combatants, and it was discovered that 
 they were neither of them as badly hurt as they 
 appeared to be. As soon as Jack could speak, 
 he declared it was the first time he had been lick 
 ed since his name was Snaggs. 
 
 " Your name aint Snaggs ?" said Jerry. 
 
 " But it is though," replied Jack. 
 
 "What, Jack Snaggs?" exclaimed Jerry. 
 
 " Ay, Jack Snaggs," replied the other. 
 
 " Wasn t you in the Vandilly ?" inquired Jer- 
 
 r J- 
 
 "I was quarter-gunner of that barkey," re 
 plied Jack. 
 
 " Well, I wish I may be turned ashore on a 
 grating, with a pig for a coxswain, if I wouldn t 
 sooner have struck my old mother than you. 
 Don t you remember your old chummy, Bill 
 Bovvlin, the side boy, who was .put into the mizen 
 top ?" 
 
 " Remember you, yes," said Jack, trying to 
 pull open his swollen eye lids, " but you said your 
 name was Bowhorn." 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 179 
 
 " Tother was only a purser s name," said Jer 
 ry, " but my real name is Jeremiah Bo whom." 
 
 This discovery, of course, caused a good deal 
 of talk and wonder, and more drinking", and more 
 singing had to follow. While we were in the mid 
 dle of a roaring chorus, Mr. Ruffin, the mate, 
 came to the forecastle scuttle, and called out, 
 " hallo, there below !" 
 
 "Hull high, and you wont break your shins," 
 answered Jerry. 
 
 " Do you know who you are talking to ?" said 
 Mr. Ruffin, gruilly. 
 
 " Yes, I know who you are," replied Jerry, 
 4C you were picked up along shore, the other day, 
 with an eye out." 
 
 " What is that you say ?" called out Mr. Ruf 
 fin in great anger. 
 
 " Our Sal says she seed you in the museum for 
 a show," replied another of the sailors, mimicking 
 the voice of an old woman. 
 
 " Come up on deck, and keep watch, you ras 
 cal," said Mr. Ruffin. 
 
 " Hadn t you better keep it yourself, as you 
 are up there," said Jerry. 
 
 "Come up at once," said Mr. Ruffin, " or I ll 
 be down among you in less time than a cat can 
 lick her ear." 
 
180 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 " Come along," growled Jack Snaggs, " and 
 I ll straiten that ere crooked eye of yourn." 
 
 Nothing will rouse a man s temper like an al 
 lusion to his personal blemishes ; and he will fight 
 in defence of his deformities when his character 
 might be assailed with impunity. The reply of 
 Jack Snaggs brought Mr. Ruffin into the forecas 
 tle at a bound, as soon as the words were uttered. 
 The stairs which led into the forecastle had been 
 removed to make more room, and it showed no 
 small degree of courage in Mr. Ruffin, to intrude 
 himself among us, as there was no way for him to 
 retreat. He had no sooner landed on the floor, 
 than somebody put out the light, and with one 
 accord they all fell afoul of him and beat him until 
 he cried murder. Feeling certain that I should 
 have abundant cause to wish for an opportunity to 
 do so, before the voyage should be ended, I could 
 not restrain an inclination to give him two or three 
 smart kicks myself. At last he begged for mercy, 
 and the sailors took him up and helped him on 
 deck ; and glad enough, no doubt, he was to escape 
 with the breath in his body. 
 
 They struck a light again as soon as they had 
 disposed of Mr. Ruffin, and to their utter dismay, 
 discovered that in the scuffle the keg of whiskey 
 had been overturned, and all the liquor spilled. 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 181 
 
 It was immediately determined that Jack Snaggs 
 should go on deck and ask permission of the 
 mate to go ashore and get a fresh supply of 
 grog, and if he should refuse, as it was presu 
 med he would, all hands were to rush up and 
 seize the mate, tie him to the fife-rail, and then 
 take the boat and go ashore. 
 
 It will be seen in the next chapter with what 
 success this plan was carried into execution. 
 
 VOL. i. 16 
 
182 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 According to promise, relates how Mr. Ruffin was tied to the 
 fife rail, and how the sailors went ashore in the jolly boat, 
 and how they returned again. 
 
 MR. PATERSON, the second mate, having been 
 married only the night before, had obtained per 
 mission from the captain to sleep ashore with his 
 wife ; the cook was drunk in his berth ; so there 
 was nobody for the mate to call to his assistance 
 but the steward ; it was not, therefore, a very 
 valiant feat which my shipmates had undertaken 
 to perform. 
 
 Jack Snaggs went on deck, and found Mr. Ruf 
 fin walking fore and aft, with his arms folded, and 
 his mind, no doubt, busily employed in devising 
 plans for "working up" the sailors when he should 
 get them off soundings, to pay them for the drub 
 bing they had given him. 
 
 " What the h do you want ?" he growled 
 out, as Jack approached him. 
 
 " If you please, sir," said Jack, in a supplica 
 ting voice, " I left all my white shirts ashore at 
 the washerwoman s, and I want to borrow the loan 
 of the jolly-boat to go after them." 
 
 " Go below, you mutinous scoundrel," replied 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 183 
 
 the mate, "or I ll blow your brains out." At the 
 same time he called to the steward to bring him 
 his pistols, 
 
 But Mr. Snaggs was not a man to stand still 
 and have his brains blown out ; so he caught Mr. 
 Ruffin in his arms, and held him fast, until the men, 
 who were waiting to hear a scuffle, rushed on 
 deck, and according to previous arrangement, 
 bound him hand and foot, and then lashed him to 
 the fife rail. The steward, in the mean time, had 
 come on deck with the pistols, and Mr. Ruffin or 
 dered him to shoot Jack Snaggs, but he declined 
 doing any such thing, saying he didn t ship for it. 
 Jerry had sense enough to reflect that pistols were 
 dangerous instruments, so he took them out of 
 the negro s hands, and threw them overboard. 
 They then lowered away the jolly boat, and find 
 ing themselves masters of the ship, they came to the 
 conclusion that they would take their chests 
 ashore with them, for fear they might wish to re 
 main after they got there. One of the sailors 
 said they could go before the Mayor and swear 
 they were afraid of their lives, and that would 
 clear them from all harm. They accordingly put 
 all their baggage into the boat, and insisted that 
 I should go with them ; but I was afraid of the 
 consequences, and refused to go. They made me 
 
184 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 promise that I would not release the mate, and 
 then they jumped into the boat, gave three cheers, 
 and pushed off. As soon as they were gone, I 
 jumped down into the forecastle, crept into a berth, 
 and snored away with all my might, pretending to 
 be fast asleep. 
 
 Mr. Ruffin was no sooner set at liberty by the 
 steward, than he came forward, swearing and curs 
 ing most horribly ; he jumped down into the fore 
 castle, and going to the berth where the black 
 cook was fast asleep, began to flog him with a 
 piece of tarred rope ; but finding he could not 
 wake up the negro, he came to the berth where I 
 lay, probably attracted by the noise I made 
 through my nose, in trying to appear as though I 
 was sound asleep, and the first thing I perceived 
 was a stinging cut across my shoulder from a 
 rope s end. I started up to avoid a repetition. 
 " Haul yourself out of that, you green horn," 
 exclaimed Mr. Ruffin, " and come upon deck and 
 keep watch." So without any opposition, I fol 
 lowed Mr. Ruffin on deck ; he ordered me to keep 
 watch for the remainder of the night, and to 
 rouse him at seven bells in the morning ; he 
 then went below, and after knocking the steward 
 down, and kicking him for falling, he went to 
 bed. 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC, 
 
 185 
 
 I paced the deck until I grew weary and sleepy, 
 and then I wrapped myself up in a monkey jack 
 et and lay down, and was soon lost in sleep. 
 Dreams are not often interesting at second hand, 
 so I shall not intrude upon my kind reader those 
 with which I was visited on this occasion. 
 
 I felt a sudden twinge at rny ear, which brought 
 me upon my feet, and opening my eyes, the first 
 object I saw was the ugly face of Mr. Ruffin. 
 " This is a pretty way to keep watch," said the 
 mate ; " the sun has been up these two hours." 
 
 " I dare say," I replied, rubbing my eyes. 
 
 I felt stiffand lame, and it was some time before I 
 coirld move myself with my accustomed activit}^. 
 Mr. Ruflin made a signal of distress, by hoisting the 
 ensign union down, and very soon Captain Gunnel 
 came oil with a boat full of men. The mate re 
 lated to him the particulars of the last night s re 
 bellion, with a few gratuitous additions respecting 
 his own valorous achievements ; at which Captain 
 Gunnel was so enraged, that he called the steward 
 to him, and then knocked him down the cabin 
 stairs, for having refused to shoot Jack Snaggs ; 
 he then struck the cook over the head with an iron 
 soup ladle, and shook his finger at me in a threat 
 ening manner. After having promised to do a good 
 many horrible things, he got into the boat and 
 16* 
 
186 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 started for the shore, and in less than an hour, he 
 returned with the ship s jolly boat, and all the de 
 serters ; but they were as drunk as lords, and Mr, 
 Ruffin, the cook, and myself, were forced to hoist 
 them on board. Another boat came off soon after, 
 with half a dozen riggers, and the pilot; the wind 
 springing up fair, the ship was got underway, and 
 we were soon outside of the Hook, and before sun 
 set, the Highlands of Neversink looked like a little 
 blue speck in the horizon. 
 
 The first three days I was deadly sick, and I am 
 entirely ignorant of every thing that took place 
 during that time. The fourth day I began to re 
 cover my appetite, and as it returned I devoured the 
 coarse food voraciously, which my stomach had 
 refused to receive before. I gradually gained 
 strength, and ran up and down the rigging without 
 fear, and felt as happy and as careless as the por 
 poises, which leaped about our ship s bows. AH 
 the sailors, with the exception of Jack Snaggs, had 
 recovered from the effects of their dissipation, and 
 they jumped at the call of Mr. Ruffin, and appear 
 ed to obey his orders with as hearty a will as 
 though nothing had ever happened between them. 
 Captain Gunnell had lain aside his white waistcoat 
 and ruffle shirt, and made his appearance on the 
 quarter deck, in a dress not much better than a 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 187 
 
 sailors. I have no doubt he felt himself much more 
 at his ease, than he did when dressed up in his 
 shore suit. 
 
 The weather was bright and warm, and every 
 thing appeared joyous and pleasant ; the ship 
 bounded and dashed through the water, leaving a 
 foaming white track behind her, and throwing the 
 spray from her bows like drifts of snow ; the very 
 waves appeared to leap up with pleasure, and the 
 glorious sun seemed to look down upon us with 
 intelligent kindness, for there was not another ob 
 ject that we could see upon the waters, to be glad 
 dened by his beams ; and at night the stars twink 
 led merrily and brightly, as though they kept watch 
 over our, destinies ; the winds and the waves made 
 music expressly for our ears, at least I could not 
 but think so, for there were none to participate 
 with us in these delights. I was very happy, and 
 had it not been for thoughts of home, and dreams of 
 Georgiana De Lancey, I could have remained for 
 ever at sea ; at least I felt so then. Every day I 
 learned the name of some new rope, and added to 
 my nautical accomplishments, by practising, in my 
 watch below, the art of making running bowlines 
 and turk s heads. 
 
 I have said that all hands had recovered from 
 the effects of their drinking, but Jack Snaggs; he, 
 
188 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 unfortunately, bad contrived to smuggle on board 
 in his chest a jug of rum, of which he drank so 
 constantly, that the delirium tremens, or, as the 
 sailors called it, the horrors, was the consequence. 
 It was a melancholy sight to see a stout vigorous 
 man, like Jack, stand with terrified looks, and cry 
 out that the evil one was in pursuit of him ; when 
 ever he laid down in his birth, he would exclaim, 
 " there he is, there he is save me, save me," 
 and then the sweat would start upon his forehead, 
 and his teeth would chatter like a man s in an ague 
 fit. 
 
 On the fifth day after we left port, towards sun 
 set, a heavy black cloud was seen in the horizon 
 ahead, and, as it grew dark, a constant succession 
 of flashes of vivid lightning appeared to dart from 
 it. The sailors said we were getting into the Gulph 
 Stream. The cloud began to rise as we approached 
 it, and the air grew warm and oppressive. We 
 were soon in thick darkness, which was relieved, 
 however, by continual flashes of lightning ; the 
 thunder pealed and rattled over our heads, and our 
 ship trembled like a leaf; soon the rain came 
 down in torrents, and sudden gusts of wind assail 
 ed us on either quarter. Fortunately, we had 
 shortened sail, and made every preparation for a 
 storm before it grew dark. The courses were 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 189 
 
 hauled up, the topsails close reefed, the jib and 
 spanker hauled down, and a storm staysail set. All 
 hands had been called upon deck, except Jack 
 Snaggs, who, on account of his horrors, was al 
 lowed to remain below ; and* we all stood huddled 
 together, on the quarter deck, that we might be in 
 readiness to carry into execution any orders which 
 should be given. For my own part, I enjoyed the 
 sublimity of the scene highly, and felt not the least 
 fear; indeed, the only thing which annoyed me was 
 the water running down my back, which rather 
 dampened my admiration of the tempest. The 
 sky was pitch black, but the sea was covered with 
 little particles of luminous matter, so numerous and 
 so bright, that they cast a greenish glare upon our 
 ship, and showed in strong relief all her spars and 
 ropes against the sky ; in addition to this strange 
 and unnatural light, a ball of phosphorescent mat 
 ter had gathered at each mast head, and at the ends 
 of the yards, and gave the ship the appearance of 
 being illuminated with goblin lanterns. These were 
 novel sights to me, but to the sailors, and even to 
 Captain Gunnel and the mate, they were sights of 
 terror ; these men who, on ordinary occasion?, 
 were full of ribald jests and wanton oaths, now 
 stood with hushed voices, apparently waiting for 
 some expected evil. They knew from experience. 
 
