m 
 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND 
 
 OR, 
 
 THE CHASE. 
 
 A-TALE OF THE SEA, 
 
 AUTHOR OF "THE PILOT," "THE SPY," ETC, 
 
 "Is 't not strange, Canidius, 
 That from Tarentum, and Brundtisium, 
 He could so quickly cut the Ionian sea, 
 And take in Toryne?" 
 
 SHAKSPKAHE, 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES, 
 VOL. I. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 CAREY, LEA & BLANC HARD. 
 
 1838. 
 
Entered according to the act of Congress, in the year 1838, 
 by CABET, LEA & BLANCHAHD, in the Clerk's Office of the Dis 
 trict Court of the United States, in and for the Eastern District 
 of Pennsylvania. 
 
 . 
 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 IN one respect, this book is a parallel to Franklin's 
 well-known apologue of the hatter and his sign. It 
 was commenced with a sole view to exhibit the 
 present state of society in the United States, through 
 the agency, in part, of a set of characters with dif 
 ferent peculiarities, who had freshly arrived from 
 Europe, and to whom the distinctive features of the 
 country would be apt to present themselves with 
 greater force, than to those who had never lived 
 beyond the influence of the things portrayed. By 
 the original plan, the work was to open at the 
 threshold of the country, or with the arrival of the 
 travellers at Sandy Hook, from which point the tale 
 was to have been carried regularly forward to its 
 conclusion. But a consultation with others has left 
 little more of this plan than the hatter's friends left 
 of his sign. As a vessel was introduced in the first 
 chapter, the cry was for "more ship," until the work 
 has become "all ship;" it actually closing at, or 
 near, the spot where it was originally intended it 
 should commence. Owing to this diversion from 
 the author's design a design that lay at the bottom 
 of all his projects a necessity has been created of 
 running the tale through two separate works, or of 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 making a hurried and insufficient conclusion. The 
 former scheme has, consequently, been adopted. 
 
 It is hoped that the interest of the narrative will 
 not be essentially diminished by this arrangement. 
 
 There will be, very likely, certain imaginative 
 persons, who will feel disposed to deny that every 
 minute event mentioned in these volumes ever befell 
 one and the same ship, though ready enough to admit 
 that they may very well have occurred to several 
 different ships; a mode of commenting that is much 
 in favour with your small critic. To this objection, 
 we shall make but a single answer. The caviller, if 
 any there should prove to be, is challenged to pro 
 duce the log-book of the Montauk, London packet, 
 and if it should be found to contain a single sentence 
 to controvert any one of our statements or facts, a 
 frank recantation shall be made. Captain Truck is 
 quite as well known in New York as in London or 
 Portsmouth, and to him also we refer with confi 
 dence, for a confirmation of all we have said, with 
 the exception, perhaps, of the little occasional touches 
 of character that may allude directly to himself. In 
 relation to the latter, Mr. Leach, and particularly 
 Mr. Saunders, are both invoked as unimpeachable 
 witnesses. 
 
 Most of our readers will probably know that all 
 which appears in a New York journal is not neces 
 sarily as true as the Gospel. As some slight devia 
 tions from the facts accidentally occur, though doubt 
 less at very long intervals, it should not be surprising 
 that they sometimes omit circumstances that are quite 
 
PREFACE, - V 
 
 as veracious as anything they do actually utter to 
 the world. No argument, therefore, can justly be 
 urged against the incidents of this story, on account 
 of the circumstance of their not being embodied in 
 the regular marine news of the day. 
 
 Another serious objection on the part of the Ameri 
 can reader to this work is foreseen. The author has 
 endeavoured to interest his readers in occurrences 
 of a date as antiquated as two years can make them, 
 when he is quite aware, that, in order to keep pace 
 with a state of society in which there was no yester 
 day, it would have been much safer to anticipate 
 things, by laying his scene two years in advance. 
 It is hoped, however, that the public sentiment will 
 not be outraged by this glimpse at antiquity, and this 
 the more so, as the sequel of the tale will bring down 
 events within a year of the present moment. 
 
 To commence with the most important: the Mon- 
 tauk herself, once deemed so " splendid" and conve 
 nient, is already supplanted in the public favour by a 
 new ship; the reign of a popular packet, a popular 
 preacher, or a popular anything-else, in America, 
 being limited by a national esprit de corps, to a time 
 materially shorter than that of a lustre. This, how 
 ever, is no more than just; rotation in favour being 
 as evidently a matter of constitutional necessity, as 
 rotation in office. 
 
 Captain Truck, for a novelty, continues popular, a 
 circumstance that he himself ascribes to the fact of 
 his being still a bachelor. 
 
 Toast is promoted, figuring at the head of a pantry 
 1* 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 quite equal to that of his great master, who regards 
 his improvement with some such eyes as Charles the 
 Twelfth of Sweden regarded that of his great rival 
 Peter, after the affair of Pultowa. 
 
 Mr. Leach- now smokes his own cigar, and issues 
 his own orders from a monkey rail, his place in the 
 line being supplied by his former " Dickey." He 
 already speaks of his great model, as of one a little 
 antiquated, it is true, but as a man who had merit in 
 his time, though it was not the particular merit that 
 is in fashion to-day. 
 
 Notwithstanding these little changes, which are 
 perhaps inseparable from the events of a period so 
 long as two years in a country so energetic as 
 America, and in which nothing seems to be station 
 ary but the ages of Tontine nominees, and three-life 
 leases, a cordial esteem was created among the 
 principal actors in the events of this book, which is 
 likely to outlast the passage, and which will not fail 
 to bring most of them together again in the sequel. 
 W 
 
 April, 1838. 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 An inner room I have, 
 
 Where thou shalt rest and some refreshment take, 
 And then we will more fully talk of this. 
 
 ORRA. 
 
 THE coast of England, though infinitely finer than 
 our own, is more remarkable for its verdure, and for 
 a general appearance of civilisation, than for its na 
 tural beauties. The chalky cliffs may seem bold and 
 noble to the American, though compared to the gra 
 nite piles that buttress the Mediterranean they are 
 but mole-hills ; and the travelled eye seeks beauties 
 instead, in the retiring vales, the leafy hedges, and 
 the clustering towns that dot the teeming island. 
 Neither is Portsmouth a very favourable specimen of 
 a British port, considered solely in reference to the 
 picturesque. A town situated on a humble point, and 
 fortified after the manner of the Low Countries, with 
 an excellent haven, suggests more images of the use 
 ful than of the pleasing; while a background of 
 modest receding hills offers little beyond the verdant 
 swales of the country. In this respect England itself 
 has the fresh beauty of youth, rather than the mel 
 lowed hues of a more advanced period of life ; or it 
 might be better to say, it has the young freshness 
 and retiring sweetness that distinguish her females, 
 
 VOL. i. 2 
 
14 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 as compared with the warmer tints of Spain and 
 Italy, and which, women and landscape alike, need 
 the near view to be appreciated. 
 
 Some such thoughts as these passed through the 
 mind of the traveller who stood on the deck of the 
 packet Montauk, resting an elbow on the quarter 
 deck rail, as he contemplated the view of the coast 
 that stretched before him east and west for leagues. 
 The manner in which this gentleman, whose temples 
 were sprinkled with grey hairs, regarded the scene, 
 denoted more of the thoughtfulness of experience, 
 and of tastes improved by observation, than it is 
 usual to meet amid the bustling and common-place 
 characters that compose the majority in almost 
 every situation of life. The calmness of his exterior, 
 an air removed equally from the admiration of the 
 novice and the superciliousness of the tyro, had, in 
 deed, so strongly distinguished him from the moment 
 he embarked in London to that in which he was now 
 seen in the position mentioned, that several of the 
 seamen swore he was a man-of-war's-man in dis 
 guise. The fair-haired, lovely, blue-eyed girl at his 
 side, too, seemed a softened reflection of all his sen 
 timents, intelligence, knowledge, tastes, and cultiva 
 tion, united to the artlessness and simplicity that 
 became her sex and years. 
 
 "We have seen nobler coasts, Eve," said the gen 
 tleman, pressing the arm that leaned on his own; 
 ' but, after all, England will always be fair to Ame 
 rican eyes." 
 
 " More particularly so if those eyes first opened to 
 the light in the eighteenth century, father." 
 
 " You, at least, my child, have been educated be 
 yond the reach of national foibles, whatever may 
 have been my own evil fortune; and still, I think 
 even you have seen a great deal to admire in this 
 country, as well as in this coast." 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 15 
 
 Eve Effingham glanced a moment towards the eye 
 of her father, and perceiving that he spoke in play 
 fulness, without suffering a cloud to shadow a coun 
 tenance that usually varied with her emotions, she 
 continued the discourse, which had, in fact, only 
 been resumed by the remark first mentioned. 
 
 " I have been educated, as it is termed, in so many 
 different places and countries," returned Eve, smiling, 
 " that I sometimes fancy I was born a woman, like 
 my great predecessor and namesake, the mother of 
 Abel. If a congress of nations, in the way of mas 
 ters, can make one independent of prejudice, I may 
 claim to possess the advantage. My greatest fear is, 
 that in acquiring liberality, I have acquired nothing 
 else." 
 
 Mr. Effingham turned a look of parental fondness, 
 in which parental pride was clearly mingled, on the 
 face of his daughter, and said with his eyes, though 
 his tongue did not second the expression, " This is a 
 fear, sweet one, that none besides thyself would feel." 
 
 " A congress of nations, truly !" muttered another 
 male voice near the father and daughter. "You 
 have been taught music in general, by seven masters 
 of as many different states, besides the touch of the 
 guitar by a Spaniard; Greek by a German; the liv 
 ing tongues by the European powers, and philosophy 
 by seeing the world ; and now, with a brain full of 
 learning, fingers full of touches, eyes full of tints, 
 and a person full of graces, your father is taking you 
 back to America, to * waste your sweetness on the 
 desert air.' " 
 
 " Poetically expressed, if not justly imagined, 
 Cousin Jack," returned the laughing Eve; "but you 
 have forgot to add, and a heart full of feeling for the 
 land of my birth." 
 
 " We shall see, in the end." 
 
 
16 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 " In the end, as in the beginning, now and for ever 
 more." 
 
 " All love is eternal in the commencement." 
 
 " Do you make no allowance for the constancy of 
 woman 1 Think you that a girl of twenty can forget 
 the country of her birth, the land of her forefathers 
 or, as you call it yourself when in a good humour, 
 the land of liberty ?" 
 
 " A pretty specimen you will have of its liberty !" 
 returned the cousin sarcastically. "After having 
 passed a girlhood of wholesome restraint in the 
 rational society of Europe, you are about to return 
 home to the slavery of American female life, just as 
 you are about to be married !" 
 
 Married ! Mr. Effingham ?" 
 
 " I suppose the catastrophe will arrive, sooner or 
 later; and it is more likely to occur to a girl of 
 twenty than to a girl of ten." 
 
 " Mr. John Effingham never lost an argument for 
 the want of a convenient fact, my love," the father 
 observed by way of bringing the brief discussion to 
 a close. " But here are the boats approaching; let 
 us withdraw a little, and examine the chance-medley 
 of faces with which we are to become familiar by 
 the intercourse of a month." 
 
 " You will be much more likely to agree on a ver 
 dict of murder," muttered the kinsman. 
 
 Mr. Effingham led his daughter into the hurricane- 
 house or, as the packet-men quaintly term it, the 
 coach-house, where they stood watching the move 
 ments on the quarter-deck for the next half-hour ; an 
 interval of which we shall take advantage to touch 
 in a few of the stronger lights of our picture, leav 
 ing the softer tints and the shadow's to be discovered 
 by the manner in which the artist " tells the story." 
 
 Edward and John Effingham were brothers' child 
 ren ; were born on the same day ; had passionately 
 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 17 
 
 loved the same woman, who had preferred the first- 
 named, and died soon after Eve was born ; had, not 
 withstanding this collision in feeling, remained sin 
 cere friends, and this the more so, probably, from a 
 mutual and natural sympathy in their common loss; 
 had lived much together at home, and travelled 
 much together abroad, and were now about to re 
 turn in company to the land of their birth, after what 
 might be termed an absence of twelve years; though 
 both had visited America for short periods in the in 
 tervals, John not less than five times. 
 
 There was a strong family likeness between the 
 cousins, their persons and even features being almost 
 identical ; though it was scarcely possible for two 
 human beings to leave more opposite impressions on 
 mere casual spectators when seen separately. Both 
 were tail, of commanding presence, and handsome; 
 while one was winning in appearance, and the other, 
 if not positively forbidding, at least distant and re 
 pulsive. The noble outline efface in Edward Effing- 
 ham had got to be cold severity in that of John ; his 
 aquiline nose seeming to possess an eagle-like and 
 hostile curvature, his compressed lip, sarcastic and 
 cold expression, and the fine classical chin, a feature 
 in which so many of the Saxon race fail, a haughty 
 scorn that caused strangers usually to avoid him. 
 Eve drew with great, facility and truth, and she had 
 an eye, as her cousin had rightly said, " full of tints." 
 Often and often had she sketched both of these loved 
 faces, and never without wondering wherein that 
 strong difference existed in nature which she had 
 never been able to impart to her drawings. The truth 
 is, that the subtle character of John Effingham's face 
 would r have puzzled the skill of one who had made 
 the art his study for a life, and it utterly set the grace 
 ful but scarcely profound knowledge of the beautiful 
 young painter at defiance. All the points of charac 
 
 2* 
 
 *% 
 
 
IS HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 ter that rendered her father so amiable and so winning, 
 and which were rather felt than perceived, in his 
 cousin were salient and bold, and, if it may be thus 
 expressed, had become indurated by mental suffering 
 and disappointment. 
 
 The cousins were both rich, though in ways as 
 opposite as their dispositions and habits of thought. 
 Edward Effingham possessed a large hereditary pro 
 perty, that brought a good income, and which at 
 tached him to this world of ours by kindly feelings 
 towards its land and waters; while John, much the 
 wealthier of the two, having inherited a large com 
 mercial fortune, did not own ground enough to bury 
 him. As he sometimes deridingly said, he " kept his 
 gold in corporations, that were as soulless as him 
 self." 
 
 Still, John Effingham was a man of cultivated 
 mind, of extensive intercourse with the world, and 
 of manners that varied with the occasion ; or per 
 haps it were better to say, with his humours. In all 
 these particulars but the latter the cousins were 
 alike; Edward Effingham's deportment being as 
 equal as his temper, though also distinguished for a 
 knowledge of society. 
 
 These gentlemen had embarked at London, on 
 their fiftieth birthday, in the packet of the 1st of Oc 
 tober, bound to New York; the lands and family 
 residence of the proprietor lying in the state of that 
 name, of which all of the parties were natives. It is 
 not usual for the cabin passengers of the London 
 packets to embark in the docks ; but Mr. Effingham, 
 as we shall call the father in general, to distinguish 
 him from the bachelor, John, as an old and expe 
 rienced traveller, had determined to make his daugh 
 ter familiar with the peculiar odours of the vessel in 
 smooth water, as a protection against sea-sickness; 
 a malady, however, from which she proved to be 
 
 
 
 :i sne pro\ 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 19 
 
 singularly exempt in the end. They had, according 
 ly, been on board three days, when the ship came to 
 an anchor off Portsmouth, the point where the re 
 mainder of the passengers were to join her on that 
 particular day when the scene of this tale com 
 mences. 
 
 At this precise moment, then, the Montauk was 
 lying at a single anchor, not less than a league from 
 the land, in a flat calm, with her three topsails loose, 
 the courses in the brails, and with all those signs of 
 preparation about her that are so bewildering to 
 landsmen, but which seamen comprehend as clearly 
 as words. The captain had no other business there 
 than to take on board the wayfarers, and to renew 
 his supply of fresh meat and vegetables ; things of 
 so familiar import on shore as to be seldom thought 
 of until missed, but which swell into importance 
 during a passage of a month's duration. Eve had 
 employed her three days of probation quite usefully, 
 having, with the exception of the two gentlemen, the 
 officers of the vessel, and one other person, been in 
 quiet possession of all the ample, not to say luxurious 
 cabins. It is true, she had a female attendant; but 
 to her she had been accustomed from childhood, and 
 Nanny Sidley, as her quondam nurse and actual 
 ladyVmaid was termed, appeared so much a part of 
 herself, that, while her absence would be missed 
 almost as greatly as that of a limb, her presence was 
 as much a matter of course as a hand or foot. Nor 
 will a passing word concerning this excellent and 
 faithful domestic be thrown away, in the brief pre 
 liminary explanations we are making. 
 
 Ann Sidley was one of those excellent creatures 
 who, it is the custom with the European travellers to 
 say, do not exist at all in America, and who, while 
 they are certainly less numerous than could be wish 
 ed, have no superiors in the word, in their way. She 
 
 
20 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 had been born a servant, lived a servant, and was 
 quite content to die a servant, and this, too, in one 
 and the same family. We shall not enter into a phi 
 losophical examination of the reasons that had in 
 duced old Ann to feel certain she was in the precise 
 situation to render her more happy than any other 
 that to her was attainable ; but feel it she did, as John 
 Effingham used to express it, " from the crown of her 
 head to the sole of her foot." She had passed through 
 infancy, childhood, girlhood, up to womanhood, part 
 pctssu, with the mother of Eve, having been the 
 daughter of a gardener, who died in the service of 
 the family, and had heart enough to feel that the 
 mixed relations of civilised society, when properly 
 understood and appreciated, are more pregnant of 
 happiness than the vulgar scramble and heart-burn 
 ings, that, in the melee of a migrating and unsettled 
 population, are so injurious to the grace and princi 
 ples of American life. At the death of Eve's mo 
 ther, she had transferred her affections to the child ; 
 and twenty years of assiduity and care had brought 
 her to feel as much tenderness for her lovely young 
 charge as if she had been her natural parent. But 
 Nanny Sidley was better fitted to care for the body 
 than the mind of Eve ; and when, at the age often, the 
 latter was placed under the control of an accomplish 
 ed governess, the good woman had meekly and quietly 
 sunk the duties of the nurse in those of the maid. 
 
 One of the severest trials or " crosses," as she 
 herself termed it that poor Nanny had ever expe-' 
 rienced, was endured when Eve began to speak in a 
 language she could not herself comprehend ; for, in 
 despite of the best intentions in the world, and twelve 
 years of use, the good woman could never make any 
 thing of the foreign tongues ]%er young charge was 
 so rapidly acquiring. One day, when Eve had been 
 maintaining an animated and laughing discourse in 
 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 21 
 
 Italian with her instructress, Nanny, unable to com 
 mand herself, had actually caught the child to her 
 bosom, and, bursting into tears, implored her not to 
 estrange herself entirely from her poor old nurse. 
 The caresses arid solicitations of Eve soon brought 
 the good woman to a sense of her weakness ; but the 
 natural feeling was so strong, that it required years 
 of close observation to reconcile her to the thousand 
 excellent qualities of Mademoiselle Viefville, the lady 
 to whose superintendence the education of Miss 
 Effingham had been finally confided. 
 
 This Mademoiselle Viefville was also among the 
 passengers, and was the one other person who now 
 occupied the cabins in common with Eve and her 
 friends. She was the daughter of a French officer 
 who had fallen in Napoleon's campaigns, had 
 been educated at one of those admirable establish 
 ments which form points of relief in the ruthless his 
 tory of the conqueror, and had now lived long enough 
 to have educated two young persons, the last of 
 whom was Eve Effingham. Twelve years of close 
 communion with her eleve had created sufficient at 
 tachment to cause her to yield to the solicitations of 
 the father to accompany his daughter to America, 
 and to continue with her during the first year of her 
 probation, in a state of society that the latter felt 
 must be altogether novel to a young woman educated 
 as his own child had been. 
 
 So much has been written and said of French 
 governesses, that we shall not anticipate the subject, 
 but leave this lady to speak and act for herself in the 
 course of the narrative. Neither is it our intention 
 to be very minute in these introductory remarks con 
 cerning any of our characters; but having thus 
 traced their outlines, we shall return again to the in 
 cidents as they occurred, trusting to make the reader 
 better acquainted with all the parties as we proceed. 
 
 
 
22 ^ HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Lord Cram and Lord Vultur, 
 Sir Brandish O'Cultur, 
 With Marshal Carouzer, 
 And old Lady Mouser. 
 
 Bath Guide. 
 
 THE assembling of the passengers of a packet-ship 
 is at all times a matter of interest to the parties con 
 cerned. During the western passage in particular, 
 which can never safely be set down at less than a 
 month, there is the prospect of being shut up for the 
 whole of that period, within the narrow compass of 
 a ship, with those whom chance has brought together, 
 influenced by all the accidents and caprices of per 
 sonal character, and a difference of nations, condi 
 tions in life, and education. The quarter-deck, it is 
 true, forms a sort of local distinction, and the poor 
 creatures in the steerage seem the rejected of Provi 
 dence for the time being; but all who know life will 
 readily comprehend that the pele-mele of the cabins 
 can seldom offer anything very enticing to people of 
 refinement and taste. To this, however, there is one 
 particular source of relief; most persons feeling a 
 disposition to yield to the circumstances in which 
 they are placed, with the laudable and convenient 
 desire to render others comfortable, in order that they 
 may be made comfortable themselves. 
 
 A man of the world and a gentleman, Mr. Effing- 
 ham had looked forward to this passage with a good 
 deal of concern, on account of his daughter, while he 
 shrank with the sensitiveness of his habits from the 
 necessity of exposing one of her delicacy and plastic 
 simplicity to the intercourse of a ship. Accompanied 
 
 
HOMEWARD BOUxYD. 23 
 
 by Mademoiselle Viefville, watched over by Nanny, 
 and guarded by himself and his kinsman, he had lost 
 some of his apprehensions on the subject during the 
 three probationary days, and now took his stand in 
 the centre of his own party to observe the new arri 
 vals, with something of the security of a man who is 
 entrenched in his own door-way. 
 
 The place they occupied, at a window of the hurri 
 cane-house, did not admit of a view of the water; 
 but it was sufficiently evident from the preparations 
 in the gangway next the land, that boats were so 
 near as to render that unnecessary. 
 
 " Genus, cockney; species, bag-man," muttered 
 John Effingham, as the first arrival touched the deck. 
 " That worthy has merely exchanged the basket of a 
 coach for the deck of a packet; we may now learn 
 the price of buttons." 
 
 It did not require a naturalist to detect the species 
 of the stranger, in truth ; though John Effingham had 
 been a little more minute in his description than was 
 warranted by the fact. The person in question was 
 one of those mercantile agents that England scatters 
 so profusely over the world, some of whom have all 
 the most sterling qualities of their nation, though a 
 majority, perhaps, are a little disposed to mistake the 
 value of other people as well as their own. This was 
 the genus, as John Effingham had expressed it; but 
 the species will best appear on dissection. The mas 
 ter of the ship saluted this person cordially, and as an 
 old acquaintance, by the name of Monday. 
 
 " A mousquetaire resuscitated," said Mademoiselle 
 Viefville, in her broken English, as one who had 
 come in the same boat as the first-named, thrust his 
 whiskered and mustachoed visage above the rail of 
 the gangway. 
 
 " More probably a barber, who has converted his 
 
24 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 own head into a wig-block," growled John Effing- 
 ham. 
 
 "It cannot, surely, be Wellington in disguise!" 
 added Mr. Effingham, with a sarcasm of manner that 
 was quite unusual for him. 
 
 " Or a peer of the realm in his robes !" whispered 
 Eve, who was much amused with the elaborate toilet 
 of the subject of their remarks, who descended the 
 ladder supported by a sailor, and, after speaking to 
 the master, was formally presented to his late boat- 
 companion, as Sir George Templemore. The two 
 bustled together about the quarter-deck for a few mi 
 nutes, using eye-glasses, which led them into several 
 scrapes, by causing them to hit their legs against 
 sundry objects they might otherwise have avoided, 
 though both were much too high-bred to betray feel 
 ings or fancied they were, which answered the same 
 purpose. 
 
 After these flourishes, the new comers descended 
 to the cabin in company, not without pausing to sur 
 vey the party in the hurricane-house, more especially 
 Eve, who, to old Ann's great scandal, was the subject 
 of their manifest and almost avowed admiration and 
 observation. 
 
 " One is rather glad to have such a relief against 
 the tediousness of a sea-passage," said Sir George as 
 they went down the ladder. "No doubt you are 
 used to this sort of thing, Mr. Monday; .but with me, 
 it is voyage the first, that is, if I except the Channel 
 and the seas one encounters in making the usual run 
 on the Continent." 
 
 " Oh, dear me ! I go and come as regularly as the 
 equinoxes, Sir George, which you know is quite, in 
 rule, once a year. I call my passages the equinoxes, 
 too, for 1 religiously make it a practice to pass just 
 twelve hours out of the twenty-four in my berth." 
 
 This was the last the party on deck heard of the 
 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 25 
 
 opinions of the two worthies, for the time being; nor 
 would they have been favoured with all this, had not 
 Mr. Monday Avhat he thought a rattling way with 
 him, which caused him usually to speak in an octave 
 above every one else. Although their voices were 
 nearly rnute, or rather lost to those above, they were 
 heard knocking about in their state-rooms ; and Sir 
 George, in particular, as frequently called out for the 
 steward, by the name of " Saunders," as Mr. Mon 
 day made similar appeals to the steward's assist 
 ant for succour, by the appropriate appellation of 
 " Toast." 
 