190 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 the dangers which surrounded them ; but I, from 
 ignorance, was without fear or apprehension. I 
 stood looking over the gunnel, watching the 
 lightning as it crinkled along on the surface of ihe 
 waves, when a shrill cry rising above the tumult of 
 the elements, and the pelting of the rain and the 
 roaring of the thunder, caused all hands to start 
 with fear. The sound came from the forward part 
 of the ship, and I recognized in it the voice of 
 Jack Snaggs ; a flash of lightning the next mo 
 ment showed the poor wretch standing between the 
 night heads, with his hands thrown above his 
 head, as if preparing to leap into the ocean. 
 " Bear a hand forward," exclaimed the captain, 
 "and save him be quick." But it was too late ; 
 we heard him as he plunged, and I ran to the ship s 
 side, and caught a glimpse of him struggling in 
 the water ; we threw overboard all the loose arti 
 cles about deck, but they were of no avail ; it was 
 the last we ever saw of poor Jack. 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 191 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Will bring us into port. 
 
 THE next morning we were out of the Gulph, 
 and the sky was as blue, the wind as fair, and the 
 sun as bright and as warm as before ; the waves 
 again seemed to leap up with joy, and the ship 
 bounded and dashed through the water as gayly as 
 ever; and I should have forgotten the events of the 
 night before, had it not been that Jack Snaggs 
 was missing from our mess. 
 
 " Harry," said Mr. Ruffin, the mate. 
 
 "Sir?" said I. 
 
 " Take a slush shoe, and go up aloft and grease 
 the peril of the maintopsail yard ; the slush was all 
 washed off by the rain last night." 
 
 " I don t comprehend you, sir," I replied. 
 
 "Don t what?" exclaimed the mate. 
 
 " I don t comprehend you." 
 
 " What the h is that? don t spout any of 
 
 your dictionary to me, but go do as I order you." 
 
 All hands, except the man at the wheel, were 
 aloft, some at one mast head and some at another ; 
 there was no one to whom I could apply for infor 
 mation, and I had not the most vague idea of what 
 
.192 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 a peril could be. However, I thought, I will go 
 up and grease the maintopsail yard all over, and 
 then I shall be sure of greasing the peril. So I 
 got a bucket of warm grease from the cook, and, 
 not without a good deal of difficulty, succeeded in 
 getting it into the main top. I sat the bucket of 
 grease down in the top to rest myself, and at the 
 same time to take a look at the maintopsail yard, 
 to see if there was any curious looking article 
 about it, that probably bore the name of a peril. 
 But I could see nothing which apparently needed 
 greasing. I looked down on deck again, and ob 
 serving that the Captain and Mr. Ruffin were busy 
 on the quarter deck looking at the sun, with their 
 quadrants, it occurred to me that I might slip 
 down on deck, and get my Blunt s Navigator out 
 of the forecastle, and take it up into the top with me, 
 where I could look for the meaning of the puzzling 
 word at my leisure. I accordingly left the bucket of 
 warm grease standing in the top, and slid down on 
 deck by the mainstay, and got into the forecastle 
 unperceived ; but I had scarcely got the Naviga 
 tor into my hand, when I heard a terrible outcry 
 on deck, and Mr. Ruffin calling out my name with 
 all his might. I dropped the Navigator, and jump 
 ed upon deck, and it was not long before I found 
 out the cause of the tumult. 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 193 
 
 Now it happened, that in consequence of Cap 
 tain Gunnell having got all his sea clothes wet the 
 night before, he had been obliged to dress himself 
 in his long shore suit, while his other duds, as he 
 called them, were hung up on the spanker boom 
 to dry ; it being also clean shirt day with Mr. 
 Rufiin, he too had dressed himself in a new calico 
 shirt and a blue roundabout, for which he paid two 
 pound ten to a Liverpool tailor, and which was as 
 good as new, for Mr. Ruffin having a wife and 
 half a dozen children, was very careful of his 
 clothes. Now, Captain Gunnell and Mr. Ruflin, 
 as I have observed before, were on the quarter 
 deck, taking an observation of the sun, but as the 
 wind was drawing aft, and the ship kept coming 
 up, the maintopsail kept dodging against the sun, 
 and obstructing their view, so they took their sta 
 tions amidships directly under the maintop, where 
 they could have a better sight 
 
 " Does she rise yet?" asked Capt. Gunnell, 
 putting his quadrant to his eye, and turning his 
 face upward ; "does she rise, sir?" for sailors 
 call every thing she, even the sun. 
 
 " Ay, a} , sir," replied the mate, who also had 
 his face turned upward, with one eye shut, and 
 the other applied to his quadrant, while his mouth 
 
 was wide open. 
 
 VOL, i. 17 
 
194 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 It unluckily happened that while the captain 
 and mate were in this position, the man at the 
 wheel put his hand in his pocket to feel for his to 
 bacco, and a sea striking the ship at the same 
 moment under the counter, the wheel was knock 
 ed out of his other hand, which caused the ship 
 suddenly to broach to, and the motion overturned 
 the bucket of warm grease in the top, and down 
 came a torrent of slush, which covered the Captain 
 and his mate from head to foot ; and not a small 
 quantity found its way down Mr. Rufim s throat. 
 Of course there was no observation got that day. I 
 cannot pretend to relate what happened after I came 
 upon deck, for I was so much terrified when I dis 
 covered the mischief that was done, as to be quite 
 beside myself. The captain ordered Mr. Ruffin to 
 log me, and swore he would send me back to the 
 States in irons, by the first man of war he should 
 meet with, to be tried for my life. He threaten 
 ed, besides, to feed me on bread and water the re 
 mainder of the voyage, and to stop all my wages, 
 to pay for his clothes which I had spoiled. 
 
 I told Captain Gunnell the reason of my leav 
 ing the grease bucket in the top ; and after f that, 
 neither he nor the mate ever refused to explain 
 the meaning of any term which I did not under 
 stand. 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 
 
 195 
 
 It was more than two months after we left the 
 Hook, when, at day break in the morning, we 
 made the land on our lee bow. It proved to be 
 Cape St. Marys, at the mouth of the Rio de la 
 Plata, and as the wind was fair, we were soon 
 making our way up the yellow waters of this fa 
 mous river. We passed by Monte Video with 
 out dropping anchor, and on the fourth day after 
 entering the river, we were moored in five fathom 
 hole, opposite Buenos Ayres. Captain Gunnell 
 dressed himself in his greasy blue suit, and went 
 ashore in the jolly boat. He sent back orders to 
 the mate not to allow a soul to leave the ship. I 
 was grieved to hear this order, for I longed to set 
 my feet once more upon dry land ; and the sight 
 of the domes and towers rising above the flat roofs 
 of the distant city, excited the strongest curiosity 
 in me to have a nearer view of them. I had 
 heard extravagant stories told of the magnifi 
 cence of the old churches, which were erected in 
 this city by the Jesuits, when the province abound 
 ed with gold and silver ; of crucifixes of solid 
 ingots, and altars and images of gold, sparkling 
 with precious stones. Night after night, when 
 the labor of the day was over, have I sat gazing at 
 the faint and glimmering lights ashore, until I fell 
 asleep, and dreamed of walking with black eyed 
 
196 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 Spanish girls beneath the lofty roof of some ca 
 thedral, the floors of which were paved with pure 
 gold. 
 
 But Mr. Rnffin was determined that dreams 
 like these should never be realized. It was a fa 
 vorite maxim with him, to obey orders if you 
 break owners ; and I do not believe he would 
 have consented for a man to leave the ship if she 
 had been sinking. He was one of those strict 
 disciplinarians, who will keep the letter of the 
 law, even though they break the spirit of it in 
 so doing. 
 
 Jerry Bowhorn and I had become fast friends, 
 and he was as anxious as myself to go ashore, 
 though from different motives ; he wanted to see 
 the girls, and have a blow out of grog, and I 
 wanted to see the churches and hear the women 
 talk Spanish. Had Jack Snaggs been living, 
 we would have tied the mate to the fife rail, and 
 gone ashore in spite of him, and the Captain s or 
 ders. There was no one in the forecastle besides 
 Jerry to whom I could have safely trusted a 
 plan for committing such an outrage, and, even 
 had I been disposed to do so, we were all so tired 
 and weary with hard work when it came night, 
 that we were glad enough to lay down to rest. 
 There is nothing which will so effectually quell 
 
A TALE OP THE PANIC. 397 
 
 discontent, and put an end to a revolt, as good hard 
 work ; a man who is tired to death with labor has 
 but an indifferent appetite for treason. 
 
 At last an opportunity offered for both Jerry 
 and myself to gratify our desires. We had been 
 in the roads almost three weeks, and we had not 
 seen Captain Gunnell during that time, when at 
 the close of a dark and blustering day, he came 
 on board in a shore boat, which he dismissed as 
 soon as he left her. I thought he had taken a 
 very strange time to visit us, but I was glad to 
 see him again, although he didn t put himself to 
 the trouble of speaking to me. He was dressed 
 in a new suit of clothes, and I thought he looked 
 remarkably fine ; indeed it was so long since I 
 had seen any body besides Mr. RufTm and the 
 swarthy custom house officer, that he must have 
 looked very bad indeed for me to have thought 
 otherwise. 
 
 As soon as the Captain came on board, he took 
 the custon house officer on one side, and I ob 
 served they were in very earnest conversation. 
 The officer at last shrugged his shoulders, and 
 was walking away, when the Captain took a roll 
 of bank bills, as I supposed, from his pocket 
 book, and gave him, upon which they resumed 
 
 their conversation, and then the Captain ordered 
 17* 
 
198 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 the jolly boat to be lowered awa} r , and Jerry and 
 I were told to get into her. I obeyed the order 
 with great alacrity, thinking an opportunity had 
 come of visiting the city. But Jerry told me I 
 had no great cause for rejoicing, as lie understood 
 perfectly well the nature of the expedition on 
 which we were bound ; he said the Captain had 
 chosen a stormy night for smuggling some goods 
 on shore, and that he had bribed the custom 
 house officer to assist him in landing them. " How 
 ever," said Jerry, " if you choose to join me, we 
 will work a traverse, and get ashore in spite of 
 them." 
 
 I told him I would join him in any thing he 
 might propose or undertake short of murder and 
 robbery, for my desire to go ashore amounted to 
 a frenzy. 
 
 Jerry s supposition proved true ; the jolly boat 
 was filled with small packages of light goods, 
 and then the Captain and the custom house offi 
 cer got into her, and we shoved off from the ship, 
 and began to pull in for the shore, the second mate 
 acting as coxswain, while Jerry and I pulled at 
 the oars. The night was dark and stormy, and 
 the waves ran high, which caused us to make but 
 little headway. I rowed with all my might, but 
 the Captain got angry, and swore at me for not 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 199 
 
 rowing better. I had never been accustomed to 
 handle an oar, and I suppose I exerted myself 
 twice as much as was necessary, for, by the time 
 we reached the shore, my hands and arms 
 were so violently cramped I could hardly move 
 them. 
 
 The faithless guardian of the customs pointed 
 to a spot opposite to the Recolata, a spacious ce 
 metery, with a large chapel for the performance of 
 the burial services, as being the best and most se 
 cure place to land the goods ; but the boat was 
 deep, and there being no pier, we could not ap 
 proach very near to the beach. So the Captain 
 asked Jerry if he thought he could carry him 
 ashore on his shoulders. 
 
 " Certainly I can, sir, * replied Jerry, " I could 
 carry two just like you." 
 
 " But, consider," said Captain Gunnell, "I 
 am very heavy, much heavier than you think I 
 am." 
 
 11 And I am very strong in my back," replied 
 Jerry, " I was always considered so ; 1 once car 
 ried old Commodore Pottgut ashore on my back, 
 in Ballyparaso." 
 
 "You did?" said the Captain. 
 
 " To to sure I did," replied Jerry, " when I 
 was in the States service." 
 
200 HAKRY 
 
 " Well," replied the Captain, " if you carried 
 him, you can carry me, I know." 
 
 Accordingly, Jerry jumped into the water, 
 which was almost up to his middle, and Captain 
 Gunnell tucked the tails of his coat under his 
 arms, and took the watch out of his fob, and held 
 it in his hand to prevent it from getting wet in 
 case of an accident, and then mounted himself 
 upon Jerry s shoulders. He was a pretty good 
 load, but Jerry, as he said, was very strong in 
 his back, and he bore off his burden very steadily, 
 but not exactly in the direction of the shore. 
 When he had gone about three times the length 
 of the boat, he suddenly stopped, and gave a 
 loud scream. 
 
 "Hush, you rascal," said the Captain, in a 
 suppressed voice, "you will alarm the guard." 
 
 " I can t help it," roared Jerry, " I have got 
 the cramp. Oh!" 
 
 " Silence, you villain," exclaimed the Captain ; 
 " if you let me drop, I ll send you on board the 
 prison ship, and have you flogged." 
 
 "O, Captain Gunnell," again shouted Jerry, 
 " I shall let you drop unless somebody comes to 
 my assistance. Come here, Franco, and lend 
 me a hand to keep the Captain from falling." 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 201 
 
 " Jump," said the second mate, " before he lets 
 the Captain fall." 
 
 I didn t wait to be ordered a second time, but 
 leaped into the water, and Jerry seeing me com 
 ing towards him, suddenly shook his burden from 
 his shoulders, and called to me to follow him, and 
 off we started, leaving the Captain floundering in 
 the water. We soon reached the shore, and 
 climbed up a steep bank, and ran about half a 
 mile, without stopping either to speak or look be 
 hind us. 
 
202 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Relates what happened after getting ashore. 
 
 " THERE is no danger," said Jerry, " that we 
 shall be pursued to-night," as we stopped to take 
 breath, " so let us find a place to lodge in, and in 
 the morning we will lojok about us." 
 
 Although I was wet and weary, my hands co 
 vered with blisters, and the night was dark, and 
 the wind was cold, yet my spirits were light as a 
 feather. The uncertainty of our prospects, and 
 a curiosity to see what the morning s light would 
 reveal, kept my thoughts from dwelling on the 
 destitute condition in which we were placed. 
 We were outside of the town, but there were no 
 indications that we were in the immediate vicinity 
 of a populous city, and there was neither a tree, 
 nor a house to be seen. It was as still and as 
 desolate as the great desert. 
 
 " Come," said Jerry, " let us get amongst the 
 houses, and I will soon hunt out something to eat, 
 and a bed, never fear." 
 
 " Have you got any money ?" I inquired, for 
 I began to fear it would be no easy matter to 
 procure food and lodging without it. 
 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 203 
 
 " Not so much as would jingle on a tomb 
 stone," replied Jerry, "but I have got something 
 that we can make a raise with, I dare say ; here s 
 the captain s watch. I caught it out of his hand 
 to keep it from getting wet, and forgot to stop 
 and return it to him." 
 
 I was very sorry to hear this, and told Jerry 
 I would never consent to his selling the watch, 
 nor take any part of the proceeds of it ; but he 
 succeeded in silencing my scruples, by reminding 
 me that the wages which were due us, and the 
 clothes which we had left behind, would repay the 
 captain for the loss of his watch. 
 
 We turned our faces towards the city, and 
 soon found ourselves in a dark, narrow street, 
 with low, flat-roofed houses on each side, having 
 windows with iron bars and gratings, which gave 
 them the appearance of prisons. We walked 
 some distance down this street without meeting 
 any one, or seeing a light in any of the houses. 
 At length we came to a house which give some 
 evidences of its being inhabited. A light was 
 streaming from a half-opened door, into which I 
 peeped, and discovered a swarthy looking man 
 with long black hair hanging down his shoulders; 
 he wore a conical shaped red cap, and a green 
 jacket, embroidered with silk braid ; he was sit- 
 
204 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 ting on a lo\v stool, singing in a subdued voice, 
 and thrumming on a guitar ; at a table, on which 
 were standing a brown jug and two or three tum 
 blers, were seated two men dressed similarly to 
 the other, apparently amusing themselves by 
 making passes at each other with long, murder 
 ous-looking knives, which they parried with great 
 dexterity ; they formed a highly "picturesque group ; 
 but thinking the society of gentlemen who amused 
 themselves after such a fashion, not very desirable, 
 we continued our walk in search of a house of 
 more promising appearance, until we came to a 
 cross street, which by the aid of a very dim lamp 
 we discovered was the Calle Vicntc Cinco dc 
 Mayo. By the captain s watch it was near mid 
 night, and we began to be apprehensive that we 
 should be compelled to spend a sleepless and a 
 supperless night in the streets, for we could nei 
 ther see a soul stirring, nor catch the glimpse of a 
 light in any of the houses. As we stood hesitating 
 which way to turn next, our ears were suddenly 
 gladdened by a shout of many voices from the 
 house opposite to where we were standing, and 
 the oaths and expressions which we heard assured 
 us they were not uttered by Spaniards. We 
 knocked loudly at the door of the house without 
 any hesitation, and it was soon opened by a tall 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 205 
 
 muscular looking man in a blue jacket, who ex 
 claimed, upon seeing us, " d n your souls, what 
 do you want?" 
 
 " We want something to eat, and a bed," said 
 Jerry. 
 
 " The divil take your carcasses then," said the 
 man, " why didn t you come before ?" 
 
 "Because we couldn t get ashore," replied 
 Jerry. 
 
 " Have you run away from your ship ?" asked 
 the man. 
 
 " Yes, Sir," I replied. 
 
 " Yankees too. Och faith, it is all right ; come 
 in, and go back into the abbey, and tell the cook 
 to give you some beef. But stop, and take a drop 
 of brandy first." We walked in, and he bolted 
 the door again. 
 
 There \vere about twenty sailors seated at a 
 long table, with cards in their hands, pipes in their 
 mouths, and glasses standing before them. They 
 had apparently just arrived at that point in good 
 fellowship and merry-making, where a man feels 
 himself impelled to call his friend a thief and a 
 liar, and to strike any one in the face who may 
 happen to sit along side of him. But as Jerry 
 and myself were perfectly sober, of course we felt 
 no disposition to participate in their boisterous 
 
 VOL. i. 18 
 
206 
 
 mirth, but on the contrary we regarded them witli 
 feelings which would have done honor to a teto- 
 taller. We passed on through this apartment, 
 preceded by the man who admitted us, into a 
 little square building, which he called the " round 
 house ;" here he ordered the cook, who was a 
 one-legged old sailor, to give us some supper. 
 The cook placed before us, with very little delay, 
 a huge piece of roast beef, a couple of very small 
 loaves of bread, and a pitcher of aqua vitae. 
 
 When the keen edge of our appetites was taken 
 off, we asked the cook, who was solacing himself 
 with a paper segar, what the name of our enter 
 tainer was. 
 
 " None of your gammon, my coveys," replied 
 the cook, " you know Jemmy as well as I do." 
 
 " If that is the name of the landlord here," I 
 replied, " I can swear that I never heard of him 
 before." 
 
 The cook having given vent to his astonish 
 ment in a multitude of curious oaths, informed us 
 that our entertainer was Irish Jemmy, who had 
 deserted many years before from an English Sloop 
 of War, but who now kept a house for runaway 
 sailors, and who was universally known as the 
 sailors friend. 
 
 " Jemmy is the best man as ever lived," said the 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 207 
 
 cook ; " he will feed you on beef and rum as long 
 as you have a mind to stay in his house, and never 
 ask you when you are going ; and when you do 
 go, if you havn t got a jacket, he ll give you one. 
 But then you musn t make him mad." 
 
 " Ah," said Jerry, " who would make such a 
 man mad ?" 
 
 " Why, you might do it by accident, and then 
 he would as lief kill you as drink a horn of bran 
 dy," replied the cook. 
 
 "He never did kill any one, did he ?" I asked, 
 somewhat alarmed at the cook s account. 
 
 " He shot his wife wonst in this very blessed 
 room," replied the cook, in a low voice, " Cos 
 as she disputed him when he was swipy." 
 
 " And why didn t the authorities arrest him, 
 and hang him," I asked. 
 
 " What, just for shooting his wife ?" replied the 
 cook ; "you may tell your mammy when you see 
 her, they don t do such things in this here coun 
 try. Besides, if she didn t wish to be shooted, she 
 oughtent to have disputed him ; warnt he her hus-* 
 band ? Sarved her right." 
 
 "Did she die?" Tasked. 
 
 " Dead as a door nail. And now he s got 
 another reg lar nice young heifer," replied the 
 cook. 
 
: 
 
 208 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 " Of course," replied Jerry, <( he never so much 
 as winks one of his blackguard eyes at his custom 
 ers, if he does shoot his wives." 
 
 " Don t lie ?" replied the cook ; " why bless yer 
 heart, twas him as broke my leg, cos I made him 
 mad." 
 
 " He break your leg," said Jerry, letting his 
 knife fall. 
 
 " To be sure he did," replied the cook, " what 
 on it. I dont care ; he s got to find me in grul 
 all the rest o my days, besides all the new duck 
 I want for frocks and trowsers. I am nothing but 
 an old bugger, it makes no odds whether I ve got 
 one leg or two ; I m not running arter the gals, 
 like you young chaps." 
 
 " Are you an American ?" I asked, feeling my 
 sympathies excited for the old cook. 
 
 " Me a yankee !" replied the cook, disdainfully. 
 "No, I am a reg lar born cockerny. Do you 
 know what that is? A real citizen of Lunnun," 
 he continued, answering his own question ; " and 
 do you know what makes me a citizen of Lun 
 nun ?" 
 
 " I suppose it is because you were born there," 
 I replied. 
 
 "No, that aint it, young feller," he replied, 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 209 
 
 * Because you were born in Bow Bells," re 
 plied Jerry. 
 
 " That aint it," said the cook. " It s because I 
 was born in the cells of New-Gate, you green 
 horn; I knew you couldn t tell." And so saying", 
 the old cook hobbled away with the remains of 
 the beef, chuckling at the recollection of his illus 
 trious birth. 
 
 I was not particularly well pleased with the 
 cook s account of Irish Jemmy, so I proposed to 
 Jerry to start for the pampas in the morning, and 
 wait there until our ship should sail. Jerry agreed 
 to do so ; and as he had fortunately brought a 
 pistol ashore with him, he swore if Irish Jemmy 
 offered to harm a hair of my head, he would shoot 
 him without any hesitation. But as we had eaten 
 Jemmy s beef, and drank his brandy, I told Jerry 
 we would first talk about paying him, and then we 
 could shoot him afterwards, if there should be any 
 necessity fordoing so. 
 
 Jerry acknowledged this was right and proper, 
 and said he would leave the Captain s watch in 
 pledge, until we might return. But when we 
 proposed it to Jemmy, he would listen to no such 
 thing. 
 
 " Tut, tut," he said, " don t bother me with your 
 
 nonsense. Put up your watch ; you may eat and 
 
 18* 
 
210 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 drink here as loug as you like in welcome, for 
 nothing, if you only pay me out of your advance, 
 when you get a ship." 
 
 He said we might go out into the camp if we 
 chose, and if we escaped the Montaneros and the 
 Indians, we should find a hearty welcome at any 
 estancia or saladara, that we might fall in with, 
 where, if we were fond of jerked beef and farina, 
 we might stay forever, and no questions would he 
 asked us. 
 
 We were delighted to hear so good an account 
 of the hospitable habits of the Gauchos, and retir 
 ed to bed, with an intention of setting out for the 
 country as soon as it should be light. But the 
 fleas prevented us from closing our eyes, and as we 
 found it was impossible to sleep, we set off before 
 the day broke. 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 211 
 
 CHAPTER XXL 
 
 Adventures in the Pampas, a Pampara, &c. 
 
 WE made our exit from the town by the same 
 narrow street through which we entered it the night 
 before ; and we made such good use of our legs, 
 that by the time the- sun peeped up above the level 
 plain, which lay stretched out to the horizon before 
 us, we could see nothing of the city at our backs, 
 but the domes and spires of the churches and con 
 vents. Magnificent objects they were at a distance; 
 but a near view of their dilapidated walls, and the 
 nasty finery of their interiors, completely dispelled 
 all the bright dreams in which I had indulged of 
 their splendor. Alas ! alas ! that the Cross of 
 Christ should be elevated on a towering dome, 
 only to designate a collection of every thing that 
 is wretched in taste and blasphemous in art. 
 
 We continued to trudge on without meeting 
 with either Gauchos or Montaneros ; and as the 
 day advanced, and our hunger increased, we be 
 gan to have serious misgivings of getting neither 
 jerked beef nor farina for our dinners. But we walk 
 ed sturdily on, neither being willing to give out first, 
 and at last we descried a clump of trees, at the appa- 
 
212 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 rent distance of two or three miles, and shaped our 
 course for them, expecting to find an estancia ; but 
 on reaching them, they proved to be a small or 
 chard of peach trees, with the walls of a house 
 standing near, which appeared recently to have 
 been burned. The house was surrounded by a 
 deep ditch, with a small draw bridge. We look 
 ed for something eatable, but in vain. As we were 
 leaving the place, we discovered a party of horse 
 men approaching, so we halted for them to come 
 up. As they were riding at a furious gallop, it 
 was not long before they were along side of us. 
 There were four of them ; fine cut-throat looking 
 rascals they were. The foremost and youngest of 
 them, was a noble looking fellow, and he sat as 
 easily and as gracefully upon his horse s back, as 
 though he had been born there. His face was full 
 and swarthy, his shoulders broad, and his eyes 
 black and fiery; his long glossy black hair stream 
 ed upon the wind as he rode. On his head he wore 
 a broad brimmed hat, and over his shoulders a 
 scarlet poncho, the simplest, but most graceful co 
 vering ever worn upon a man s back. His legs 
 were bare. The other three were leaner and 
 dirtier, and their ponchos were coarse and ragged. 
 One of the horsemen spoke to us in Spanish, 
 which neither of us could understand j but Jerry 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 213 
 
 supposing they asked us what we were in search of, 
 replied, " very much of the beef and the farina, 
 signers." This they understood as little as we had 
 understood them, and they directly saluted us in a 
 manner which we could not fail to feel, if we did 
 not understand. 
 