 " I think we may safely claim this person, at least, 
 for a countryman," said John Effingham : " he is 
 what I have heard termed an American in a Euro 
 pean mask." 
 
 " The character is more ambitiously conceived 
 than skilfully maintained," replied Eve, who had need 
 of all her retenue of manner to abstain from laughing 
 outright. " Were I to hazard a conjecture, it would 
 be to describe the gentleman as a collector of cos 
 tumes, who had taken a fancy to exhibit an assort 
 ment of his riches on his own person. Mademoiselle 
 Viefville, you, who so well understand costumes, may 
 tell us from what countries the separate parts of that 
 attire have been collected?" 
 
 " I can answer for the shop in Berlin where the 
 travelling cap was purchased," returned the amused 
 governess ; " in no other part of the world can a pa 
 rallel be found." 
 
 " I should think, ma'am," put in Nanny, with the 
 quiet simplicity of her nature as well as of her habits, 
 " that the gentleman must have bought his boots in 
 Paris, for they seem to pinch his feet, and all the 
 Paris boots and shoes pinch one's feet, at least, all 
 mine did." 
 
 VOL. i. 3 
 
26 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 "The watch-guard is stamped 'Geneva,'" con 
 tinued Eve. 
 
 " The coat comes from Frankfort : tfest une Equi 
 voque" 
 
 " And the pipe from Dresden, Mademoiselle Vief- 
 ville." 
 
 " The concliTglia savours of Rome, and the little 
 chain annexed bespeaks the Rialto ; while the mou 
 staches are anything but indigenes, and the tout ensem 
 ble the world : the man is travelled, at least." 
 
 Eve's eyes sparkled with humour as she said this : 
 while the new passenger, who had been addressed as 
 Mr. Dodge, and an old acquaintance also, by the cap 
 tain, came so near them as to admit of no further 
 comments. A short conversation between the two 
 soon let the listeners into the secret that the traveller 
 had come from America in the spring, whither, after 
 having made the tour of Europe, he was about to re 
 turn in the autumn. 
 
 "Seen enough, ha!" added the captain, with a 
 friendly nod of the head, when the other had finished 
 a brief summary of his proceedings in the eastern 
 hemisphere. " All eyes, and no leisure or inclination 
 for more ?" 
 
 " I 've seen as much as \warnt to see," returned 
 the traveller, with an emphasis on, and a pronuncia 
 tion of t the word we have Italicised, that cannot be 
 committed to paper, but which were eloquence itself 
 on the subject of self-satisfaction and self-know 
 ledge. 
 
 " Well, that is the main point. When a man has 
 got all he wants of a thing, any addition is like over- 
 ballast. Whenever I can get fifteen knots out of the 
 shi.p, I make it a point to be satisfied, especially under 
 close-reefed topsails and on a taut bow-line." 
 
 The traveller and the master nodded their heads at 
 each other, like men who understood more than they 
 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 27 
 
 expressed ; when the former, after inquiring with 
 marked interest if his room-mate, Sir George Temple- 
 more, had arrived, went below. An intercourse of 
 three days had established something like an ac 
 quaintance between the latter and the passengers 
 she had brought from the River, and turning his red 
 quizzical face towards the ladies, he observed with 
 inimitable gravity, 
 
 " There is nothing like understanding when one 
 has enough, even if it be of knowledge. I never yet 
 met with the navigator who found two noons' in the 
 same day, that he was not in danger of shipwreck. 
 Now I dare say, Mr. Dodge there, who has just gone 
 below, has, as he says, seen all he warnts to see, and 
 it is quite likely he knows more already than he can 
 cleverly get along with. Let the people be getting 
 the booms on the yards, Mr. Leach; we shall be 
 warnting to spread our wings before the end of the 
 passage/* 
 
 As Captain Truck, though he often swore, seldom 
 laughed, his mate gave the necessary order with a 
 gravity equal to that w r ith which it had been delivered 
 to him; and even the sailors went aloft to execute it 
 with greater alacrity for an indulgence of humour 
 that was peculiar to their trade, and which, as few 
 understood it so well, none enjoyed so much as them 
 selves. As the homeward-bound crew was the same 
 as the outward-bound, and Mr. Dodge had come 
 abroad quite as green as he was now going home 
 ripe, this traveller of six months' finish did not escape 
 divers commentaries that literally cut him up "from 
 clew to ear-ring," and which flew about in the rig 
 ging much as active birds flutter from branch to 
 branch in a tree. The subject of all this wit, how 
 ever, remained profoundly, not to say happily, igno 
 rant of the sensation he had produced, being occupied 
 in disposing of the Dresden pipe, the Venetian chain, 
 
28 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 and the Roman conchiglia in his state-room, and in 
 " instituting an acquaintance," as he expressed it, with 
 his room-mate, Sir George Templemore. 
 
 " We must surely have something better than this," 
 observed Mr. Effingham, " for I observed that two 
 of the state-rooms in the main cabin are taken 
 singly." 
 
 In order that the general reader may understand 
 this, it may be well to explain that the packet-ships 
 have usually two berths in each state-room, but they 
 who can afford to pay an extra charge are permitted 
 to occupy the little apartment singly. It is scarcely 
 necessary to add, that persons of gentlemanly feel 
 ing, when circumstances will at all permit, prefer 
 economising in other things in order to live by them 
 selves for the month usually consumed in the passage, 
 since in nothing is refinement more plainly exhibited 
 than in the reserve of personal habits. 
 
 " There is no lack of vulgar fools stirring with full 
 pockets," rejoined John Effingham; " the two rooms 
 you mention may have been taken by some * yearling' 
 travellers, who are little better than the semi-annual 
 savant who has just passed us." 
 
 " It is at least something, Cousin Jack, to have the 
 wishes of a gentleman." 
 
 " It is something. Eve, though it end in wishes, or 
 even in caricature." 
 
 " What are the names ?" pleasantly asked Made 
 moiselle Viefville ; " the names may be a clue to the 
 characters." 
 
 " The papers pinned to the bed-curtains bear the 
 antithetical titles of Mr. Sharp and Mr. Blunt; though 
 it is quite probable the first is wanting of a letter or 
 two by accident, and the last is merely a synonyme 
 of the old nom de guerre ' Cash.' " 
 
 " Do persons, then, actually travel with borrowed 
 names, in our days?" asked Eve, with a little of the 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 29 
 
 curiosity of the common mother whose name she 
 bore. 
 
 "That do they, and with borrowed money too, as 
 well as in other days. I dare say, however, these 
 two co-voyagers of ours will come just as they are, in 
 truth, Sharp enough, and Blunt enough." 
 
 " Are they Americans, think you?" 
 
 " They ought to be ; both the qualities being 
 thoroughly indigenes, as Mademoiselle Viefville would 
 say." ' 
 
 "Nay, Cousin John, I will bandy words with you 
 no longer : for the last twelve months you have done 
 little else than try to lessen the joyful anticipations 
 with which I return to the home of my childhood." 
 
 " Sweet one, I would not willingly lessen one of thy 
 young and generous pleasures by any of the alloy of 
 rny own bitterness; but what wilt thou? A Tittle 
 preparation for that which is as certain to follow as 
 that the sun succeeds the dawn, will rather soften the 
 disappointment thou art doomed to feel." 
 
 Eve had only time to cast a look of affectionate 
 gratitude towards him, for while he spoke taunt 
 ingly, he spoke with a feeling that her experience 
 from childhood had taught her to appreciate, ere the 
 arrival of another boat drew the common attention to 
 the gangway. A call from the officer in attendance 
 had brought the captain to the rail; and his order 
 " to pass in the luggage of Mr. Sharp and Mr. Blunt/' 
 was heard by all near. 
 
 "Now for les indigenes" whispered Mademoiselle 
 Viefville, with the nervous excitement that is a little 
 apt to betray a lively expectation in the gentler sex. 
 
 Eve smiled, for there are situations in which trifles 
 help to awaken interest, and the little that had just 
 passed served to excite curiosity in the whole party. 
 Mr. Effingham thought it a favourable symptom that 
 the master, who had had interviews with all his pas- 
 3* 
 
30 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 sengers in London, walked to the gangway to receive 
 the new-comers; for a boat-load of the quarter-deck 
 oi polloi had come on board a moment before without 
 any other notice on his part than a general bow, with 
 the usual order to receive their effects. 
 
 " The delay denotes Englishmen," the caustic 
 John had time to throw in, before the silent arrange 
 ment at the gangway was interrupted by the appear 
 ance of the passengers. 
 
 The quiet smile of Mademoiselle Viefville, as the 
 two travellers appeared on deck, denoted approba 
 tion, for her practised eye detected at a glance, that 
 they were certainly both gentlemen. Women are 
 more purely creatures of convention in their way 
 than men, their education inculcating nicer distinc 
 tions and discriminations than that of the other sex; 
 and Eve, who would have studied Sir George Tem- 
 plemore and Mr. Dodge as she would have studied 
 the animals of a caravan, or as creatures with whom 
 she had no affinities, after casting a sly look of curi 
 osity at the two who now appeared on deck, uncon 
 sciously averted her eyes like a well-bred young per 
 son in a drawing-room. 
 
 " They are indeed English," quietly remarked Mr. 
 Effingham; "but, out of question, English gentle 
 men." 
 
 " The one nearest appears to me to be Continen 
 tal," answered Mademoiselle Viefville, who had not 
 felt the same impulse to avert her look as Eve ; " he 
 isjamais Anglais!" 
 
 Eve stole a glance, in spite of herself, and, with 
 the intuitive penetration of a woman, intimated that 
 she had come to the same conclusion. The two stran 
 gers were both tall, and decidedly gentleman-like 
 young men, whose personal appearance would cause 
 either to be remarked. The one whom the captain 
 addressed as Mr. Sharp had the most youthful look, 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 31 
 
 his complexion being florid, and his hair light ; though 
 the other was altogether superior in outline of fea 
 tures as well as in expression: indeed, Mademoiselle 
 Viefville fancied she never saw a sweeter smile than 
 that he gave on returning the salute of the deck; 
 there \vas more than the common expression of sua 
 vity and of the usual play of features in it, for it struck 
 her as being thoughtful and as almost melancholy. 
 His companion was gracious in his manner, and per 
 fectly well toned; but his demeanour had less of the 
 soul of the man about it, partaking more of the train 
 ing of the social caste to which he belonged. These 
 may seem to be nice distinctions for the circumstan 
 ces ; but Mademoiselle Viefville had passed her life 
 in good company, and under responsibilities that had 
 rendered observation and judgment highly necessary, 
 and particularly observations of the other sex. 
 
 Each of the strangers had a servant; and while 
 their luggage was [passed up from the boat, they 
 walked aft nearer to the hurricane-house, accompa 
 nied by the captain. Every American, who is not 
 very familiar with the world, appears to possess the 
 mania of introducing. Captain Truck was no excep 
 tion to the rule ; for, while he was perfectly acquaint 
 ed with a ship, and knew the etiquette of the quarter 
 deck to a hair, he got into blue water the moment he 
 approached the finesse of deportment. He was ex 
 actly of that school of elegants who fancy drinking a 
 glass of wine with another, and introducing, are 
 touches of breeding ; it being altogether beyond his 
 comprehension that both have especial uses, and 
 are only to be resorted to on especial occasions. Still, 
 the worthy master, who had begun life on the fore 
 castle, without any previous knowledge of usages, and 
 who had imbibed the notion that " manners make the 
 man," taken in the narrow sense of the axiom, was 
 a devotee of what he fancied to be good breeding, 
 
32 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 and one of his especial duties, as he imagined, in or 
 der to put his passengers at their ease, was to intro 
 duce them to each other; a proceeding which, it is 
 hardly necessary to say, had just a contrary effect 
 with the better class of them. 
 
 "You are acquainted, gentlemen?" he said, as the 
 three approached the party in the hurricane-house. 
 
 The two travellers endeavoured to look interested, 
 while Mr. Sharp carelessly observed that they had 
 met for the first time in the boat. This was delight 
 ful intelligence, to Captain Truck, who did not lose a 
 moment in turning it to account. Stopping short, he 
 faced his companions, and, with a solemn wave of 
 the hand, he went through the ceremonial in which 
 he most delighted, and in which he picqued himself 
 at being an adept. 
 
 " Mr. Sharp, permit me to introduce you to Mr. 
 Blunt ; Mr. Blunt, let me make you acquainted with 
 Mr. Sharp." 
 
 The gentlemen, though taken a little by surprise at 
 the dignity and formality of the captain, touched their 
 hats civilly to each other, and smiled. Eve, not a 
 little amused at the scene, watched the whole proce 
 dure ; and then she too detected the sweet melan 
 choly of the one expression, and the marble-like irony 
 of Jhe other. It may have been this that, caused her 
 to start, though almost imperceptibly, and to colour. 
 
 " Our turn will come next," muttered John Effing- 
 ham : " get the grimaces ready." 
 
 His conjecture was right; for, hearing his voice 
 without understanding the words, the captain follow 
 ed up his advantage to his own infinite gratification. 
 
 " Gentlemen, Mr. Effingham, Mr. John Effing- 
 ham" (every one soon came to make this distinc 
 tion in addressing the cousins) " Miss Effingham, 
 Mademoiselle Viefville : Mr. Sharp, Mr. Blunt, la 
 dies ; gentlemen, Mr. Blunt, Mr. Sharp." 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 33 
 
 The dignified bow of Mr. Effingham, as well as 
 the faint and distant smile of Eve, would have re 
 pelled any undue familiarity in men of less tone than 
 either of the strangers, both of whom received the 
 unexpected honour like those who felt themselves to 
 be intruders. As Mr. Sharp raised his hat to Eve, 
 however, he held it suspended a moment above his 
 head, and then dropping his arm to its full length, he 
 bowed with profound respect, though distantly. Mr. 
 Blunt was less elaborate in his salute, but as pointed 
 as the circumstances at all required. Both gentle 
 men were a little struck with the distant hauteur of 
 John Effingham, whose bow, while it fulfilled all the 
 outward forms, whas what Eve used laughingly to 
 term " imperial.'* The bustle of preparation, and the 
 certainty that there would be no want of opportuni 
 ties to renew the intercourse, prevented more than 
 the general salutations, and the new-comers descended 
 to their state-rooms. 
 
 " Did you remark the manner in which those peo- 
 
 le took my introduction?" askecr* Captain Truck of 
 
 is chief mate, whom he was training up in the ways 
 
 of packet-politeness, as one in the road of preferment. 
 
 " Now, to my notion, they might have shook hands 
 
 at least. That's what I call Vattel" 
 
 " One sometimes falls in with what are rum chaps," 
 returned the other, who, from following the London 
 trade, had caught a few cockneyisrns. " If a man 
 chooses to keep his hands in the beckets, why let him, 
 say I ; but I take it as a slight to the company to sheer 
 out of the usual track in such matters." 
 
 " I was thinking as much myself; but after all, 
 what can packet-masters do in such a case? We can 
 set luncheon and dinner before the passengers, but 
 we can't make them eat. Now, my rule is, when a 
 gentleman introduces me, to do the thing handsomely, 
 and to return shake for shake, if it is three times 
 
34 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 three; but as for a touch of the beaver, rt is like set 
 tling a top-gallant sail in passing a ship at sea, and 
 means just nothing at all. Who would know a vessel 
 because he has let run his halyards and swayed the 
 yard up again ? One would do as much to a Turk 
 for manners' sake. No, no! there is something in 
 this, and, d me, just to make sure of it, the first 
 good opportunity that offers, I'll ay, I'll just intro 
 duce them all over again! Let the people ship their 
 handspikes, Mr. Leach, and heave in the slack of the 
 chain. Ay, ay ! I'll take an opportunity when all 
 hands are on deck, and introduce them, ship-shape, 
 one by one, as your greenhorns go through a lubber's- 
 hole, or we shall have no friendship during the pas 
 sage." 
 
 The mate nodded approbation, as if the other had 
 hit upon the right expedient, and then he proceeded 
 to- obey the orders, while the cares of his vessel soon 
 drove the subject temporarily from the mind of his 
 commander.* 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 By all description, this should be the place. 
 
 Who's here? Speak, ho! No answer? What is this? 
 
 Timon of Athens. 
 
 A SHIP with her sails loosened and her ensign 
 abroad is always a beautiful object; and the Mon- 
 tauk, a noble New-York-built vessel of seven hun 
 dred tons burthen, was a first-class specimen of the 
 "kettle-bottom" school of naval architecture, want 
 ing in nothing that the taste and the experience of 
 the day can supply. The scene that was now acting 
 before their eyes therefore soon diverted the thoughts 
 of Mademoiselle Viefville and Eve from the iritro- 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 35 
 
 ductions of the captain, both watching with intense 
 interest the various movements of the crew and pas 
 sengers as they passed in review. 
 
 A crowd of well-dressed, but of an evidently hum 
 bler class of persons than those farther aft, were 
 thronging the gangways, little dreaming of the phy 
 sical suffering they were to endure before they reach 
 ed the land of promise, that distant America, to 
 wards which the poor and oppressed of nearly all 
 nations turn longing eyes in quest of a shelter. Eve 
 saw with wonder aged men and women among 
 them ; beings who were about to sever most of the 
 ties of the world in order to obtain relief from the 
 physical pains and privations that had borne hard 
 on them for more than threescore years. A few 
 had made sacrifices of themselves in obedience to 
 that mysterious instinct which man feels in his off 
 spring; while others, again, went rejoicing, flushed 
 with the hope of their vigour and youth. Some, the 
 victims of their vices, had embarked in the idle ex 
 pectation that a change of scene, with increased 
 means of indulgence, could produce a healthful 
 change of character. All had views that the truth 
 would have dimmed, and, perhaps, no single ad 
 venturer nmong the emigrants collected in that ship 
 entertained either sound or reasonable notions of the 
 mode in which his step was to be rewarded, though 
 many may meet with a success that will surpass 
 their brightest pictures for the future. More, no 
 doubt, were to be disappointed. 
 
 Reflections something like these passed through 
 the mind of Eve Effingham, as she examined the 
 mixed crowd, in which some were busy in receiving 
 stores from boats, others in holding parting con 
 ferences with friends, in which a few were weeping; 
 here and there a group was drowning reflection in 
 the parting cup; while wondering children looked up 
 
36 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 with anxiety into the well-known faces, as if fearful 
 they might lose the countenances they loved and the 
 charities on which they habitually relied, in such a 
 metie. 
 
 Although the stern discipline which separates the 
 cabin and steerage passengers into castes as distinct 
 as those of the Hindoos had not yet been established, 
 Captain Truck had too profound a sense of his duty 
 to permit the quarter-deck to be unceremoniously in 
 vaded. This part of the ship, then, had partially 
 escaped the confusion of the moment ; though trunks, 
 boxes, hampers, and other similar appliances of tra 
 velling, were scattered about in tolerable affluence. 
 Profiting by the space, of which there was still suf 
 ficient for the purpose, most of the party left the 
 hurricane-house to enjoy the short walk that a ship 
 affords. At that instant, another boat from the land 
 reached the vessel's side, and a grave-looking per 
 sonage, who was not disposed to lessen his dignity by 
 levity or an omission of forms, appeared on deck, where 
 he demanded to be shown the master. An introduc 
 tion was unnecessary in this instance ; for Captain 
 Truck no sooner saw his visiter than he recognized 
 the well-known features and solemn pomposity of a 
 civil officer of Portsmouth, who was often employed 
 to search the American packets, in pursuit of delin 
 quents of all degrees of crime and folly. 
 
 " I had just come to the opinion I was not to have 
 the pleasure of seeing you this passage, Mr. Grab," 
 said the captain, shaking hands familiarly with the 
 myrmidon of the law ; " but the turn of the tide is 
 not more regular than you gentlemen who come in 
 the name of the king. Mr. Grab, Mr. Dodge ; Mr. 
 Dodge, Mr. Grab. And now, to what forgery, or 
 bigamy, or elopement, or scandalum magnatum, do I 
 owe the honour of your company this time? Sir 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 37 
 
 George Templemore, Mr. Grab; Mr. Grab, Sir 
 George Templemore." 
 
 Sir George bowed with the dignified aversion an 
 honest man might be supposed to feel for one of the 
 other's employment; while Mr. Grab looked gravely 
 and with a counter dignity at Sir George. The 
 business of the officer, however, was with none in 
 the cabin ; but he had come in quest of a young wo 
 man who had married a suitor rejected by her 
 uncle, an arrangement that was likely to subject 
 the latter to a settlement of accounts which he found 
 inconvenient, and which he had thought it prudent to 
 anticipate by bringing an action of debt against the 
 bridegroom for advances, real or pretended, made to 
 the wife during her nonage. A dozen eager ears 
 caught an outline of this tale as it was communicated 
 to the captain, and in an incredibly short space of 
 time it was known throughout the ship, with not a 
 few embellishments. 
 
 " I do not know the person of the husband," con 
 tinued the officer, " nor indeed does the attorney who 
 is with me in the boat; but his name is Robert Davis, 
 and you can have no difficulty in pointing him out. 
 We know him to be in the ship." 
 
 " I never introduce any steerage passengers, my 
 dear sir ; and there is no such person in the cabin, I 
 give you my honour, and that is a pledge that must 
 pass between gentlemen like us. You are welcome 
 to search, but the duty of the vessel must go on. 
 Take your man but do not detain the ship. Mr. 
 Sharp, Mr. Grab; Mr. Grab, Mr. Sharp. Bear a 
 hand there, Mr. Leach, and let us have the slack 
 of the chain as soon as possible." 
 
 There appeared to be what the philosophers call 
 the attraction of repulsion between the parties last 
 introduced, for the tall gentlemanly-looking Mr. 
 Sharp eyed the officer with a supercilious coldness, 
 
 VOL. r. 4 
 
 
38 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 neither party deeming much ceremony on the occa 
 sion necessary. Mr. Grab now summoned his as 
 sistant, the attorney, from the boat, and there was a 
 consultation between them as to their further pro 
 ceedings. Fifty heads were grouped around them, 
 and curious eyes watched their smallest movements, 
 one of the crowd occasionally disappearing to report 
 proceedings. 
 
 Man is certainly a clannish animal ; for without 
 knowing any thing of the merits of the case, without 
 pausing to inquire into the right or the wrong of the 
 matter, in the pure spirit of partisanship, every man, 
 woman, and child of the steerage, which contained 
 fully a hundred souls, took sides against the law, and 
 enlisted in the cause of the defendant. All this was 
 done quietly, however, for no one menaced or dream 
 ed of violence, crew and passengers usually taking 
 their cues from the officers of the vessel on such oc 
 casions, and those of the Montauk understood too 
 well the rights of the public agents to commit them 
 selves in the matter. 
 
 " Call Robert Davis," said the officer, resorting to 
 a ruse, by affecting an authority he had no right to 
 assume. " Robert Davis !" echoed twenty voices, 
 among which was that of the bridegroom himself, 
 who was nigh to discover his secret by an excess of 
 zeal. It was easy to call, but no one answered. 
 
 " Can you tell me which is Robert Davis, my little 
 fellow ?" the officer asked coaxingly, of a fine flaxen- 
 headed boy, whose age did not exceed ten, and who 
 was a curious spectator of what passed. "Tell me 
 which is Robert Davis, and I will give you a six 
 pence." 
 
 The child knew, but professed ignorance. 
 
 "C'estun esprit de corps admirable!" exclaimed 
 Mademoiselle Viefville ; for the interest of the scene 
 had brought nearly all on board, with the exception 
 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 39 
 
 of those employed in the duty of the vessel, near the 
 gangway. " Ceci est dtlicieux, and I could devour 
 that boy !" 
 
 What rendered this more odd, or indeed absolutely 
 ludicrous, was the circumstance that, by a species of 
 legerdemain, a whisper had passed among the spec 
 tators so stealthily, and yet so soon, that the attor 
 ney and his companion were the only two on deck 
 who remained ignorant of the person of the man 
 they sought. Even the children caught the clue, 
 though they had the art to indulge their natural 
 curiosity by glances so sly as to escape detection. 
 
 Unfortunately, the attorney had sufficient know 
 ledge of the family of the bride to recognize her by 
 a general resemblance, rendered conspicuous as it 
 was by a pallid face and an almost ungovernable 
 nervous excitement. He pointed her out to the offi 
 cer, who ordered her to approach him, a command 
 that caused her to burst into tears. The agi-tation 
 and distress of his wife were near proving too much 
 for the prudence of the young husband, who was 
 making an impetuous movement towards her, w r hen 
 the strong grasp of a fellow-passenger checked him 
 in time to prevent discovery. It is singular how 
 much is understood by trifles when the mind has a 
 clue to the subject, and how often signs, that are 
 palpable as day, are overlooked when suspicion is 
 not awakened, or when the thoughts have obtained a 
 false direction. The attorney and the officer were 
 the only two present who had not seen the indiscre 
 tion of the young man, and who did not believe him 
 betrayed. His wife trembled to a degree that almost 
 destroyed the ability to stand ; but, casting an im 
 ploring look for self-command on her indiscreet part 
 ner, she controlled her own distress, and advanced 
 towards the officer, in obedience to his order, with a 
 
 
40 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 power of endurance that the strong affections of a 
 woman could alone enable her to assume. 
 