 The fine looking fellow in the red poncho, drew 
 his sabre, and gave Jerry a hearty thwack across 
 his shoulders, with the flat of it ; and one of the 
 ragged rascals at the same time complimented me 
 in a similar manner, with the handle of a spear, 
 which he carried in his hand. This had a similar 
 effect upon both of us, for, without any concerted 
 action, we immediately took to our legs and scam 
 pered for life; but we soon found ourselves stretch 
 ed upon the ground, for these fine fellows had, with 
 inconceivable dexterity, contrived to throw a small 
 cord around our heels, with which they tripped us 
 up. Finding it was impossible to escape, we made 
 no further attempt, and our captors having bestow 
 ed two or three more whacks upon our shoulders, 
 motioned to us to get up behind them. As I had 
 taken a fancy to the wearer of the scarlet poncho, 
 I mounted behind him, and Jerry got up behind 
 the ruffian who had belabored me with the handle 
 of his spear. We were no sooner mounted, than 
 away they started at a hard gallop ; it was with the 
 
214 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 greatest difficulty that I made out to keep my seat. 
 I clung to the scarlet poncho with all my might, 
 and came near two or three times bringing both 
 the wearer of it and myself to the ground, for which 
 I was favored with some of the choicest curses in 
 the Gaucho dialect. We rode for more than an 
 hour, without in the least slackening our speed. 
 By and by, we came to an enclosure, where there 
 were a great number of horses. The Gauchos dis 
 mounted, and caught, with their lassos, fresh horses 
 for themselves, and for Jerry and myself. When 
 they were remounted, they motioned to us to fol 
 low them, and off they started again at a full gal 
 lop, and off came Jerry and myself, almost simul 
 taneously. Fortunately, neither of us was hurt by 
 the fall, so we mounted again, and started once 
 more, and succeeded in keeping our seats ; we had 
 no saddles, and it was terrible hard riding, for we 
 galloped very hard. Soon, however, my blood 
 became heated, and the rapidity with which we 
 scoured over the plain, excited my feelings, and I 
 experienced a sensation of wild delight, which I 
 had never felt before. I forgot my hunger, my 
 bruises, my perilous situation, and the aimless 
 journey on which I was bound, and thought how 
 happy I should be if I could but ride on forever 
 over those boundless plains. 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 215 
 
 These sensations lasted but a short time ; our 
 horses began, after a while, to flag 1 , their motions 
 became more uneasy, and my blood began to 
 cool, and feelings of hunger and weariness began 
 to oppress me. The sun was sinking in the west, 
 and a heavy, dull looking cloud, apparently 
 charged with rain, and wind, and lightning, was 
 rising in the opposite direction, when we came to 
 another roofless house, with blackened and smoky 
 walls, exactly like the one- we had left. It was 
 surrounded by a deep ditch, with a draw bridge, 
 but there were no peach trees near it. There was 
 a drove of cattle grazing near, and one of our 
 captors caught a young bullock with a lasso by 
 his hind heels, and brought him to the ground ; 
 and another of the Gauchos severed the head of 
 the animal from his body; it was quick work. 
 We all dismounted, and from the movement of 
 the Gauchos, Jerry perceived that they intended 
 to cook the bullock. So we set ourselves to work, 
 to collect together a heap of sticks, over which 
 they erected a gallows, from which they suspended 
 the carcass, without even divesting it of its skin. 
 One of the Gaucho s took a little pouch from be 
 neath a scarlet girdle, which he wore around his 
 waist, and having struck a light, he set fire to 
 the heap of sticks, which cracked and snapped 
 
21G HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 right merrily, and crisped the hide of the bullock. 
 This manner of roasting beef was entirely novel 
 to me, and under other circumstances, I might not 
 have regarded it with very pleasant yearnings ; 
 but as it was, my mouth watered as I stirred up 
 the fire, and the carcass hissed, and cracked, and 
 sputtered. My appetite was so keen, it appeared 
 to me the heighth of human bliss to sit down to 
 sup off a whole ox. 
 
 It grew dark very suddenly, and the sky was 
 completely overcast with clouds. The fire, as we 
 stirred it up, and added fresh fagots, cast around 
 a lurid glare, which fell upon the forms of the 
 Gauchos, who were stretched out upon the ground, 
 wrapped in their ponchos, taking a nap, while the 
 bullock was roasting ; the grazing cattle and the 
 blackened walls of the house were the only other 
 objects which the light revealed. It was a scene 
 of savage pic4uresqueness, and I should have en 
 joyed it highly, had I not been so hungry. When 
 we thought the beef was sufficiently roasted, we 
 let the fire go down, and called up the Gauchos, 
 who began immediately to rake away the coals, 
 and make preparation for taking the bullock down. 
 But they suddenly stopped, and having listened for 
 a moment with hushed breath, they began to ex 
 tinguish the flaming embers, and to smother the 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 217 
 
 fire by throwing 1 sand upon it. Judging from the 
 earnestness with which they set themselves to work, 
 we conjectured they had some good cause for do 
 ing so, and we aided them with all our might. 
 Presently the sound of horses feet was heard, 
 which grew plainer and plainer every moment ; 
 the practised ears of the Gauchos had enabled 
 them to distinguish it long before it reached ours. 
 Having extinguished the fire, they caught their 
 horses and mounted them, and Jerry and I were 
 about to do the same, when one of the Gauchos 
 struck me across the shoulders with his sabre, and 
 throwing me the end of his lasso, the other being 
 fastened to a ring in his saddle, pointed to the 
 roasted carcass, to which I made it fast. I then 
 mounted my horse ; the Gauchos appeared im 
 patient to be gone, but they walked their horses, 
 dragging the roasted bullock after them, and 
 Jerry and I followed in the rear. The tramp of 
 horses feet approaching us, grew more and more 
 distinct, and from the sound there appeared to be 
 a numerous troop. TheGaucho who was drag 
 ging along the carcass, finding it an incurnbrance, 
 cast off his lasso and left it behind him. We con 
 tinued to walk our horses a little further, and then 
 we came to a halt. The horsemen from whom 
 
 we were fleeing were, as I judged from the ex- 
 VOL. i. 19 
 
218 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 clamations of our captors, a party of Indians, who 
 were attracted by the light of our fire. If they 
 had surprised us, they would have cut our throats 
 first, and then regaled themselves with the bullock 
 which we had been roasting for our supper ; a con 
 summation, which it was any thing but pleasant to 
 anticipate. 
 
 From the actions of the Gauchos, I concluded 
 
 they considered themselves in danger of being 
 
 surprised, and I was impatient to start off on 
 
 a gallop. Our safety, however, was in the 
 
 pitchy darkness of the night, which almost 
 
 prevented our seeing each other, although we 
 
 were closely huddled together. By and by, the 
 
 horsemen reached the spot which we had left, and 
 
 came to a halt. They raked open the coals, which 
 
 sent up a few glimmering sparks, but not light 
 
 enough to reveal the forms of the marauders. We 
 
 could hear them yelling and shouting, apparently 
 
 giving vent to their disappointment in not finding 
 
 their expected prey. Presently we heard them in 
 
 motion again, and I thought they were going to 
 
 continue on their way, but my heart died within 
 
 me, when I discovered that they were riding in a 
 
 circuit around us, probably supposing that we 
 
 were somewhere in their immediate neighborhood. 
 
 From the sound of the horses feet, there must 
 
A TAL^ OF THE PANIC. 219 
 
 have been at least thirty of them. Round and 
 round they rode, sometimes approaching us so 
 closely, that we could hear their voices, as they 
 muttered to themselves. The Gauchos held their 
 breaths, and ground their teeth ; they kept their 
 sabres in their hands, and their horses reined up 
 ready for a start. Jerry and myself were closely 
 huddled together, but we were afraid to speak, 
 even in a whisper ; he trembled like a leaf, and 
 whether I trembled or not, I came near dying with 
 fright. I (bought that my time was come, and the 
 prophecy of my cousin about to be fulfilled. I 
 saw myself, in imagination, with my throat cut 
 from ear to ear, blasting upon a desert plain, and 
 I thought of my poor mother, and my heart bro 
 ken sister. The horsemen, Indians or Monta- 
 neros, or whatever they were, continued to ride 
 around and about us, sometimes almost touching 
 us as they flew past. Once I thought I could dis 
 tinguish a dusky form, but before I could assure 
 myself of it, it was lost in the darkness. At last 
 the troop halted again, and after giving another 
 yell, they galloped back in the direction which 
 they came, and as the sound of their horses feet 
 grew fainter and fainter, my heart grew stouter 
 and stouter, and by the time the sound had died 
 entirely away, thoughts of the roasted bullock be- 
 
220 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 gan to intrude themselves into my mind. Doubt 
 less, the musings of the Gauchos were running in 
 the same direction, for they dismounted from their 
 horses, and groped their way back to the ruined 
 house which we had left, feeling about on the 
 ground, as they went, and Jerry and I did the 
 same, but without finding the bullock. Strangely 
 enough, we were unable to find it at all, and the 
 Gauchos each lighted a paper cigar, and crawled 
 up alongside of the half demolished house, and 
 stretched themselves out to sleep. Happy fellows, 
 they could solace themselves with the unsubstan 
 tial fumes of a paper cigar, and take their rest on 
 the bare ground without inconvenience. Jerry 
 and myself sat together on the ground, conjectur 
 ing the probable motives of the Gauchos in making 
 us their captives, and offering such encourage 
 ment to each other, as our minds could suggest. 
 
 Although the sky was filled with black and 
 heavy clouds, there was not a breath of wind 
 stirring. The atmosphere was warm and op 
 pressive, and I experienced a difficulty of respira 
 tion. The horizon in the south-east had for some 
 time been constantly illuminated with flashes of 
 lightning, and every thing seemed to give notice 
 of an approaching storm. One of the Gauchos 
 started up, and exclaimed, "pampara," upon which 
 
A TALE OP THE PANIC. 221 
 
 the others withdrew from beneath the walls of the 
 house, and drew their porichoes closely about them, 
 and lay down again in an exposed spot. I looked 
 to the east, and discovered the cause of the Gau- 
 cho ? s exclamation. A bright yellowish cloud was 
 rising rapidly above the horizon, and spreading 
 itself over the sky ; we were not kept long in 
 ignorance of its quality, for it soon burst, and a 
 gust of wind and hail swept over us, compared 
 with which the hardest gale I had ever experienced 
 was a gentle zephyr. It was well with the Gau- 
 chos that they had crawled away from the walls 
 of the house, for they were prostrated in a moment. 
 As we were unable to stand upon our feet, we 
 threw ourselves upon the ground, with our faces 
 down, and a cloud of dust and leaves, branches 
 of trees, sticks, hail-stones, and fire, passed over 
 our backs. I was expecting every moment to 
 hear the troop of horsemen rush by on the wings 
 of the wind. The uproar and hurly burly of the 
 elements did not continue long ; but when the tumult 
 began to subside, the rain began to pour down in 
 torrents. The Gauchos raised themselves up r 
 made the sign of the cross, muttered their prayers, 
 and laid down again, and apparently they soon fell 
 asleep. But I was not used to sleeping under 
 19* 
 
222 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 such circumstances, and, if I could have slept with 
 the rain pouring down upon me, my fears would 
 have kept me awake. Jerry himself was nodding, 
 and I was left alone to my reflections. 
 
 It was very evident that the Gauchos had no 
 intention of robbing us, for they had made no 
 attempt to search our persons, and I could not 
 believe that they had made captives of us for the 
 mere pleasure of beating us ; the only use to 
 which I imagined they could put us, was to com 
 pel us to join them on some perilous expedition 
 against the Indians. 
 
 That was an enterprise for which I had not the 
 least possible inclination. There was neither 
 profit nor honor to be gained in it ; nothing that 
 would enable me either to gain the affections of 
 Georgiana De Lancey, or to triumph over my 
 haughty cousin. Weak and exhausted as I was, 
 and hopeless as the attempt seemed, I resolved to 
 make an effort to escape, and find my way back 
 to Buenos Ayres. It so happened that on the 
 afternoon in which I left the ship, I had taken the 
 pocket handkerchief of Georgiana De Lancey, 
 and tied it about my neck underneath my shirt, 
 and now pressing it to my heart, I thought of its 
 lovely owner, and the blood seemed to start with 
 quickened pulsations through my veins ; it gave 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 223 
 
 me new life and fresh vigor to go through with 
 my resolution. 
 
 I jogged my companion, and told him what I 
 had resolved to do ; he was at first loth to join me, 
 fearing that, if the Gauchos should awake before 
 we could make our escape, they would murder us 
 for making the attempt. But I soon prevailed 
 upon him to accompany me, and we crept away 
 from where the Gauchos were sleeping, upon our 
 hands and knees, until we were securely out of 
 their hearing. We were lucky in catching two 
 of the horses which were within the enclosure of 
 the ditch, and having walked them quietly over 
 the little bridge, we mounted them, and turning 
 our backs to the rain, galloped away as fast as 
 they would carry us. I felt at first very stiff and 
 sore, but the motion of the horse soon made me 
 feel warm and supple. We galloped away at the 
 imminent risk of breaking our necks till daylight 
 appeared, when the rain began to abate, and the 
 wind to lull. We were far enough from the Gau 
 chos to have no fear of them ; but there was no 
 house in sight, and I felt that I could not hold out 
 much longer without food or rest. We continued 
 to ride until the sun was above the horizon, when 
 our eyes were gladdened by the sight of a house, 
 a long way off, with wreaths of blue smoke as- 
 
224 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 cending from the chimney ; it was the most beau 
 tiful sight that ever met my eyes ; never before 
 did smoke find favor with me. We turned our 
 horses heads directly for the smoking chimney, 
 and wlien we got to the house, which was only a 
 rude hut, we dismounted from our horses, and 
 walked in without any ceremony. Our appear 
 ance told our tale ; there was no need of words, 
 even though we could have spoken them. The 
 inmate of the hut understood our wants, and 
 treated us kindly. In the centre of the floor was 
 a bright fire, on one side of which, stuck upon a 
 long stick, was half of a sheep roasting, and sus 
 pended over the fire from the end of a pole was a 
 pot boiling and bubbling, and sending forth a 
 savory odor, which caused the water to run out 
 of both corners of my mouth. A swarthy looking 
 Gaucho, and his still swarthier wife, with three 
 naked children, were seated on the bare clay floor 
 watching the fire. The man beckoned us to the 
 fire, and the woman brought us a log to sit upon, 
 while the children crowded around their father s 
 knees, and stared at us with their fingers in their 
 mouths. 
 