 " If the husband will not deliver himself up, I shall 
 be compelled to order the wife to be carried ashore 
 in his stead !" the attorney coldly remarked, while 
 he applied a pinch of snuff' to a nose that was already 
 saffron-coloured from the constant use of the weed. 
 
 A pause succeeded this ominous declaration, and 
 the crowd of passengers betrayed dismay, for all be 
 lieved there was now no hope for the pursued. The 
 wife bowed her head to her knees, for she had sunk 
 on a box as if to hide the sight of her husband's ar 
 rest. At this moment a voice spoke from among the 
 group on the quarter-deck. 
 
 " Is this an arrest for crime, or a demand for 
 debt?" asked the young man who has been an 
 nounced as Mr. Blunt. 
 
 There was a quiet authority in the speaker's man 
 ner that reassured the failing hopes of the passen 
 gers, while it caused the attorney and his companion 
 to look round in surprise, and perhaps a little in re 
 sentment. A dozen eager voices assured " the gen 
 tleman" there was no crime in the matter at all 
 there was even no just debt, but it was a villa nous 
 scheme to compel a wronged ward to release a frau 
 dulent guardian from his liabilities. Though all this 
 was not very clearly explained, it was affirmed with 
 so much zeal and energy as to awaken suspicion, 
 and to increase the interest of the more intelligent 
 portion of the spectators. The attorney surveyed 
 the travelling dress, the appearance of fashion, and 
 the youth of his interrogator, whose years could not 
 exceed five-and-twenty, and his answer was given 
 with an air of superiority. 
 
 " Debt or crime, it can matter nothing in the eye 
 of the law." 
 
 " It matters much in the view of an honest man," 
 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 41 
 
 returned the youth with spirit. " One might hesitate 
 about interfering in favour of a rogue, however 
 ready to exert himself in favour of one who is inno 
 cent, perhaps, of every thing but misfortune." 
 
 " This looks a little like an attempt at a rescue ! I 
 hope we are still in England, and under the protec 
 tion of English laws?" 
 
 " No doubt at all of that, Mr. Seal," put in the 
 captain, who having kept an eye on the officer from 
 a distance, now thought it time to interfere, in order 
 to protect the interests of his owners. " Yonder is 
 England, and that is the Isle-of Wight, and the Mon- 
 tauk has hold of an English Bottom, and good 
 anchorage it is ; no one means to dispute your 
 authority, Mr. Attorney, nor to call in question that 
 of the king. Mr. Blunt merely throws out a sug 
 gestion, sir ; or rather, a distinction between rogues 
 and honest men ; nothing more, depend on it, sir. 
 Mr. Seal, Mr. Blunt ; Mr. Blunt, Mr. Seal. And a 
 thousand pities it is, that the distinction is not usually 
 more readily made." 
 
 The young man bowed slightly, and with a face 
 that was flushed, partly with feeling, and partly at 
 finding himself so unexpectedly conspicuous among 
 so many strangers, he advanced a little from the 
 quarter-deck group, like one who feels he is required 
 to maintain the ground he had assumed. 
 
 " No one can be disposed to question the supre 
 macy of the English laws in this roadstead," he said, 
 " and least of all myself; but you will permit me to 
 doubt the legality of arresting, or in any manner de 
 taining, a wife in virtue of a process issued against 
 the husband." 
 
 " A briefless barrister !" muttered Seal to Grab 
 " I dare say a timely guinea would have silenced the 
 fellow. What is now to be done V 9 
 
 4* 
 
 
42 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 " The lady must go ashore, and all these matters 
 can be arranged before a magistrate." 
 
 " Ay, ay ! let her sue out a habeas corpus if she 
 please," added the ready attorney, whom a second 
 survey caused to distrust his first inference. " Jus 
 tice is blind in England as well as in other countries, 
 and is liable to mistakes; but still she is just. If she 
 does mistake sometimes, she is always ready to re 
 pair the wrong." 
 
 "Cannot you do something here?" Eve involun 
 tarily half-whispered to Mr. Sharp, who stood at her 
 elbow. 
 
 This person started on hearing her voice making 
 this sudden appeal, and glancing a look of intelli 
 gence at her, he smiled and moved nearer to the 
 principal parties. 
 
 " Really, Mr. Attorney," he commenced, " this 
 appears to be rather irregular, I must confess, quite 
 out of the ordinary way, and it may lead to unplea 
 sant consequences." 
 
 "In what manner, sir'?" interrupted Seal, mea 
 suring the other's ignorance at a glance. 
 
 " Why, irregular in form, if not in principle. I 
 am aware that the habeas corpus is all-essential, and 
 that the law must have its way ; but really this does 
 seem a little irregular, not to describe it by any 
 harsher term." 
 
 Mr. Seal treated this new appeal respectfully, in 
 appearance at least, for he saw it was made by one 
 greatly his superior, while he felt an utter contempt 
 for it in essentials, as he perceived intuitively that 
 this new intercession was made in a profound igno 
 rance of the subject. As respects Mr. Blunt, how 
 ever, he had an unpleasant distrust of the result, the 
 quiet manner of that gentleman denoting more con 
 fidence in himself, and a greater practical knowledge 
 of the laws. Still, to try the extent of the other's 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 43 
 
 information, and the strength of his nerves, he re 
 joined in a magisterial and menacing tone 
 
 " Yes, let the lady sue out a writ of habeas corpus 
 if wrongfully arrested ; and I should be glad to dis 
 cover the foreigner who will dare to attempt a res 
 cue in old England, and in defiance of English laws." 
 
 It is probable Paul Blunt would have relinquished 
 his interference, from an apprehension that he might 
 be ignorantly aiding the evil-doer, but for this threat; 
 and even the threat might not have overcome his 
 prudence, had not he caught the imploring look of 
 the fine blue eyes of Eve. 
 
 " All are not necessarily foreigners who embark 
 on board an American ship at an English port," he 
 said steadily, " nor is justice denied those that are. 
 The habeas corpus is as well understood in other 
 countries as in this, for happily we are in an age 
 w j hen neither liberty nor knowledge is exclusive. If 
 an attorney, you must know yourself that you cannot 
 legally arrest a wife for a husband, and that what 
 you say of the habeas corpus is little worthy of atten 
 tion." 
 
 " We arrest, and whoever interferes with an offi 
 cer in charge of a prisoner is guilty of a rescue. 
 Mistakes must be rectified by the magistrates." 
 
 " True, provided the officer has warranty for what 
 he does." 
 
 " Writs and warrants may contain errors, but an 
 arrest is an arrest," growled Grab. 
 
 . " Not the arrest of a woman for a man. In such 
 a case there is design, and not a mistake. If this 
 frightened wife will take counsel from me, she will 
 refuse to accompany you." 
 
 ".At her peril, let her dare do so !" 
 
 " At your peril do you dare to attempt forcing her 
 from the ship !" 
 
 " Gentlemen, gentlemen ! let there be no misun- 
 
44 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 derstanding, I pray you," interposed the captain. 
 "Mr. Blunt, Mr. Grab; Mr. Grab, Mr. Blunt. No 
 warm words, gentlemen, I beg of you. But the tide 
 is beginning to serve, Mr. Attorney, and 'time and 
 tide,' you know If we stay here much longer, the 
 Montauk may be forced to sail on the 2d, instead of 
 the 1st, as has been advertised in both hemispheres. 
 I should be sorry to carry you to sea, gentlemen, 
 without your small stores; and as for the cabin, it is 
 as full as a lawyer's conscience. No remedy but the 
 steerage in such a case. Lay forward, men, and 
 heave away. Some of you, man the fore-top-sail 
 halyards. We are as regular as our chronometers; 
 the 1st, 10th, and 20th, without fail." 
 
 There was some truth, blended with a little poetry, 
 in Captain Truck's account of the matter. The tide 
 had indeed made in his favour, but the little wind 
 there was blew directly into the roadstead, and had 
 not his feelings become warmed by the distress of a 
 pretty and interesting young woman, it is more than 
 probable the line would have incurred the disgrace 
 of having a ship sail on a later day than had been 
 advertised. As it was, however, he had taken the 
 matter up in earnest, and he privately assured Sir 
 George and Mr. Dodge, if the affair were not imme 
 diately disposed of, he should carry both the attorney 
 and officer to sea with him, and that he did not feel 
 himself bound to furnish either with water. " They 
 may catch a little rain, by wringing their jackets," 
 he added, with a wink; " though October is a drv- 
 ish month in the American seas." 
 
 The decision of Paul Blunt would have induced 
 the attorney and his companion to relinquish their 
 pursuit but for two circumstances. They had both 
 undertaken the job as a speculation, or on the princi- 
 >le of " no play, no pay," and all their trouble would 
 lost without success. Then the very difficulty 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 45 
 
 that occurred had been foreseen, and while the officer 
 proceeded to the ship, the uncle had been busily 
 searching for a son on shore, to send off to identify 
 the husband, a step that would have been earlier 
 resorted to could the young man have been found. 
 This-son was a rejected suitor, and he was now seen, 
 by the aid of a glass that Mr. Grab always carried, 
 pulling towards the Montauk, in a two-oared boat, 
 with as much zeal as malignancy and disappointment 
 could impart. His distance from the ship was still 
 considerable ; but a peculiar hat, with the aid of the 
 glass, left no doubt of his identity. The attorney 
 pointed out the boat to the officer, and the latter, 
 after a look through the glass, gave a nod of appro 
 bation. Exultation overcame the usual wariness of 
 the attorney, for his pride, too, had got to be enlisted 
 in the success of his speculation, men being so 
 strangely constituted as often to feel as much joy in 
 the accomplishment of schemes that are unjustifiable, 
 as in the accomplishment of those of which they may 
 have reason to be proud. 
 
 On the other hand, the passengers and people of 
 the packet seized something near the truth, with that 
 sort of instinctive readiness which seems to charac 
 terize bodies of men in moments of excitement. That 
 the solitary boat which was pulling towards them in 
 the dusk of the evening contained some one who 
 might aid the attorney and his myrmidon, all believ 
 ed, though in what manner none could tell. 
 
 Between all seamen and the ministers of the law 
 there is a long-standing antipathy, for the visits of 
 former are usually so timed as to leave nothing be 
 tween the alternatives of paying or of losing a voy 
 age. It was soon apparent, then, that Mr. Seal had 
 little to expect from the apathy of the crew, for never 
 did men work with better will to get a ship loosened 
 from the bottom. 
 
46 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 All this feeling manifested itself in a silent and in 
 telligent activity rather than in noise or bustle, for 
 every man on board exercised his best faculties, as 
 well as his best good will and strength ; the clock 
 work ticks of the palls of the windlass resembling 
 those of a watch that had got the start of time, while 
 the chain came in with surges of half a fathom at 
 each heave. 
 
 "Lay hold of this rope, men,'* cried Mr. Leach, 
 placing the end of the main-topsail halyards in the 
 hands of half-a-dozen athletic- steerage passengers, 
 who had all the inclination in the world to be doing, 
 though uncertain where to lay their hands; "lay 
 hold, and run away with it." 
 
 The second mate performed the same feat forward, 
 and as the sheets had never been started, the broad 
 folds of the Montauk's canvass began to open, even 
 while the men were heaving at the anchor. These 
 exertions quickened the blood in the veins of those 
 who were not employed, until even the quarter-deck 
 passengers began to experience the excitement of a 
 chase, in addition to the feelings of compassion. Cap 
 tain Truck was very silent, but active in prepara 
 tions. Springing to the wheel, he made its spokes 
 fly until he had forced the helm hard up, when he un 
 ceremoniously gave it to John Effingham to keep 
 there. His next leap was to the foot of the mizen- 
 mast, where, after a few energetic efforts alone, he 
 looked over his shoulder and beckoned for aid. 
 
 " Sir George Templemore, mizen-topsail halyards; 
 mizen-topsail-halyards, Sir George Templemore," 
 muttered the eager master, scarce knowing what he 
 said. " Mr. Dodge, now is the time to show that your 
 name and nature are not identical." 
 
 In short, nearly all on board were busy, and, thanks 
 to the hearty good will of the officers, stewards, 
 cooks, and a few of the hands that could be spared 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 47 
 
 from the windlass, busy in a way to spread sail after 
 sail with a rapidity little short of that seen on board 
 of a vessel of war. The rattling of the clew-garnet 
 blocks, as twenty lusty fellows ran forward with the 
 tack of the mainsail, and the hauling forward of 
 braces, was the signal that the ship was clear of the 
 ground, and coming under command. 
 