 Jerry observed that these little Gauchos con 
 ducted themselves for all the world like the chil 
 dren in the States, for they, he said, always put 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 225 
 
 their fore fingers in their mouths when they saw 
 a stranger. 
 
 By the time our clothes were dry, the mutton 
 was roasted, and the Gaucho s wife having spread 
 it on a board, and taken the pot off the pole, gave 
 each of us a small biscuit, and something like a 
 squash shell ; the man motioned to us to eat, and 
 we fell to, first upon the roast and then upon the 
 boiled, and then upon the roast and then upon 
 the boiled again. 
 
 It was a delicious meal. Such mutton ! and 
 such soup ! The G audio and the Gaucho s wife 
 looked at us with amazement, as we devoured the 
 fat and juicy meat, and swallowed the scalding 
 hot pot liquor. Many and hearty were the enco 
 miums which Jerry and I pronounced upon our 
 entertainers as we devoured their mutton. Jerry 
 swore that the Gaucho was the gentlemanliest 
 man he had ever seen in his life, and I told his 
 wife, although she could not understand a word 
 of what I was saying, that she was the hand 
 somest woman in the world but one, and that was 
 Georgiana De Lancey. 
 
 At length, our appetites began to fail us, and 
 Jerry, in the fullness of his gratitude, pulled out 
 the Captain s watch, and offered it to our host, at 
 the same time turning out his pockets to show 
 
226 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 that we had nothing else to offer in payment for 
 our breakfast. The G audio s eyes sparkled at 
 sight of the watch, but he struck his hand upon 
 his breast, and shook his head indignantly, and 
 told us in very excellent pantomime that his feel 
 ings were hurt by the offer. I rebuked Jerry 
 for insulting the honest man s feelings by offering 
 him such a trifle. 
 
 " What, then, shall we give him," said Jerry; 
 "you know we hav n t got a midi to bless our 
 selves." 
 
 "Give him," I replied, "we will give him 
 nothing, since we have nothing to give ; but we 
 will stay with him, and work for him, to show our 
 gratitude." 
 
 "So we will," said Jerry, putting the watch in 
 his fob again ; " we will stay with him the rest of 
 our lives. But I feel confounded sleepy; let us 
 take a nap on that pile of sheep skins in the cor 
 ner, and when we wake we will pitch into the 
 mutton again. So we lay down upon the sheep 
 skins to sleep, and when we awoke, the sun was 
 in the western sky. I felt greatly refreshed, al 
 though somewhat stiff and feverish. Perceiving 
 that the Gaucho s wife was making preparations 
 for the afternoon meal, we got up and stretched 
 ourselves, and when the mutton was ready, the 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 227 
 
 Gaucho invited us as before, and we began to 
 eat, but with appetites not half as keen as they 
 were in the morning ; indeed, the mutton ap 
 peared to have lost its exquisite flavor, and the 
 pot liquor was barely palateable* Jerry actual* 
 ly found fault because we had but one little bis 
 cuit given us. He said he didn t half like the 
 Gaucho s looks, and I was obliged to confess that 
 I thought he had a cut throat cast of the eye. Af 
 ter dinner was over, we sat picking our teeth in 
 the door way ; I told Jerry I felt more like travel 
 ling than sleeping, and by way of sounding his 
 feelings, observed, that Buenos Ayres could not 
 be a very long way off. 
 
 Jerry replied that he did not think it was, and 
 if I would say the word, he was all ready to pull 
 up stakes and steer for Irish Jemmy s. 
 
 I was glad to hear him say so, and we agreed 
 to set off immediately. I beckoned to the Gau 
 cho, who was reclining on the floor, with his head 
 in his wife s lap, and the little Gauchos playing 
 about him, and tried to make him understand 
 that we were going to set off for the city, and 
 wanted him to show us the way. He pointed in 
 the direction that we must take, and we shook 
 hands with him and his wife, and then took our 
 departure on foot. The horses that we rode the 
 
228 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 night before having been left to themselves, had 
 taken themselves off. 
 
 The storm had passed over, and the pampas 
 looked green and pleasant, the sky was soft and 
 blue, and the sun, though fast sinking in the 
 west, still imparted a warmth to the air ; as a good 
 man, even in his dying moments, will warm the 
 soul by his converse. 
 
 We trudged on in fine spirits, exhilarated by 
 the influences of the weather, and the happy con 
 trast which our condition bore to what it was the 
 night before. Jerry pulled out his pistol, and on 
 examination, found it to be in good order. We 
 resolved to fight if either Indians, or Gauchos, or 
 Montaneros, should attack us again, and to die 
 rather than incur the risk of spending another 
 night like the last. We had advanced about two 
 miles, when we made these valiant re-solves ; there 
 was not a soul in sight, and our courage was 
 high. The sun had just disappeared behind the 
 horizon, when we heard the sound of horses feet 
 behind us. I looked round, and perceived a 
 horseman approaching us on full gallop, his pon 
 cho streaming out behind in the wind. We stop 
 ped, and Jerry pulled out his pistol and cocked 
 it. As the horse neared us very fast, we soon 
 discovered the rider to be no other than the Gau- 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 229 
 
 cho, whose hut we had just left. He was com 
 ing at a full gallop, and I perceived him to raise 
 himself upon his stirrups and swing his lasso 
 round his head, and the next moment I felt the 
 noose drop over my shoulders, and before I could 
 disengage myself from it, I was jerked to the 
 ground, and dragged along with great rapidity. 
 I heard the clank of the Gaucho s cutlass, as he 
 drew it from its steel scabbard, and wheeled up 
 towards Jerry, who levelled his pistol at him and 
 fired. The Gaucho fell immediately from his sad 
 dle, and his horse stood still. Jerry cut the lasso, 
 and disengaged me, but I was so terribly frighten 
 ed I could not stand upon my feet for some mi 
 nutes ; my head swam round, and I felt deadly 
 sick ; the sight of the bleeding Gaucho was by no 
 means calculated to restore me. However, I 
 soon recovered from my fright, and began to as 
 sist Jerry in stopping the blood which gushed out, 
 thick and black, from the wound in the Gaucho s 
 breast. Unfortunately, neither Jerry nor myself 
 had on a linen shirt, but I tore the lining out of 
 my jacket, and with it tried to stop the wound, 
 but it was in vain. The poor wretch never 
 spoke after he fell ; his eyes were rolled up in his 
 head, and his teeth ground together. He was 
 
 evidently dead, but I was unwilling to leave him. 
 VOL. i. 20 
 
230 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 I was horror struck at the thought of our kind 
 entertainer having been murdered by one of us 
 who had so lately been sheltered beneath his 
 roof. 
 
 "Come," said Jerry, "we must not stop to 
 set up an Irish how] over the blackguard now ; 
 he s as dead as Julius Caesar, and it is not his 
 fault that we are not taking our measure on the 
 green sward, with the heart s blood running out 
 of a hole in our breasts, instead of himself. I 
 am sorry he s dead though, any how, for we eat 
 his mutton, and this is a poor way of discharging 
 a debt." 
 
 " Well," I replied, " since we can t restore him 
 to life, let us, at least, restore his body to his poor 
 wife." 
 
 "No, no," said Jerry, " let us mount his horse 
 and be off towards Buenos Ayres, or they will 
 make mince meat of us if we are caught here." 
 
 So both of us mounted the Gaucho s horse, and 
 rode as fast as he would carry us towards Buenos 
 Ayres. 
 
 I remember having heard that the Gauchos, 
 though they would never deny a stranger a shelter 
 beneath their roof, nor molest him while a guest, 
 yet they would rob him if they could after he had 
 left their door. This may not be true, but I have 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 231 
 
 no doubt of the intention of the Gaucho to murder 
 us, for the sake of the watch, which his sense of 
 honor would not allow him to accept as a present, 
 while we were his guests. 
 
 Jerry and I indulged in a good many grave 
 speculations on this singular trait of character, 
 which helped to pass away the time, and to divert 
 our thoughts from the unpleasant situation in 
 which we were placed. We both came to the con 
 clusion, that, strange and incredible as it might 
 appear for a man to treat us with every kindness, 
 while we were under his roof, and then attempt to 
 rob us as soon as we had left it, it was not a whit 
 more wonderful than that, at home, a man could 
 be a knave, a cheat, and a turncoat in politics, 
 and at the same time be a gentleman and a chris- 
 tian in private life. 
 
232 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Return to Buenos Ayres and Departure for Rio. 
 
 WHEN the sun rose the next morning, the towers 
 and domes of the city were in sight; glad enough 
 we were to see them once more. For fear of ex 
 citing suspicion, we dismounted from our horse 
 and proceeded into town on foot. We went di 
 rectly to Irish Jemmy s, where we learned that the 
 Two Marys had parted her cables, during the 
 pampara which we had encountered in the pampas, 
 and that in consequence of all the cargo being out, 
 she had capsized and sunk ; the water being shal 
 low, the crew had saved themselves by clinging to 
 the tops of the masts which were still out of water. 
 
 We were now no longer in fear of Captain Gun- 
 nell, and I prevailed upon Jerry to return him the 
 watch. After having satisfied myself with ram 
 bling about the city, and having discovered that 
 the precious metals were no longer the principal 
 articles of trafiic, and that nothing more precious 
 than hides and horns had taken their place, I de 
 termined to seek my fortune elsewhere, and ac 
 cordingly I shipped on board the brig Juno, bound 
 to Rio de Janeiro. Jerry had shipped, unbeknown 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 
 
 233 
 
 to me, to go to the coast of Africa, in a slaver 
 which lay at Encinada. We parted very reluc 
 tantly, for we were endeared to each other, and I 
 could not help shedding tears when I shook his 
 hand and bade him good bye. 
 
 Just ten days after leaving the mouth of the river, 
 we entered the magnificent harbor of Rio. I felt 
 myself amply repaid for all the hardships I had 
 encountered since leaving home, by the sight of 
 this beautiful bay, with its mountains clothed with 
 eternal green, and its waters and sky of unchang 
 ing blue. 
 
 Our brig lay at anchor, and after the cargo was 
 discharged, I went ashore one afternoon, to look 
 at the city, and while I stood in the palace square, 
 watching the young Emperor, who was playing in 
 one of the balconies of the palace, I felt myself 
 suddenly seized by the arms, and looking up, found 
 that I was in the hands of a Brazilian naval officer, 
 who was accompanied by two men with cutlasses 
 in their hands. The captain of the brig had cau 
 tioned me before I went ashore, to keep an eye to 
 windward for a press gang who were picking up 
 all the sailors they could pounce upon for a frigate 
 in the harbor. 
 
 As the officer who had seized me by the arms, 
 turned to speak to one of the men, I gave a 
 20* 
 
234 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 den spring and cleared myself from his grasp. I 
 immediately took to my heels and ran for life, the 
 two men with the cutlasses following in pursuit. 
 Fortunately, I was not encumbered with any su 
 perfluous clothing ; a pair of duck trowsers, a calico 
 shirt, and a light straw hat, was all the weight I 
 carried. By a dexterous leap over a heap of ban- 
 nanas, I gained a slight advantage over my pur 
 suers ; away I went, making my heels fly, but with 
 out knowing where I should land. In turning the 
 corner of a street, I overturned an old bald-headed 
 priest, who stood under an awning, with a silver 
 plate in his hand, begging patacs of the passers by ; 
 I meant no disrespect to his black gown, but I was 
 in too great a hurry to stop to make an apology, 
 so I kept on my way and reached the wharf just as 
 a boat was shoving off with an American ensign 
 flying at her stern. I gave a leap and landed just 
 inside of her gunwale, without doing any other da 
 mage than knocking the skin off of my shins, and 
 breaking in the corner of the bowman s tarpaulin. 
 
 " How dare you leap on board this boat," ex 
 claimed a cadaverous looking man, with an epaulet 
 on his shoulder, who sat with his arms folded in 
 the stern sheets. 
 
 As soon as I recovered my breath, I explained 
 the cause of my hasty visit. 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 
 
 235 
 
 " Very well, sir," said he, " I will teach you 
 better manners. Back water." 
 
 The boat was backed up along side of the stairs 
 at the end of the wharf. 
 
 " Go ashore, sir," said the man with the epaulet. 
 
 " I hope, sir," I replied, " you will not turn me 
 ashore to the mercy of the press gang, from which 
 I have just escaped." 
 
 " How dare you hesitate, you scoundrel !" said 
 the epauletted gentleman, with severity. 
 
 " Because I am an American," I replied, 
 " and I thought I had a right to claim your pro 
 tection." 
 
 " How do I know you are an American ?" 
 he replied snappishly. " Where is your protec 
 tion ?" 
 
 "I have got none," I answered; " the ship to 
 which I belonged capsized in a pampara, and I 
 lost the one I had." 
 
 " That is no fault of mine," replied the officer ; 
 " go to the consul and get a certificate from him 
 that you are an American, and then I may allow 
 you to go on board." 
 
 There was another officer in the boat, a light 
 haired young gentleman, with an anchor worked 
 on the collar of his jacket, who interfered in my 
 behalf, and observed, that there would be no 
 
236 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 harm in allowing me to go on board the ship, and 
 then I could return in the market boat in the morn 
 ing, and, if necessary, the coxswain could take 
 me under his protection to the consul s office. 
 