 A cross current had superseded the necessity of 
 casting the vessel, but her sails took the light air 
 nearly abeam; the captain understanding that mo 
 tion was of much more importance just then than di 
 rection. No sooner did he perceive by the bubbles 
 that floated past, or rather appeared to float past, that 
 his ship was dividing the water forward, than he call 
 ed a trusty man to the wheel, relieving John Effing- 
 ham from his watch. The next instant, Mr. Leach 
 reported the anchor catted and fished. 
 
 " Pilot, you will be responsible for this if my pri 
 soners escape," said Mr. Grab menacingly. " You 
 know my errand, and it is your duty to aid the minis 
 ters of the law." 
 
 "Harkee, Mr. Grab," put in the master, who had 
 warmed himself with the exercise; "we all know, 
 and we all do our duties, on board the Montauk. It 
 is your duty to take Robert Davis on shore if you 
 can find him ; and it is my duty to take the Montauk 
 to America: now, if you will receive counsel from a 
 well-wisher, I would advise you to see that you do 
 not go in her. No one offers any impediment to your 
 performing your office, and I'll thank you to offer me 
 none in performing mine. Brace the yards further 
 forward, boys, and let the ship come up to the wind." 
 
 As there were logic, useful information, law, and 
 seamanship united in this reply, the attorney began 
 to betray uneasiness; for by this time the ship had 
 gathered so much way as to render it exceedingly 
 doubtful whether a two-oared boat would be able to 
 
48 HOMEWARD BCUiND. 
 
 come up with her, without the consent of those on 
 board. It is probable, as evening had already closed, 
 and the rays of the moon were beginning to quiver 
 on the ripple of the water, that he would have aban 
 doned his object, though with infinite reluctance, had 
 not Sir George Templernore pointed out to the cap 
 tain a six-oared boat, that was pulling towards them 
 from a quarter that permitted it to be seen in the 
 moonlight. 
 
 " That appears to be a man-of-war's cutter," ob 
 served the baronet uneasily, for by this time all on 
 board felt a sort of personal interest in their escape. 
 
 "It does indeed, Captain Truck," added the pilot ; 
 and if she make a signal, it will become my duty to 
 heave-to the Montauk." 
 
 " Then bundle out of her, my fine fellow, as fast as 
 you can ; for nol a brace or a bowline shall be touch 
 ed here, with my consent, for any such purpose. The 
 ship is cleared, my hour is come, my passengers 
 are on board, and America is my haven. Let 
 them that want me, catch me. That is what I call 
 Vattel." 
 
 The pilot and the master of the Montauk were ex 
 cellent friends, and understood each other perfectly, 
 even while the former was making the most serious 
 professions of duty. The boat was hauled up, and, 
 first whispering a few cautions about the shoals and 
 the currents, the worthy marine guide leaped into it, 
 and was soon seen floating astern a cheering proof 
 that the ship had got fairly in motion. As he fell out of 
 hearing in the wake of the vessel, the honest fellow 
 kept calling out " to tack in season." 
 
 " If you wish to try the speed of your boat against 
 that of the pilot, Mr. Grab," called out the captain, 
 " you will never have a better opportunity. It is a 
 fine night for a regatta, and 1 will stand you a pound 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 49 
 
 on Mr. Handlead's heels. For that matter, I would 
 as soon trust his head, or his hands, in the bargain." 
 The officer continued obstinately on board, for he 
 saw that the six-oared boat was coming up with the 
 ship, and, as he well knew the importance to his client 
 of compelling a settlement of the accounts, he fancied 
 some succour might be expected in that quarter. In 
 the mean time, this new movement on the part of their 
 pursuers attracted general attention, and, as might be 
 expected, the interest of this little incident increased 
 the excitement that usually accompanies a departure 
 for a long sea-voyage, fourfold. Men and women 
 forgot their griefs and leave-takings in anxiety, and 
 in that pleasure which usually attends agitation of 
 the mind that does not proceed from actual misery of 
 our own. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Whither away so fast ? 
 
 O God save you ! 
 
 Even to the hall to hear what shall become 
 Of the great Duke of Buckingham. 
 
 Henry VIIL 
 
 THE assembling of the passengers of a large packet- 
 ship is necessarily an affair of coldness and distrust, 
 especially with those who know the world, and more 
 particularly still when the passage is from Europe to 
 America. The greater sophistication of the old than 
 of the new hemisphere, with its consequent shifts and 
 vices, the knowledge that the tide of emigration sets 
 westward, and that few abandon the homes of their 
 youth unless impelled by misfortune at least, with 
 other obvious causes, unite to produce this distinction. 
 Then come the fastidiousness of habits, the sentiments 
 
 VOL. T. 5 
 
50 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 of social castes, the refinements of breeding, and the 
 reserves of dignity of character, to be put in close 
 collision with bustling egotism, ignorance of usages, 
 an absence of training, and downright vulgarity of 
 thought and practices. Although necessity soon 
 brings these chaotic elements into something like or 
 der, the first week commonly passes in reconnoitring, 
 cool civilities, and cautious concessions, to yield at 
 length to the never-dying charities; unless, indeed, 
 the latter may happen to be kept in abeyance by a 
 downright quarrel, about midnight carousals, a 
 squeaking fiddle, or some incorrigible snorer. 
 
 Happily, the party collected in the Montauk had 
 the good fortune to abridge the usual probation in 
 courtesies, by the stirring events of the night on which 
 they sailed. Two hours had scarcely elapsed since 
 the last passenger crossed the gangway, and yet the 
 respective circles of the quarter-deck and steerage 
 felt more sympathy with each other than boasted hu 
 man charities ordinarily quicken in days of common 
 place intercourse. They had already found out each 
 other's names, thanks to the assiduity of Captain 
 Truck, who had stolen time, in the midst of all his 
 activity, to make half-a-dozen more introductions, 
 and the Americans of the less trained class were al 
 ready using them as freely as if they were old ac 
 quaintances. We say the Americans, for the cabins 
 of these ships usually contain a congress of nations, 
 though the people of England, and of her ci-devant 
 colonies, of course predominate in those of the Lon 
 don lines. On the present occasion, the last two were 
 nearly balanced in numbers, so far as national cha 
 racter could be made out; opinion (which, as might 
 be expected, had been busy the while,) being sus 
 pended in reference to Mr. Blunt, and one or two 
 others whom the captain called "foreigners," to dis 
 tinguish them from the Anglo-Saxon stock. 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 51 
 
 This equal distribution of forces might, under other 
 circumstances, have led to a division in feeling; for 
 the conflicts between American and British opinions, 
 coupled with a difference in habits, are a prolific 
 source of discontent in the cabins of packets. The 
 American is apt to fancy himself at home, under the 
 flag of his country; while his Transatlantic kinsman 
 is strongly addicted to fancying that when he has 
 fairly paid his money, he has a right to embark all his 
 prejudices with his other luggage. - 
 
 The affair of the attorney and the newly-married 
 couple, however, was kept quite distinct from all feel 
 ings of nationality; the English apparently enter 
 taining quite as lively a wish that the latter might 
 escape from the fangs of the law, as any other por 
 tion of the passengers. The parties themselves were 
 British, and although the authority evaded was of the 
 same origin, right or wrong, all on board had taken 
 up the impression that it was improperly exercised. 
 Sir George Templemore, the Englishman of highest 
 rank, too, was decidedly of this way of thinking, 
 an opinion he was rather warm in expressing, and 
 the example of a baronet had its weight, not only 
 with most of his own countrymen, but with not a few 
 of the Americans also. The Effingham party, to 
 gether with Mr. Sharp and Mr. Blunt, were, indeed, 
 all who seemed to be entirely indifferent to Sir 
 George's sentiments; and, as men are intuitively 
 quick in discovering who do and who do not defer to 
 their suggestions, their accidental independence might 
 have been favoured by this fact, for the discourse of 
 this gentleman was addressed in the main to those 
 who lent the most willing ears. Mr. Dodge, in par 
 ticular, was his constant and respectful listener, and 
 profound admirer: But then he was his room-mate, 
 and a democrat of a water so pure, that he was dis- 
 
52 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 posed to maintain no man had a right to any one of 
 his senses, unless by popular sufferance. 
 
 In the mean while, the night advanced, and the soft 
 light of the moon was playing on the waters, adding 
 a semi-mysterious obscurity to the other excitement of 
 the scene. The two-oared boat had evidently been 
 overtaken by that carrying six oars, and, after a short 
 conference, the first had returned reluctantly towards 
 the land, while the latter, profiting by its position, 
 had set two lug-sails, and was standing out into the 
 offing, on a course that would compel the Montauk 
 to come under its lee, when the shoals, as would soon 
 be the case, should force the ship to tack. 
 
 " England is most inconveniently placed," Captain 
 Truck drily remarked as he witnessed this manoeuvre. 
 "Were this island only out of the way, now, we 
 might stand on as w 7 e head, and leave those man-of- 
 war's men to amuse themselves all night with back 
 ing and filling in the roads of Portsmouth." 
 
 " I hope there is no danger of that little boat's over 
 taking this large ship !" exclaimed Sir George, with 
 a vivacity that did great credit to his philanthropy, ac 
 cording to the opinion of Mr. Dodge at least; the lat 
 ter having imbibed a singular bias in favour of per 
 sons of condition, from having travelled in an eilwa- 
 gen with a German baron, from whom he had taken 
 a model of the pipe he carried but never smoked, and 
 from having been thrown for two days and nights 
 into the society of a " Polish countess," as he uni 
 formly termed her, in the gondole of a diligence, be 
 tween Lyons and Marseilles. In addition, Mr. Dodge, 
 as has just been hinted, was an ultra-freeman at home 
 a circumstance that seems always to react when 
 the subject of the feeling gets into foreign countries. 
 
 "A feather running before a lady's sigh would 
 outsail either of us in trTis air, which breathes on us 
 in some such fashion as a whale snores, Sir George, 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. * 53 
 
 by sudden puffs. I would give the price of a steer 
 age passage, if Great Britain lay off the Cape of Good 
 Hope for a week or ten days." 
 
 " Or Cape Hatteras !" rejoined the mate. 
 
 " Not I; I wi.sh the old island no harm, nor a worse 
 climate than it has got already; though it lies as 
 much in our way just at this moment, as the moon 
 in an eclipse of the sun. I bear the old creature a 
 great-grandson's love or a step or two farther off, 
 if you will, and come and go too often to forget the 
 relationship. But, much as I love her, the affection 
 is not strong enough to go ashore on her shoals, and 
 so we will go about, Mr. Leach ; at the same time, I 
 wish from my heart that two-lugged rascal would go 
 about his business." 
 
 The ship tacked slowly but gracefully, for she was 
 in what her master termed "racing trim;" and as 
 her bows fell off to the eastward, it became pretty 
 evident to all who understood the subject, that the 
 two little lug-sails that were " eating into the wind," 
 as the sailors express it, would weather upon her 
 track ere she could stretch over to the other shoal. 
 Even the landsmen had some feverish suspicions of 
 the truth, and the steerage passengers were already 
 holding a secret conference on the possibility of hid 
 ing the pursued in some of the recesses of the ship. 
 " Such things were often done," one whispered to 
 another, " and it was as easy to perform it now as 
 at any other time." 
 
 But Captain Truck viewed the matter differently : 
 his vocation called him three times a year into the 
 roads at Portsmouth, and he felt little disposition to 
 embarrass his future intercourse with the place by 
 setting its authorities at a too open defiance. He 
 deliberated a good deal on the propriety of throwing 
 his ship up into the wind, as she slowly advanced to 
 wards the boat, and of inviting those in the latter to 
 5* 
 
54 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 board him. Opposed to this was the pride of profes 
 sion, and Jack Truck was not a man to overlook or 
 to forget the " yarns" that were spun among his fel 
 lows at the New England CofFee-hcuse, or a'mon^ 
 those farming hamlets on the banks af the Connecti 
 cut, whence all the packet-men are derived, and 
 whither they repair for a shelter when their careers 
 are run, as regularly as the fruit decays where it fall- 
 eth, or the grass that has not been harvested or 
 cropped withers on its native stalk. 
 
 "There is no question, Sir George, that this fellow 
 is a man-of-war's man," said the master to the baro 
 net, who stuck close to his side. "Take a peep at 
 the creeping rogue through this night-glass, and you 
 will see his crew seated at their thwarts with their 
 arms folded, like men who eat the king's beef. None 
 but your regular public servant ever gets that impu 
 dent air of idleness about him, either in England or 
 America. In this respect, human nature is the same 
 in both hemispheres, a man never falling in -with 
 luck, but he fancies, it is no more than his deserts." 
 