 " Very well," replied the elder officer, " shove 
 off." 
 
 I took a seat in the bows of the boat, and in a 
 very few minutes we were along side of the ship. 
 Two little boys, looking like miniature sailors, 
 with blue shirt collars, and white duck trowsers, 
 buttoned very tightly round the hips, reached out 
 the man ropes to the officers for them to ascend 
 by, and when they had left the boat, I asked 
 the bowman the name of the ship, and of the 
 officers. 
 
 " The name of the ship," replied the bowman, 
 " is the sloop of war Columbia, and the name of 
 the brute who wouldn t allow you to stay on 
 board the boat is Mr. Wollop ; but all hands call 
 him dismal Jerry, except Mike, the mast man, 
 and he calls him Sergeant Longshanks ; he is first 
 leftenant of the ship, but he is much fittinger to 
 be captain of a millinery store than one of Uncle 
 Sam s ships. The other officer aint no officer at 
 all ; he is nothing but a drunken swab of a young 
 gentleman by the name of Mr. Ruffalley." 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC 237 
 
 The boat being made fast to the swinging 
 boom, I climbed on board the ship, and never hav 
 ing been on the deck of an armed vessel before, I 
 was amazed at the sight of such a number of men 
 lounging about without apparently having any 
 thing to do. ,Some were reading, others were 
 sewing, and some were playing drafts with the 
 marines between the guns. Nobody seemed to 
 be doing any other duty than amusing themselves, 
 excepting a sailor dressed in a snowy white shirt 
 and trowsers, who was walking the poop-deck 
 with a spy glass under his arm. 
 
 But, notwithstanding the apparent contentment 
 and ease of the sailors, such a set of grumblers 
 I never encountered before ; they all agreed that 
 a certain unmentionable place would be a pleasant 
 abode compared with their ship. For my part, I 
 thought that nothing could be more delightful 
 than to lounge about a ship s deck, with an awn 
 ing spread over your head, an abundance of 
 oranges and bananas to eat, and the loveliest and 
 most picturesque scenery in the world to gaze up 
 on. I found that the Columbia had been almost 
 three years on the station, and that she would 
 soon be relieved, and I resolved not to go ashore 
 again unless I was sent. 
 
 At sun down, the band was stationed on the 
 
238 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 poop, and played some martial airs, which were 
 answered, seemingly by echo, from the French and 
 English frigates which lay moored at some dis 
 tance from us. The last tune played was, " Hail 
 Columbia," and as the final note died away, a 
 couple of violins struck up a sadly merry Scotch 
 reel, in the starboard gangway, and all the 
 younger and thoughtless part of the crew caper 
 ed away with great industry till the perspiration 
 ran from their faces in streams. 
 
 This was all very pleasant, and fixed me in the 
 determination to stay on board if I could. The 
 Captain, a man of kind and gentlemanly looks, 
 was walking the deck with his thumbs thrust in 
 the arm holes of his waistcoat, apparently utterly 
 regardless of every thing around him. I thought 
 he might be thinking of his wife and little ones at 
 home, and that it would be a favorable opportu 
 nity to speak to him ; so I stationed myself by 
 the fife rail of the main mast, and, as he ap 
 proached me, I touched my hat to him. He stop 
 ped and asked me what I wanted. 
 
 I told him the reason of my being on board his 
 ship, and asked him to allow me to enter as an 
 ordinary seaman. 
 
 He replied that he would speak to the first 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 239 
 
 lieutenant about me in the morning, and then 
 resumed his walk. 
 
 It was a bright and pleasant evening, the sea 
 breeze had just begun to ripple the still surface 
 of the bay, and the Magellan clouds, and other 
 celestial beauties, which are hid from the gaze of 
 northern eyes, were beginning to show their 
 bright faces. I felt melancholy, notwithstanding 
 the mirth and laughter and boisterous gayety of 
 those around me. Thoughts of home, of the 
 beautiful Georgiana De Lancey, and of the harsh 
 prophecy of my cousin, came over me and op 
 pressed me ; I yearned for a sympathetic bosom, 
 with one throb which beat in unison with my 
 own ; there were none among the living souls 
 around me. I crept away unperceived, and lay 
 down on the top gallant forecastle, and stretched 
 out my arms to the huge fantastic hills which 
 reared their giant heads against the night sky. 
 ####### 
 
 The next morning one of the boatswain s mates 
 told me to go down to the doctor. I accordingly 
 went and found him on the birth deck with the 
 lob-lolly boy. The doctor was a little man, with 
 red hair and a very long nose; he was dressed 
 in a thread-bare blue suit with tarnished buttons, 
 
240 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 and a black bombazine stock ; pretty sure signs 
 that he had a growing family at home, which ab 
 sorbed about seven eighths of his pay and rations ; 
 but that was no business of r-m ne. He felt of my 
 arms and legs, pounded on my chest, and did 
 some other things, the propriety of which I could 
 not exactly understand, and having pronounced 
 me sound in limbs and body, I was enrolled on 
 the ship s papers as an ordinary seaman. 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 241 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 Is devoted to a slight sketch of Lieutenant Wallop, and being 
 not at all essential to a proper development of my adven 
 tures, may be read or not, as the reader pleases. 
 
 MR. WALLOP was by courtesy gallant, as all 
 officers of the navy and army are ; he had seen 
 service on board of a revenue cutter, which 
 might have been seen during the time of his com 
 mand, at least eleven months and some odd days 
 out of the year, lying quietly at anchor in the 
 neighborhood of that famous strait known to the 
 dwellers about Gowannus Bay by the name of 
 Buttermilk Channel. It was not a service in 
 which much renown was to be gained, but in 
 which a good deal of comfort could be taken, and 
 that with some is quite as desirable as fame. 
 
 Mr. Wallop was tall and thin ; his face was 
 pale, and his eyes were fishy in their aspect. He 
 was troubled with a cough which should have 
 admonished him that his body was made of per 
 ishable materials, the thought of which, one would 
 suppose, should have softened his temper and 
 humanized his feelings : but the effect of it was 
 the reverse ; he seemed to feel a spite towards 
 
 VOL. i. 21 
 
. 
 
 242 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 every one who enjoyed better health than himself, 
 and yet he never showed the slightest compas 
 sionate feeling for those who were sick and feeble, 
 but on the contrary, he did all in his power to 
 make them miserable. Some people, I doubt not, 
 considered Mr. Wallop the very nicest person in 
 the whole world ; for there are those who estimate 
 a man s virtues by the complexion of his garments, 
 and Mr. Wallop s vest was as spotless as snow, 
 and his buttons \vere innocent of rust. He was 
 cleanly to a degree passing credulity. If others 
 reckoned cleanliness among the half "virtues, he 
 considered slovenliness as a whole vice, and he 
 punished all dirty offenders accordingly. If a man 
 by accident spit upon deck, he flogged him ; and if 
 in his walks about the ship s decks, he discovered 
 a hat or a jacket, or any other article, no matter 
 how valuable, out of its proper place, he would 
 throw it overboard, without asking to whom it 
 belonged, or moving a muscle in his face. Once, 
 he threw a jacket overboard, which belonged to 
 an old sailor who had lost an eye in one of the 
 engagements of the Constitution, in the last war, 
 which so enraged the old veteran, that he caught 
 up his bag, which contained all his earthly store, 
 and in a paroxysm of rage, threw it out of a port 
 hole, to keep his jacket company. Mr. Wallop 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 243 
 
 smiled, but said nothing ; and when the old man 
 appeared at quarters without his jacket, the gal 
 lant lieutenant stopped his grog for a fortnight. 
 
 But Mr. Wallop was pious ; he read prayers 
 every Sunday morning on the drum head of the 
 capstern, for th,ere was no Chaplain on board, and 
 in the afternoon, he read a chapter or two from 
 the Bible. His readings, however, were never of 
 gentleness and mercy, but always of wrath and 
 indignation. He would smack his lips over the 
 destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, with as 
 much apparent satisfaction as though he had been 
 personally aggrieved by the abominations of those 
 wicked cities ; and a smile of delight would steal 
 over his cadaverous features, while he read of the 
 terrible feat of Samuel, in hewing down the cap 
 tive Agag, in Gilgal. It is but justice, however, 
 to say, that Mr. Wallop never allowed himself to 
 get into a passion ; he always had the most per 
 fect mastery of his passions, and he would give 
 the harshest commands in the meekest and most 
 lamb-like voice. 
 
 One morning, while we lay at anchor in Rio, 
 he came out of his state-room, just as the ham 
 mocks were piped up, in his dressing gown and 
 slippers, and ordered the gratings to be rigged, 
 and told the boatswain to send Jack Hanson to 
 
244 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 him. It was in the gray of the morning, and the 
 night mists still hung about the ship. Jack Han 
 son came aft to the lieutenant ; he was a weather 
 beaten old sailor, who had been petted by all the 
 officers in the ship, except Mr. Wallop, who never 
 petted any body but himself. Jack was in some 
 sort a privileged character, and he had been allow 
 ed to do, and to say, any thing he pleased ; but he 
 had, unfortunately, the night before, drank a glass 
 of whiskey, which one of the boys had contrived 
 to smuggle out of the ward room, to pay for a 
 hammock lashing, which Jack had grafted for 
 him ; and his old head being weak, and his blood 
 thin, the fumes of the liquor had warmed his feel 
 ings, and he had had the audacity to sing " The 
 Guerriere so bold," in a louder tone than exactly 
 harmonized with Mr. Wallop s ear. 
 
 Hanson had not the slightest suspicion that the 
 preparation for flogging were intended for him ; 
 and when Mr. W^allop told him to take off his 
 shirt, the old man turned pale with fright. 
 
 " I hope you are not going to flog me, sir," 
 said Hanson, his lips trembling as he spoke. 
 
 " I am," replied Mr. Wallop, calmly. 
 
 "For what, sir ?" said Hanson. 
 
 " For being drunk," replied the lieutenant. 
 
 When, sir?" 
 
A TALI-: OK Till: PANIC. 245 
 
 "La>l hi -j lit." 
 
 " Heaven l)le>s you," said Hanson, " I was 
 no more drunk than the -heel am-lior is at this 
 moment. 1 was only a little -uipey." 
 
 "Silence," siid Mr. Wallop. "I say you 
 were drunk. Tic him up, quarter master." 
 
 "I am an old man, sir," -aid Ji:m-on, looking 
 Imploringly up into the lieutenant s f;irc. 
 
 " I know you are," replied Mr. Wallop, in his 
 mild and gentle voice, " and I would flog you, if 
 you were my grandfather." 
 
 Hanson was too much of a sailor to handy 
 word.>. \\ith hi.-, ofiieer, so he took oft* his shirt, and 
 the quarter master tied his ancles to the grating, 
 and his wrists to two eye-bolts in the gang-.vay 
 above his head. The boatswain s mate, a stout, 
 active man, with an arm so muscular, as to he 
 unable to strike a light blow, if he had wished to, 
 took his station, and leisurely disentangled the 
 cords of his cat. 
 
 " Begin," said Mr. Wallop. 
 
 Hanson groaned as he heard the command 
 given, and when the first blow fell upon his bare 
 back, he gave a terrific shriek which went to my 
 very heart. I had never seen a man flogged be 
 fore, and I had no idea that one human being 
 could inflict such a punishment upon another. I 
 21* 
 
246 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 shuddered at the thought of unwittingly incurring 
 it myself, and, dreadful as it appeared, the dis 
 grace appeared to me greater than the suffering. 
 
 The master at arms, a gray headed old sailor, 
 counted the strokes, as they fell upon poor Han 
 son s back, with a tremulous voice, and when he 
 had counted twenty-four, Mr. Wallop motioned 
 the boatswain s mate to stop, and wrapping his 
 gown about his lank person, he retired to his 
 state-room, probably to engage in his morning s 
 devotions. 
 
 Hanson was cut down, and he went below to 
 his berth ; his back was purple with gore. He 
 wanted for neither torts of grog, nor sympathising 
 friends, but the old tar s spirit was broken, and 
 he never again could be prevailed upon to sing 
 his favorite song of 
 
 "The Guerriere so bold, 
 
 On the foaming ocean rolled." 
 
 It was not my intention when I commenced 
 writing my adventures, to make an omnibus of 
 them ; but I find that when a man makes up his 
 mind to go down to posterity, he must of necessity 
 drag others along with him, whether their compa 
 ny be agreeable or not. Mr. Wallop is one of those 
 that I am thus compelled to take with me, but to 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 247 
 
 render his company as little obnoxious as possible, 
 I have, as it were, given him an outside seat, all 
 alone by himself. 
 
248 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Continues and ends on Shipboard. A narrow Escape from a 
 flogging, and from Death. 
 
 THE next day after I came on board, I was put 
 into a mess, and when dinner was piped, for they 
 do nothing on board a man of war without first 
 being piped, I took my seat with my messmates, 
 around a huge plumb pudding, and a kid of boiled 
 beef. 
 
 I don t know how it happens, but it is always so 
 arranged on board a man of war, that there is a 
 bully, a buffoon, and a butt, in each mess. I am 
 not certain that such is not the case every where ; 
 even in bodies of collected wisdom, I have heard 
 of things very much like bullying, and buffoonery, 
 and perhaps there always will be butts in all socie 
 ties, as long as there are inequalities of intellects. 
 
 Now, in the mess which I had joined, it chanced 
 that the butt had lately set up for a buffoon, and 
 they immediately pitched upon me to fill the va 
 cancy which he had left. 
 