 " There seems to be a great many of them ! Can 
 it be their intention to carry the vessel by boarding?" 
 
 " If it is, they must take the will for the deed," re 
 turned Mr. Truck a little coldly. " I very much 
 question if the Montauk, with three cabin officers, as 
 many stewards, two cooks, and eighteen foremast- 
 men, would exactly like the notion of being 'carried,' 
 as you style it, Sir George, by a six-oared cutter's 
 crew. We are not as heavy as the planet Jupiter, 
 but have somewhat too much gravity to be 'carried' 
 as lightly as all that, too." 
 
 " You intend, then, to resist ?" asked Sir George, 
 whose generous zeal in behalf of the pursued appa 
 rently led him to take a stronger interest in their 
 escape than any other person on board. 
 
 Captain Truck, who had never an objection to 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. O 
 
 sport, pondered with himself a little, smiled, and then 
 loudly expressed a wish that he had a member of 
 congress or a member of parliament on board. 
 
 "Your desire is a little extraordinary for the cir 
 cumstances," observed Mr. Sharp ; "will you have 
 the goodness to explain why ?" 
 
 " This matter touches on inter-national law> gen 
 tlemen," continued the master, rubbing his hands; 
 for, in addition to having caught the art of introduc 
 ing, the honest mariner had taken it into his head he 
 had become an adept in the principles of Vattel, of 
 whom he possessed a well-thumbed copy, and for 
 whose dogmas he entertained the deference that they 
 who begin to learn late usually feel for the particular 
 master into whose hands they have accidentally 
 fallen. " Under what circumstances, or in what cate 
 gory, can a public armed ship compel a neutral to 
 submit to being boarded not ' carried,' Sir George, 
 you will please to remark; for d rne, if any man 
 
 * carries' the Montauk that is not strong enough to 
 
 * carry' her crew and cargo along with her! but in 
 what category, now r , is a packet like this I have the 
 honour to command obliged, in comity, to heave-to 
 and to submit to an examination at all? The ship is 
 a-weigh, and has handsomely tacked under her can 
 vass; and, gentlemen, I should be pleased to have 
 your sentiments on the occasion. Just have the con 
 descension to point out the category." 
 
 Mr. Dodge came from a part of the country in 
 which men were accustomed to think, act, almost to 
 eat and drink and sleep, in common; or, in other 
 words, from one of those regions in America, in 
 which there was so much community, that few had 
 the moral courage, even when they possessed the 
 knowledge, and all the other necessary means, to 
 cause their individuality to be respected. When the 
 usual process of conventions, sub-conventions, cau- 
 
56 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 cusses, and public meetings did not supply the means 
 of " concentrated action," he and his neighbours had 
 long been in the habit of having recourse to societies, 
 by way of obtaining "energetic means," as it was 
 termed ; and from his tenth year up to his twenty- 
 fifth, this gentleman had been either a president, vice- 
 president, manager, or committee-man, of some phi 
 losophical, political, or religious expedient to fortify 
 human wisdom, make men better, and resist error 
 and despotism. His experience had rendered him 
 expert in what may well enough be termed the lan 
 guage of association. No man of his years, in the 
 t\venty-six states, could more readily apply the terms 
 of " taking up" " excitement" " unqualified hosti 
 lity" " public opinion" " spreading before the pub 
 lic," or any other of those generic phrases that imply 
 the privileges of all, and the rights of none. Unfor 
 tunately, the pronunciation of this person was not as 
 pure as his motives, and he misunderstood the cap 
 tain when he spoke of comity, as meaning a " com 
 mittee;" and although it was not quite obvious what 
 the worthy mariner could intend by " obliged in com 
 mittee (comity) to heave-to," yet, as he had known 
 these bodies to do so many " energetic things," he 
 did not see why they might not perform this evolu 
 tion as well as another. 
 
 " It really does appear, Captain Truck," he remark 
 ed accordingly, " that our situation approaches a 
 crisis, and the suggestion of a comity (committee) 
 strikes me as being peculiarly proper and suitable to 
 the circumstances, and in strict conformity with re 
 publican usages. In order to save time, and that the 
 gentlemen who shall be appointed to serve may have 
 opportunity to report, therefore, I will at once nomi 
 nate Sir George Templemore as chairman, leaving it 
 for any other gentleman present to suggest the name 
 of any candidate he may deem proper. I will only 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 57 
 
 add, that in my poor judgment this comity (commit 
 tee) ought to consist of at least three, and that it have 
 power to send for persons and papers." 
 
 " I would propose five, Captain Truck, by way of 
 amendment," added another passenger of the same 
 kidney as the last speaker, gentlemen of their school 
 making it a point to differ a little from every proposi 
 tion by way of showing their independence. 
 
 It was fortunate for both the mover of the original 
 motion, and for the proposer of the amendment, that 
 the master was acquainted with the character of Mr. 
 Dodge, or a proposition that his ship was to be worked 
 by a committee, (or indeed by comity,) would have been 
 very likely to meet with but an indifferent reception ; 
 but, catching a glimpse of the laughing eyes of Eve, 
 as well as of the amused faces of Mr. Sharp and Mr. 
 Blunt, by the light of the moon, he very gravely sig 
 nified his entire approbation of the chairman named, 
 and his perfect readiness to listen to the report of the 
 aforesaid committee as soon as it might be prepared 
 to make it. 
 
 " And if your committee, or comity, gentlemen," 
 he added, " can tell me what Vattel would say about 
 the obligation to heave-to in a time of profound peace, 
 and when the ship, or boat, in chase, can have no 
 belligerent rights, I shall be grateful to my dying day; 
 for I have looked him through as closely as old wo 
 men usually examine almanacks to tell which way 
 the wind is about to blow, and I fear he has over 
 looked the subject altogether." 
 
 Mr. Dodge, and three or four more of the same 
 community-propensity as himself, soon settled the 
 names of the rest of the committee, when the nominees 
 retired to another part of the deck to consult together ; 
 S?P George Templemore, to the surprise of all the 
 Effingham party, consenting to serve with a willing 
 ness that rather disregarded forms. 
 
58 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 " It might be convenient to refer other matters to 
 this committee, captain," said Mr. Sharp, who had 
 tact enough to see that nothing but her habitual retenue 
 of deportment kept Eve, whose bright eyes were 
 dancing with humour, from downright laughter: 
 " these are the important points of reefing and furling, 
 the courses to be steered, the sail to be carried, the 
 times and seasons of calling all hands together, with 
 sundry other customary duties, that no doubt would 
 be .well treated on in this forthcoming report." 
 
 "No doubt, sir; I perceive you have been at sea 
 before, and I am sorry you were overlooked in naming 
 the members of the comity: take my word for it, all 
 that you have mentioned can be done on board the 
 Montauk by a comity, as well as settling the question 
 of heaving-to, or not, for yonder boat. By the way, 
 Mr. Leach, the fellows have tacked, and are standing 
 in this direction, thinking to cross our bows and speak 
 us. Mr. Attorney, the tide is setting us off the land, 
 and you may make it morning before you get into 
 your nests, if you hold on much longer. I fear Mrs. 
 Seal and Mrs. Grab will be unhappy women." 
 
 The bloodhounds of the law heard this warning 
 with indifference, for they expected succour of some 
 sort, though they hardly knew of what sort, from the 
 man-of-war's boat, which, it was now plain enough, 
 must weather on the ship. After putting their heads 
 together, Mr. Seal offered his companion a pinch of 
 snuff, helping himself afterwards, like a man indiffer 
 ent to the result, and one patient in time of duty. The 
 sun-burnt face of the captain, whose standing colour 
 was that which cooks get when the fire burns the 
 brightest, but whose hues no fire or cold ever varied, 
 was turned fully on the two, and it is probable they 
 would have received some decided manifestation %f 
 his will, had not Sir George Templemore, with the 
 
HOMEWARD BOUXD. 59 
 
 four other committee-men, approached to give in the 
 result of this conference. 
 
 " We are of opinion, Captain Truck," said the baro 
 net, " that as the ship is under way, and your voyage 
 may be fairly said to have commenced, it is quite in 
 expedient and altogether unnecessary for you to an 
 chor again ; but that it is your duty " 
 
 " I have no occasion for advice as to my duty, gen 
 tlemen. If you can let me know what Vattel says, 
 or ought to have said, on the subject, or touching the 
 category of the right of search, except as a belliger 
 ent right, I will thank you ; if not, we must e'en guess 
 at it. I have not sailed a ship in this trade these ten 
 years to need any jogging of the memory about port- 
 jurisdiction either, for these are matters in which one 
 gets to be expert by dint of use, as my old master 
 used to say when he called us from table with half a 
 dinner. Now, there was the case of the blacks in 
 Charleston, in which our government showed clearly 
 it had not studied Vattel, or it never would have 
 given the answer it did. Perhaps you never heard 
 that case, Sir George, and as it touches a delicate 
 principle, I will just run over the category lightly ; 
 for it has its points, as well as a coast." 
 
 " Does not this matter press, may not the boat " 
 
 " The boat will do nothing, gentlemen, without the 
 permission of Jack Truck. You must know, the Caro 
 linians have a law that all niggers brought into their 
 state by ships, must be caged until the vessel sails 
 again. This is to prevent emancipation, as they call 
 it, or abolition, I know not which. An Englishman 
 comes in from the islands with a crew of blacks, and, 
 according to law, the authorities of Charleston house 
 them all before night. John Bull complains to his 
 minister, and his minister sends a note to our secre 
 tary, and our secretary writes to the Governor of Ca 
 rolina, calling on him to respect the treaty, and so 
 
60 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 on. Gentlemen, I need not tell you what a treaty is 
 it is a thing in itself to be'obeyed; but it is all im 
 portant to know what it commands. Well, what was 
 this said treaty? That John should come in and out 
 of the ports, on the footing of the most favoured na 
 tion; on the statu quo ante bellum principle, as Vattel 
 has it. Now, the Carolinians treated John just as 
 they treated Jonathan, and there was no more to be 
 said. All parties were bound to enter the port, sub 
 ject to the municipals, as is set forth in Vattel. That 
 was a case soon settled, you perceive, though depend 
 ing on a nicety." 
 
 Sir George had listened with extreme impatience, 
 but, fearful of offending, he listened to the end; then, 
 seizing the first 'pause in the captain's discourse, he 
 resumed his remonstrances with an interest that did 
 infinite credit to his humanity, at the same time that 
 he overlooked none of the obligations of politeness. 
 
 " An exceedingly clear case, I protest," he answer 
 ed, " and capitally put I question if Lord Stowell 
 could do it better and exceedingly apt, that about 
 the ante bellum; but 1 confess my feelings have not 
 been so much aroused for a long time as they have 
 been on account of these poor people. There is 
 something inexpressibly painful in being disappointed 
 as one is setting out in the morning of life, as it were, 
 in this cruel manner ; and rather than see this state 
 of things protracted, I would prefer paying a trifle 
 out of my own pocket. If this wretched attorney 
 will consent, now, to take a hundred pounds and quit 
 us, and carry back with him that annoying cutter 
 with the lug-sails, I will give him the money most 
 cheerfully, most cheerfully, I protest." 
 
 There is something so essentially respectable in 
 practical generosity, that, though Eve and all 'the 
 curious auditors of what was passing felt an inclina 
 tion to laugh at the whole procedure up to this de- 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 61 
 
 claration, eye met eye in commendation of the 
 liberality of the baronet. He had shown he had a 
 heart, in the opinion of most of those who heard 
 him, though his previous conversation had led seve 
 ral of the observers to distrust his having the usual 
 quantum of head. 
 
 " Give yourself no trouble about the attorney, Sir 
 George," returned the captain, shaking the other 
 cordially by the hand ; " he shall not touch a pound 
 of your money, nor do I think he is likely to touch 
 this Robert Davis. We have caught the tide on our 
 lee bow, and the current is wheeling us up to wind 
 ward, like an opposition coach flying over Black- 
 heath. In a few minutes we shall be in blue water; 
 and then I'll give the rascal a touch of Vattel that 
 will throw him all aback, if it don't throw him over 
 board." 
 
 "But the cutter?" 
 
 "Why, if we drive the attorney and Grab out of 
 the ship, there will be no process in the hands of the 
 others, by which they can carry off the man, even 
 admitting the jurisdiction. I know the scoundrels, 
 and not a shilling shall either of the knaves take from 
 this vessel with my consent. Harkee, Sir George, a 
 
 word in your ear : two of as d d cockroaches as 
 
 ever rummaged a ship's bread-room ; I'll see that 
 they soon heave about, or I'll heave them both into 
 their boat, with my own fair hands." 
 