 " I say, chummy," said Tom Sweeny, the captain 
 of the after guard, " aint your name Newcome ?" 
 
 " No," I replied. 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 249 
 
 " But it s Johnny Comelately, aint it, you ?" said 
 a young mizen topman. 
 
 " No," I replied again, doggedly. 
 
 " Well, it s Johnny Raw, I know," said a fore- 
 topman, who was the bully. 
 
 I gave the bully an indignant look, but made 
 him no reply. 
 
 " Well, I ll tell you what it is, sloop mate," said 
 Mr. Sweeny, winking to his messmates, " it s my 
 pinion the doctor won t pass you no how." 
 
 " Why won t he ?" I said. 
 
 "Because you have got strong symptoms of the 
 fantods ; your skin is so tight you can t shut your 
 eyes without opening your mouth." 
 
 At this bright sally, all the mess laughed very 
 heartily, the captain of the after guard, as a mat 
 ter of course, laughing louder than any. 
 
 The late butt, who had been absent, now joined 
 the mess, and perceiving the laudable work in 
 which his messmates were engaged, took his part, 
 by saying that the boatswain had sent him to tell 
 me to go down to the purser s steward, and get a 
 piece of cheese to make a fid for the foretopgallant 
 mast. 
 
 " And when you come along," added an ugly 
 old brute, who acted as cook of the mess, " please 
 lo give my complements to the capting, and tell 
 
250 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 him as Mister Swazey would be vverry much oblig 
 ed to him for the loan of one of his eperlets, as I 
 wants to go ashore this arternoon, to see my sweet 
 heart, the Countess of Santos." 
 
 "What did you come to sea for any how ?" 
 asked the foretopman. 
 
 " I know," replied Mr. Sweeny, " it was to wear 
 out his old clothes." 
 
 " No it warn t," said the cook, <c he is a gentle 
 man s son, and he corned to sea cos as they want 
 ed him to marry a gal which he didn t like, so he 
 run d away." 
 
 "I will tell you what I didn t come to sea for," 
 I said, jumping up, " I didn t come to be made fun 
 of by a dirty rascal like you." 
 
 " O, ah ! didn t you mister?" replied the cook. 
 
 " No," I said, throwing down my knife, " and 
 neither you nor any other man shall make fun of 
 me." So saying, I leaped on to the messcloth, 
 and gave him a blow in the eye, which sent him 
 reeling against the bulwarks. 
 
 " Hallo, there," cried the officer of the deck, 
 " what s all that ?" 
 
 "Nothing, sir," answered the captain of the af 
 ter guard, " only this here Mister Comelately wants 
 to take charge of the ship." 
 
 Very well, sir," replied the officer, " let me 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 251 
 
 hear no more of this, or I will make every mother s 
 son of you drink six water grog for a fortnight." 
 
 Whether it was owing to the threat of the offi 
 cer, or to the attack I made upon the cook, I can 
 not say, but neither the bully, nor the buflbon, 
 nor the captain of the after guard, ever again 
 attempted to crack any jokes at my expense. 
 
 About a month after this, part of the starboard 
 watch, to which I belonged, was sent on to Hos 
 pital Island in charge of a midshipman and the 
 boatswain, to overhaul some rigging, preparatory 
 to our departure for home. Hospital Island is 
 one of the pretty little spots of living green 
 which dot the upper part of the harbor of Rio ; 
 there is on it a pile of grotesque old buildings, 
 which were once occupied as a convent, but 
 they are now, or were, rented by the United 
 States, for a store house for the government ships 
 on the Brazilian stations. 
 
 Mr. Ruflally was the officer whom the first 
 lieutenant sent in charge of the gang, with the 
 launch, and he had strict orders, neither to allow 
 a boat to approach the island, nor one to leave 
 it, lest grog, in some shape, should be smuggled 
 on board the ship ; for Mr. Wallop believed that 
 the Evil One entered mankind through their gul 
 lets, in the shape of strong drink, and he was de- 
 
252 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 termined that no evil spirits, nor any other spi 
 rits, should enter his ship s company, at least in 
 that manner. But Mr. Ruffally liked a horn him 
 self, and what was more, he had no objection in 
 the world to others taking a horn, and he was the 
 very last man in the steerage that Mr. Wallop 
 should have sent in charge of the starboard 
 watch to keep them sober. But the first lieu 
 tenant had never known Mr. Ruffally to go ashore 
 with the other midshipmen, and he thought him 
 one of the discreetest young gentlemen in the 
 ship. 
 
 [. The reason why Mr. Ruffally did not go ashore 
 was this : he was once, before Mr. Wallop joined 
 the ship, appointed caterer of his mess, and the 
 very first time he went ashore to purchase provi 
 sions, he gambled away all the mess money, 
 pawned his side arms, lost his gold laced cap, and 
 came off to the ship with an old straw hat on his 
 head, and his face most wofully scratched. The 
 consequences were, the mess had to eat pork and 
 beans for the next three months, and he was not 
 allowed to go ashore until he had furnished him 
 self with side arms, and so forth, and the 
 state of his finances had not yet enabled him to 
 do so. 
 
 We had not been on the island long, when a 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 253 
 
 little skiff was seen approaching the shore from 
 Pragy Grand. Mr. Ruffally discovered the c ir- 
 pulent form of Portuguese Joe seated in the 
 stern, and guessing the errand on which the craf 
 ty smuggler was bound, he contrived to busy him 
 self in the chapel of the convent in overhauling 
 some old rubbish. 
 
 The little skiff touched the beach, and landed, 
 in the twinkling of an eye, some dozens of blad 
 ders well filled with Aquadente, and Portuguese 
 Joe being well paid for his trouble, shoved off, 
 and continued on his way towards the opposite 
 side of the harbor. Mr. Ruffally made his ap 
 pearance, and exchanged a knowing wink with 
 the boatswain, and very soon contrived to have a 
 whole bladder of Aquadente to himself, to which 
 he paid his respects so freely, that he soon was un 
 der the necessity of laying down on the grass, ob 
 serving, as he stretched himself out, that the cli 
 mate was so enervating he should be under the 
 necessity of leaving the ship if she was not or 
 dered home immediately. It was not long before 
 he was snoring, as Bill Littlepenny said, like seven 
 bells half struck. 
 
 All work now ceased, or rather w r e all went to 
 work in good earnest, under the directions of the 
 
 boatswain, winding spun yarn round the blad- 
 VOL. i. 22 
 
254 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 ders of liquor, so that they could be smuggled on 
 board the ship, where they would be under the 
 charge of that worthy gentleman, who would 
 then be enabled to indulge in deep potations of 
 the most abominable distillation that ever scalded 
 the-throat, or eat up the liver of a man, whenever 
 he had an inclination. We had hardly got 
 through with the job of enclosing the bladders of 
 liquor in a covering of spun yarn, when the sig 
 nal was set for the launch to return to the ship. 
 Mr. RufFally was too far gone either to move or 
 speak, so we lifted him into the boat, and laid 
 him in the stern sheets, and shoved off for the 
 ship. 
 
 Mr. Bunker, the boatswain, was very happy ; 
 his eyes sparkled, and his tongue, though appa 
 rently too big for his mouth, was not idle a mo 
 ment; he cursed, and laughed, and cried by 
 turns, and in quick succession ; he told stories 
 about killing whales, and talked about the Essex 
 Junior and Commodore Porter ; and he bet his 
 silver call, chain and all, against a head of to 
 bacco, with Bill Littlepenny, a foretopman, that 
 he could out jump him, out lift him, out drink 
 him, and out sing him. Such familiarities from 
 the boatswain, gave the boat s crew immense sa 
 tisfaction, and we came along side the ship in 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 255 
 
 high glee. Myself and a marine were the only 
 sober men in the launch ; but the others, drunk 
 though they were, had sense enough left not to 
 make any noisy demonstrations of their happy 
 condition, as we came within hail of the ship. 
 
 The captain was walking the poop, and see 
 ing Mr. Ruffally lying in the stern sheets of the 
 boat, he called out to the boatswain, to know what 
 ailed him. 
 
 " I cant say, sir, exactly," said Mr. Bunker, 
 very prudently keeping his seat, " but I believe he 
 is in a fit." 
 
 " A fit !" exclaimed the captain. 
 
 " Yes, sir," replied the boatswain, " appleplexy,. 
 or something of that sort." 
 
 * How long since he was taken?" asked the 
 doctor, who now appeared at the gangway. 
 
 " About two hours since, sir," replied the boat 
 swain. 
 
 " In the name of heaven !" exclaimed the cap 
 tain, " why did you not bring him on board be 
 fore, or send to the ship for assistance." 
 
 " I had no orders, sir," replied the boatswain, 
 gravely, but at the same time giving a comical 
 twist of his mouth, which set the whole boat s 
 crew in a broad grin. 
 
 " What stupidity !" exclaimed the captain. 
 
256 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 " Bear a hand there, Mr. Gravel," he said, ad 
 dressing the officer of the deck, " and get a whip 
 on the main yard, and hoist Mr. RufTally on board, 
 in a chair." 
 
 The doctor ran below for his phlebotomising 
 instruments, to be in readiness to bleed the unfor 
 tunate midshipman to death, in case he should not 
 be dead already ; and the whole ship was in com 
 motion* The whip was overhauled, and Mr. Ruff- 
 ally put into a large arm chair, out of the cap 
 tain s own cabin, and carefully hoisted on board, 
 in an incredibly short space of time. His case 
 was immediately reported to the first lieutenant, 
 who reported it to the captain, who ordered the 
 drunken young gentleman to be put under arrest. 
 Mr. Bunker was sent below to his state-room, 
 w r ith a marine, with a rusty cutlass in his hand, 
 to stand guard over him. Mr. Wallop looked 
 paler than ever, and he was seized with a fit of 
 coughing, which he had no sooner recovered from, 
 than he ordered all the gang who were on the 
 island, o come aft and toe a seam in the deck. 
 But this was a performance which none of them 
 were equal to, except the sober marine and myself; 
 so they were all put in irons, and soon became 
 very noisy. 
 
 Mr. Wallop asked me how the men got their 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 257 
 
 Kquor, and whether they had smuggled any on 
 board. But I remembered the kindness which 
 Mr. RufTally had shown me, when I leaped into 
 the boat, and I was resolved not to betray him, let 
 the consequences be what they might. So I re 
 plied to Mr. Wallop, that I knew nothing at all 
 about the matter ; as I was not placed in charge 
 of the men, I had not troubled myself to watch their 
 actions. 
 
 " You lie, sir," said the lieutenant, with a little 
 more passion than he usually showed, " you do 
 know all about the matter, and I will flog it out of 
 you, if you do not tell me/ 
 
 This threat was placing me in an antagonist 
 position, and instead of terrifying me, it only in 
 spired me with fresh courage to hold out in my 
 determination. As I had conceived a most tho 
 rough contempt for Mr. Wallop, I could not resist 
 the inclination to tell him, if he attempted to flog 
 any thing out of me, he would find it would flog 
 it into me. 
 
 " Order the gratings to be got up instantly, 
 sir," said the captain, who overheard me; " and 
 if he does not tell you, sir, give him two dozen." 
 
 The order was obeyed with great alacrity. The 
 gratings were placed in the gang-way, and the 
 
 boatswain s mate summoned. 
 
 22* 
 
258 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 "Now, you scoundrel," said Mr. Wallop, " an 
 swer my question instantly, or I will flog the life 
 out of you." 
 
 The sight of the preparations for flogging were, 
 indeed, terrifying, and a glance at the sturdy boat- 
 swainVmate, w ? ith his arm bared, and the cat with 
 its thongs still red with Jack Hanson s blood, in 
 his hand, made me quail ; but I was resolved to 
 die, sooner than I would yield to the tyrannical 
 command of the lieutenant. I made no reply to his 
 threat, except by a shake of the head. 
 
 " Strip oflfyour shirt, you wretch," he said, try 
 ing to suppress a cough, " and, boatswain s mate, 
 pipe all hands to witness punishment." 
 
 The order was obeyed. The men came crowd 
 ing aft to the gangway ; the marines were turned 
 out under arms ; the old gray-headed master at 
 arms took his station ; the boatswain s mate stood 
 ready, and the quarter masters, with their nettles 
 in their hands, were prepared to seize me up. I 
 took off my shirt, and stepped with my bare feet 
 upon the gratings ; they put the cords about my 
 ankles, and around my wrists ; they were in the act 
 of making them fast, when I made a sudden spring 
 on to a gun, and then on top of the hammock net 
 tings, and from thence into the main rigging. It 
 was a sudden impulse, for the possibility of escape 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 259 
 
 had never occurred to me, and, indeed, if the act 
 had been premeditated, I could not have accom 
 plished it. Luckily, there was no one aloft, and I 
 reached the top before the first lieutenant recover 
 ed from the astonishment into which my sudden 
 leap threw him. 
 
 " Come down, sir," called out the captain, who 
 stood with his sword in his hand on the poop. 
 
 But I made no reply to his command, and 
 sprung into the topmast rigging. 
 
 " Jump aloft there, captain of the main top," 
 said Mr. Wallop, " and bring the rascal down, or 
 throw him out of the top." 
 
 But the captain of the top did not jump quite as 
 fast as I did, and before he showed his head 
 through the lubber s hole, I had reached the top 
 mast cross-trees, where I stood with my arms fold 
 ed, and gazed about quite at my leisure. Two other 
 men were sent up to catch me, and as they moved 
 rather faster than the captain of the top, I climbed 
 up the topgallant rigging, and then up the royal- 
 mast shrouds, and clinging around the foot of the 
 skysail mast, with my feet resting upon the stay 
 for support, for a moment I almost forgot my pe 
 rilous situation. The higher I mounted, the lighter 
 my spirits grew, and the less fear I felt. So grand 
 and glorious a view as met my eye, while I gazed 
 
260 HARRY FRANCa 
 
 around, might have beguiled a man s thoughts 
 even upon the gallows. But I was not allowed to 
 enjoy the prospect long. The captain of the top 
 reached the topgallant mast head, and told me if I 
 did not come down, he would certainly haul me 
 down ; but I told him if he came within the reach 
 of my feet, I would give him a kick, which should 
 send him headlong to the deck, as sure as his name 
 was Dick Smith. But the captain was bellowing 
 through his speaking trumpet, commanding him 
 to shake me off the mast, and Dick knew no bet 
 ter than to obey the command of his superior, 
 even at the risk of his own life, and he began to 
 climb up towards me. My first impulse was to 
 carry my threat into execution, which I could have 
 easily done ; but a better thought suggested itself 
 to me, and I slipped down on the opposite side of 
 the royal shrouds, and laying hold of the topgal 
 lant lift, slid down and perched myself on the end 
 of the yard, where, with my arms crossed, Hooked 
 down upon deck, with a feeling of exultation. My 
 pursuer was about to follow me, when I drew my 
 knife, and assured him, with an earnestness which 
 frightened him, that if he made the attempt I would 
 cut the lift, and both of us should go overboard to 
 gether. 
 
 The captain threatened to shoot me, if I did not 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 2G1 
 
 come down, but I preferred being shot to being 
 flogged, so I shook my head, and folded my arms 
 again, and turned my face towards the sun, which 
 was just going down behind the long range of 
 grotesque and lofty mountains, which bound the 
 western horizon, giving their peaks of deepest blue 
 a tinge of gold and crimson. The Sugar Loaf, 
 and Gloria Hill, and Cocovado, began to look 
 black and sombre, as the sun withdrew his rays. 
 The time for sending down the topgallant yards, 
 on one of which I was perched, had arrived ; the 
 sun had set, but the colors were not hauled down, 
 and the sunset gun had not been fired. 
 
 I could see all the movements that were going 
 on upon deck, the captain and first lieutenant 
 were pacing the poop deck in a rage, while the 
 other officers were collected together in little 
 knots, and all the men were gazing up at me, 
 apparently with intense solicitude. Presently I 
 saw Mr. Wallop speaking to the marine who had 
 returned from the island with me in the launch ; 
 and from what followed I supposed that he too 
 had refused to tell how the liquor was procured ; 
 for he was seized up at the gangway, and directly 
 his piercing cries rang through the air, as the 
 boatswain s mate laid the cat upon his bare back. 
 I writhed and shuddered every time the boat- 
 
262 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 swain s mate raised his arm. They gave the 
 poor marine thirty-six lashes, and then they cut 
 him down ; he behaved manfully, and refused to 
 divulge a word. 
 
 The captain seized his speaking trumpet again, 
 and called out to me to come down, swearing a 
 horrible oath, that he would shoot me if I did not. 
 I only shook my head, and clung more closely to 
 the lift. He called for the sergeant of marines, 
 who, I remembered having heard, was an expert 
 marksman with the rifle. The sergeant went upon 
 the poop with his rifle in his hand, and the captain, 
 ordered him to take aim at me, and fire ; but he 
 hesitated, upon which the captain drew his sword, 
 and commanded him again to fire at me, swearing 
 that he would run him through if he missed me. 
 
 I cannot say that I felt any fear ; death was a 
 thousand times preferable to the disgrace of a flog 
 ging, besides, I felt myself innocent of any offence. 
 And there, too, were the upturned faces of the 
 whole crew, gazing at me with their hearts in their 
 eyes, and I knew that I had the sympathy of 
 every man on board, with the exception of the 
 captain and Mr. Wallop, and even they, I knew, 
 could not condemn me in their hearts. 
 
 I saw the sergeant bring his rifle to an aim, I 
 averted my head ; there was a death-like stillness 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 263 
 
 on deck ; the next moment I heard the click 
 of the trigger, and quicker than the ball which 
 sped from the rifle came the thoughts of my 
 mother and sister, the gentle Georgiana, and the 
 prophecy of rny haughty cousin ; now was its ful 
 filment, and all my exertions had come to nought. 
 O that these thoughts had corne but a moment be 
 fore ; with them in rny mind, the gangway would 
 have been divested of its terrors, the anguish of a 
 life was crowded into the smallest conceivable 
 space of time. I made an effort to raise my arm, 
 but it was too late; the ball whizzed through the 
 air, and struck the lift just beyond the reach of 
 my arm. It did not cut it in two, only two strands 
 of the rope were severed. There was a hope ! 
 How my eyes gazed upon that slender thread 
 upon which my earthly existence was hanging, 
 and with what a shock the blood rushed back into 
 my head as I saw it snap asunder. 
 
 In my fall from that fearful height I glanced 
 against the main yard, which gave a slight turn 
 to my body, just sufficient to carry me clear of the 
 main chains into the water. The rush of the air 
 as I fell, the many-voiced shriek of the crew, and 
 the roar of the water as I sank beneath its sur 
 face, all sound in nay ears even now while I write ; 
 and often since have I started from a deep sleep, 
 
264 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 with the same confusion of noises ringing in my 
 brain. 
 
 I had scarcely touched the water before a dozen 
 men had leaped overboard to rescue me, and, 
 strange as it may seem, the captain was among 
 the number; they caught me as I rose to the sur 
 face, and lifted me into one of the cutters, from 
 which I was hoisted on board by the same whip 
 which was got up for Mr. Ruffally, the cause of 
 all the tumult. I was scarcely for a minute insen 
 sible to all that was going on, but 1 did not choose 
 to show any signs of life till I had been well rub 
 bed, and had a glass of brandy poured down my 
 throat, when I opened my eyes, and made a mo 
 tion with my hand, just in time to save myself from 
 being bled by the doctor, who stood by me with 
 his lancet in his hand. I was then taken below, 
 and put into a cot, where I lay comfortable enough 
 for the next three weeks, receiving visits every 
 day from the doctor, and congratulations and 
 kind words from all my shipmates, particularly 
 from the boatswain and the men who were on the 
 island with me ; all of whom had been set at li 
 berty, without being punished, and even Mr. 
 Ruffally, the drunken swab of a young gentle 
 man, was liberated from his confinement. 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 265 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 Leave Rio, and arrive at New York : a wide interval, but a 
 short chapter. 
 
 DURING the time that I was confined to my 
 cot, our ship was relieved by the arrival of the 
 Corvette Union; but a revolution having broken 
 out in Rio, the American merchants residing 
 there, and the English admiral on the station, 
 sent to our captain, requesting him to delay his 
 departure for a few days, until the result of the 
 outbreak should be known ; but he had promised 
 his crew that he would weigh anchor for home 
 the day after his relief should arrive ; and before 
 he returned an answer to these requests, he called 
 the crew aft, and told them he felt it his duty to re 
 main, but that he could not do so without they 
 would release him from his promise ; they, how 
 ever, were too anxious to get home to do so, 
 and they insisted on his fulfilling it, which he 
 did. 
 
 Mr. Wallop s cough had grown so bad he con 
 sidered it prudent to remain on the station, and 
 when he left the ship, the crew could hardly be 
 
 restrained from giving three cheers. The third 
 VOL. i. 23 
 
266 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 day after the ship left Rio, I came upon deck, and 
 continued to perform my duty the remainder of 
 the time I was on board, without experiencing 
 any inconvenience from the effects of my fall. 
 The officer who succeeded Mr. Wallop as first 
 lieutenant, was Mr. Futtuck, a good sailor and a 
 strict disciplinarian ; under his command the du 
 ty of the ship was well performed ; the crew were 
 cheerful and obedient, and the cat was dispensed 
 with. The brutalizing exhibition of one man 
 flogging another was never again repeated. Mr. 
 Futtuck was not one of those imbeciles, who are 
 forced to seek the aid of a boatswain s mate 
 to compel respect from their inferiors in sta 
 tion. 
 
 We were favored with bright skies and full sails 
 on our homeward passage, and on the forty-seventh 
 morning after leaving Rio, we came in sight of 
 v the Highlands of Neversink, with their woody 
 sides and white beach, standing like an old 
 friend, to greet me on my return, with an unchan 
 ged face. 
 
 The wind being favorable, we sailed directly 
 up to the Navy Yard, and the next day the crew 
 were paid off. As I was only rated an ordinary 
 seaman, it will readily be supposed that the 
 amount of my wages was but small, which was 
 

 A TALE OF THE PANIC. 267 
 
 true enough, and yet I was paid off with more 
 than double the amount that any of the crew had 
 to receive. 
 
 Mr. Futtuck, the first lieutenant, called the 
 petty officers together the morning on which we 
 were paid off, and told them if they did not get 
 up a subscription for me, as a compliment for my 
 generosity in refusing to inform on them, even 
 at the risk of my life, they were no men, and 
 not deserving the name of sailors; and he pro 
 mised them if they did not, he would work the 
 souls out of them, if he ever caught either of 
 them on board of a ship again. 
 
 They all acknowledged it to be a good and 
 seamanlike proposition, and showed their convic 
 tions of its propriety, by ripping out some of the 
 roundest oaths that were ever uttered. A paper 
 was accordingly drawn up, requesting the purser 
 to stop out of each man s pay the sum which 
 should be subscribed against his name, and to pay 
 the same over to me. 
 
 Mr. Ruffally headed the list, by putting down 
 his name for fifty dollars ; but it was not paid, as 
 he had already overdrawn his account ; but he 
 told me not to think the less of his generosity, as 
 he intended, when he went back to North Caroli 
 na, to make me a present of a rice plantation 
 
268 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 and a hnndred negroes. The boatswain, deter 
 mined not to be outdone by a reefer, put down his 
 name for fifty dollars, which was paid. When 
 the list was handed in to the purser, it amount 
 ed to something more than a thousand dol 
 lars. 
 
 As I was the last man that joined the ship, I 
 was the last paid off; and when the purser reach 
 ed me a check, I was startled at the amount, and 
 told him he had made a mistake ; for I knew 
 nothing about the subscription, it having been 
 kept a secret from me on purpose. When the 
 purser explained to me, and told me the money all 
 belonged to me, I could not help bursting into 
 tears. I told him my conscience would not allow 
 me to keep the money, as I had done nothing to 
 entitle me to it. 
 
 " Don t be a simpleton,* said the purser, "you 
 must take it, for the men are now all ashore, and 
 most of them drunk before this time. So take the 
 check, and make a good use of the money. I am 
 only sorry it is not twice as much. * 
 
 So I put the check into my pocket, and having 
 packed up my few clothes in a canvass bag, I was 
 about leaving the ship, when Mr. Futtuck called 
 me to him on the quarter deck. 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 269 
 
 " Now, Franco," said Mr. Futtuck, " how 
 much money have they given you ?" 
 
 I showed him the check which the purser had 
 
 * 
 given me. 
 
 " Now that is something like," he exclaimed ; 
 " I am glad of it ; you deserve it all, and more 
 too. If it were not for my poor old aunt, who is 
 on my hands just now, God bless her! I would 
 add something handsome to it, I m d d if I 
 wouldn t. However, it s a pretty good sum ; more 
 than I ever expect to be worth, unless the < bill 
 should pass both houses, and I know it wont. 
 But, my fine fellow, don t go among the girls 
 with a copper in your pocket ; they are the very 
 devil for getting money away from sailors, as I 
 know to my cost. And take my advice, and don t 
 go to sea again ; it s a dog s life. And yet it is 
 a pity that you should not, for I don t know ex 
 actly what a smart youngster like you could do 
 ashore ; perhaps you might get the cashiershjjp of 
 a bank, or something of that sort. However, 
 keep a stiff upper lip, and if the bill for creating 
 admirals should pass through Congress, I will 
 use my influence with the Secretary to get you a 
 midshipman s warrant. I will, upon my soul ; but 
 the service is going to kingdom come, as it is. 
 Bless my soul, it eats into my happiness, like 
 
270 HARRY FRANCO, 
 
 salt water on a gilt button, to think that a set of 
 broad-shouldered, strong-fisted, stout-hearted, 
 clear-headed, and free-thoughted, fine fellows, 
 should be at the mercy of a third rate lawyer or 
 a second rate hack novelist fellows that don t 
 know a cat-head from a cat-harping." 
 
 Knowing it was a peculiarity of Mr. Futtuck s 
 to talk as long as any one would listen to him, I 
 thought there would be no more incivility in cut 
 ting him short at one time than another. So I 
 thanked him for his kind promises and good ad 
 vice, which I promised faithfully to observe, and 
 bade him good bye. 
 
 I took my bag under my arm, jumped into the 
 boat along side, and pulled myself ashore. 
 
 All my shipmates had left the ship some time 
 before me, and she looked dreary enough. The 
 only signs of life about her were two or three 
 midshipmen standing on the poop, looking very 
 anxiously upon the green fields of the Wall about. 
 Her colors were hauled down, her masts housed, 
 her rigging was hanging about in disorder, and 
 her top gallant yards, the scene of my triumph, 
 lay upon deck. I gave her a parting glance, and 
 calling to mind the gang-way and gratings, and 
 
A TALE OF THE PANIC. 271 
 
 the cat o nine tails, I turned my back upon her, 
 and quickened my pace. 
 
 My first object was to find a boarding house, 
 and to divest myself of my short jacket and nan 
 kin collared shirt. 
 
 END OF VOL. I, 
 
U.C.BERKELEY LIBRARIES