 The captain was about to turn away to examine 
 the position of the cutter, when Mr. Dodge asked 
 permission to make a short report in behalf of the 
 minority of the comity (committee), the amount of 
 which was, that they agreed in all things with the 
 majority, except on the point that, as it might be 
 come expedient for the ship to anchor again in some 
 of the ports lower down the Channel, it would be 
 \vise to keep that material circumstance in view, in 
 
 VOL. i, 
 
62 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 making up a final decision in the affair. This report 
 on the part of the minority, which, Mr. Dodge ex 
 plained to the baronet, partook rather of the charac 
 ter of a caution than of a protest, had quite as little 
 influence on Captain Truck as the opinion of the 
 majority, for he was just one of those persons who 
 seldom took advice that did not conform with his 
 own previous decision; but he coolly continued to 
 examine the cutter, which by this time was standing 
 on the same course as the ship, a short distance to 
 windward of her, and edging a little off the wind, 
 so as to bring the two nearer to each other, every 
 yard they advanced. 
 
 The wind had freshened to a little breeze, and the 
 captain nodded his head with satisfaction when he 
 heard, even where he stood on the quarter-deck, the 
 slapping of the sluggish swell, as the huge bows of 
 the ship parted the water. At this moment those in 
 the cutter saw the bubbles glide swiftly pass them, 
 while to those in the Montauk the motion was still 
 slow and heavy ; and yet, of the two, the actual ve 
 locity was rather in favour of the latter, both having 
 about what is technically termed " four-knot way" 
 on them. The officer of the boat was quick to de 
 tect the change that was acting against him, and by 
 easing the sheets of his lug-sails, and keeping the 
 cutter as much off the wind as he could, he was soon 
 within a hundred feet of the ship, running along on 
 her weather-beam. The bright soft moonlight per 
 mitted the face of a young man in a man-of-war 
 cap, who wore the undress uniform of a sea-lieuten 
 ant, to be distinctly seen, as he rose in the stern- 
 sheets, which contained also two other persons. 
 
 " I will thank you to heave-to the Montauk," said 
 the lieutenant civilly, while he raised his cap, appa 
 rently in compliment to the passengers who crowded 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 63 
 
 the rail to see and hear what passed. " 1 am sent 
 on the duty of the king, sir." 
 
 " I know your errand, sir,'* returned Captain 
 Truck, whose resolution to refuse to comply was a 
 good deal shaken by the gentleman-like manner in 
 which the request was made ; " and I wish you to 
 bear witness, that if I do consent to your request, it 
 is voluntarily; for, on the principles laid down by 
 Vattel and the other writers on international law, 
 the right of search is a belligerent right, and England 
 being at peace, no ship belonging to one nation can 
 have a right to stop a vessel belonging to another." 
 
 " I cannot enter into these niceties, sir," returned 
 the lieutenant, sharply : " I have my orders, and you 
 will excuse me if I say, I intend to execute them." 
 
 " Execute them, with all my heart, sir: if you are 
 ordered to heave-to my ship, all you have to do is to 
 get on board if you can, and let us see the style in 
 which you handle yards. As to the people now sta 
 tioned at the braces, the trumpet that will make them 
 stir is not to be spoken through at the Admiralty. 
 The fellow has spirit in him, and I like his principles 
 as an officer, but I cannot admit his conclusions as a 
 jurist. If he flatters himself with being able to 
 frighten us into a new category, now, that is likely 
 to impair national rights, the lad has just got himself 
 into a problem that will need all his logic, and a good 
 deal of his spirit, to get out of again." 
 
 " You will scarcely think of resisting a king's offi 
 cer in British waters !" said the young man with 
 that haughtiness that the meekest tempers soon learn 
 to acquire under a pennant. 
 
 " Resisting, my dear sir ! 1 resist nothing. The 
 misconception is in supposing that you sail this ship 
 instead of John Truck. That is my name, sir; John 
 Truck. Do your errand in welcome, but do not ask 
 me to help you. Come aboard, with all my heart ; 
 
64 IJOMEWARD BOUKD. 
 
 nothing would give me more pleasure than to take 
 wine with you ; but I see no necessity of stopping a 
 packet, that is busy on a long road, without an ob 
 ject, as we say on the other side of the big waters." 
 
 There was a pause, and then the lieutenant, with 
 the sort of hesitation that a gentleman is apt to feel 
 when he makes a proposal that he knows ought not 
 to be accepted, called out that those in the boat with 
 him would pay for the detention of the ship. A more 
 unfortunate proposition could not be made to Cap 
 tain Truck, who would have hove-to his ship in a 
 moment had the lieutenant proposed to discuss Vattel 
 with him on the quarter-deck, and who was only 
 holding out as a sort of salvo to his rights, with that 
 disposition to resist aggression that the experience of 
 the last forty years has so deeply implanted in the 
 bosom of every American sailor, in cases connected 
 with English naval officers, and who had just made 
 up his mind to let Robert Davis take his chance, and 
 to crack a bottle with the handsome young man who 
 was still standing up in the boat. But Mr. Truck 
 had been too often to London not to understand ex 
 actly the manner in which Englishmen appreciate 
 American character; and, among other things, he 
 knew it was the general opinion in the island that 
 money could do any thing with Jonathan, or, as 
 Christophe is said once to have sententiously ex 
 pressed the same sentiment, " if there were a bag of 
 coffee in h , a Yankee could be found to go and 
 bring it out." 
 
 The master of the Montauk had a proper relish 
 for his lawful gains as well as another, but he was 
 vain-glorious on the subject of his countrymen, prin 
 cipally because he found that the packets outsailed 
 all other merchant-ships, and fiercely proud of any 
 quality that others were disposed to deny them. 
 
 At hearing this proposal, or intimation, therefore, 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND, 65 
 
 instead of accepting it, Captain Truck raised his hat 
 with formal civility, and coolly wished the other 
 " good night." This was bringing the affair to a 
 crisis at once ; for the helm of the cutter was borne 
 up, and an attempt was made to run the boat along 
 side of the ship. But the breeze had been steadily 
 increasing, the air had grown heavier as the night 
 advanced, and the dampness of evening, as usual, 
 was thickening the canvass of the coarser sails in a 
 way sensibly to increase the speed of the ship. When 
 the conversation commenced, the boat was abreast 
 of the fore-rigging; and by the time it ended, it was 
 barely up with the mizzen. The lieutenant was quick 
 to see the disadvantage he laboured under, and he 
 called out " Heave !" as he found the cutter was fall 
 ing close under the counter of the ship, and would 
 be in her wake in another minute. The bowman of 
 the boat cast a light grapnel with so much precision 
 that it hooked in the mizzen rigging, and the line in 
 stantly tightened so as to tow the cutter. A seaman 
 was passing along the outer edge of the hurricane- 
 house at the moment, coming from the wheel, and 
 with the decision of an old salt, he quietly passed his 
 knife across the stretched cordage, and it snapped 
 like pack-thread. The grapnel fell into the sea, and 
 the boat was tossing in the wake of the ship, all as it 
 might be while one could draw a breath. To furl 
 the sails and ship the oars consumed but an instant, 
 and then the cutter was ploughing the water under 
 the vigorous strokes of her crew. 
 
 ." Spirited ! spirited and nimble!" observed Captain 
 Truck, who stood coolly leaning against a shroud, in 
 a position where he could command a view of all that 
 was passing, improving the opportunity to shake the 
 ashes from his cigar while he spoke; "a fine young 
 fellow, and one who will make an admiral, or some 
 thing better, I dare say, if he live; perhaps a cherub, 
 
 6* 
 
66 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 in time. Now, if he pull much longer in the back 
 water of our wake, I shall have to give him up, Leach, 
 as a little marine-is/* : ah ! there he sheers out of it, 
 like a sensible youth as he is ! Well, there is some 
 thing pleasant in the conceit of a six-oared boat's 
 carrying a London liner by boarding, even admitting 
 the lad could have got alongside." 
 
 So, it would seem, thought Mr. Leach and the crew 
 of the Montauk; for they kept about their work of 
 clearing the decks with as much philosophy as men 
 ever discover when employed in an unthankful office. 
 This sang-froid of seamen is always matter of sur 
 prise to landsmen; but adventurers who have been 
 rocked in the tempest for years, whose utmost secu 
 rity is a hazard to cause others to doubt, and whose 
 safety constantly depends on the command of the 
 faculties, come in time to experience an apathy on 
 the subject of all the minor terrors and excitements of 
 life, that none can acquire unless by habit and simi 
 lar risks. There was a low laugh among the people, 
 and now and then a curious glance of the eye over 
 the quarter to ascertain the position of the struggling 
 boat ; but there the effect of the little incident ceased, 
 so far as the seamen were concerned. 
 
 Not so with the passengers. The Americans ex 
 ulted at the failure of the man-of-war's man, and the 
 English doubted. To them, deference to the crown 
 was habitual, and they were displeased at seeing a 
 stranger play a king's boat such a trick, in what they 
 justly enough thought to be British waters. Although 
 the law may not give a man any more right than an 
 another to the road before his own door, he comes in 
 time to fancy it, in a certain degree, his particular 
 road. Strictly speaking, the Montauk was perhaps 
 still under the dominion of the English laws, though 
 she had been a league from the land when laying at 
 her anchor, and by this time the tide and her own ve- 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 67 
 
 looily had swept her broad off into the offing quite as 
 far again; indeed she had now got to such a distance 
 from the land, that Captain Truck thought it his 
 " duty" to bring matters to a conclusion with the at 
 torney. 
 
 " Well, Mr. Seal," he said, " I am grateful for the 
 pleasure of your company thus far; but you will ex 
 cuse me if Tdecline taking you and Mr. Grab quite to 
 America. Half an hour hence you will hardly be 
 able to find the island ; for as soon as we have got to 
 a proper distance from the cutter, I shall tack to the 
 south-west, and you ought, moreover, to remember 
 the anxiety of the ladies at home." 
 
 " This may turn out a serious matter, Captain 
 Truck, on your return passage ! The laws of Eng 
 land are not to be trifled with. Will you oblige me 
 by ordering the steward to hand me a glass of water? 
 Waiting for justice is dry duty, 1 find." 
 
 "Extremely sorry I cannot comply, gentlemen. 
 Vattel has nothing on the subject of watering belli 
 gerents, or neutrals, and the laws of Congress com 
 pel me to carry so many gallons to the man. If you 
 will take it in the way of a nightcap, however, and 
 drink success to our run to America, and your own 
 to the shore, it shall be in champagne, if you happen 
 to like that agreeable fluid." 
 
 The attorney was about to express his readiness to 
 compromise on these terms, when a glass of the 
 beverage for which he had first asked was put into 
 his hand by the wife of Robert Davis. He took the 
 water, drank it, a.nd turned from the woman with the 
 obduracy of one who never suffered feeling to divert 
 him from the pursuit of gain. The wine w r as brought, 
 and the captain filled the glasses with a seaman's 
 heartiness. 
 
 " I drink to your safe return to Mrs. Seal, and the 
 little gods and goddesses of justice, Pan or Mercury, 
 
68 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 which is it? And as for you, Grab, look out for 
 sharks as you pull in. If they hear of your being 
 afloat, the souls of persecuted sailors will set them on 
 you, as the devil chases male coquettes. Well, gen 
 tlemen, you are balked this time ; but what matters 
 it? It is but another man got safe out of a country 
 that has too many in it; and 1 trust we shall meet 
 good friends again this day four months. Even man 
 and wife must part, when the hour arrives." 
 
 " That will depend on how my client views your 
 conduct on this occasion, Captain Truck; for lie is 
 not a man that it is always safe to thwart." 
 
 "That for your client, Mr. Seal?" returned the 
 captain, snapping his fingers. " I am not to be fright 
 ened with an attorney's growl, or a bailiff's nod. 
 You come off with a writ or a warrant, I care not 
 which ; I offer no resistance; you hunt for your man, 
 like a terrier looking for a rat, and can't find him ; I 
 see the fine fellow, at this moment, on deck, but I 
 feel no obligation to tell you who or where he is; my 
 ship is cleared and I sail, and you have no power to 
 stop me; we are outside of all the head-lands, good 
 two leagues and a half off, and some writers say that 
 a gun-shot is the extent of your jurisdiction, once out 
 of which, your authority is not worth half as much 
 as that of my chief cook, who has power to make his 
 mate clean the coppers. Well, sir, you stay here ten 
 minutes longer and we shall be fully three leagues 
 from your nearest land, and then you are in America, 
 according to law, and a quick passage you will have 
 made of it. Now, that is what I call a category." 
 
 As the captain made this last remark, his quick eye 
 saw that the wind had hauled so far round to the west 
 ward, as to supersede the necessity of tacking, and 
 that they were actually going eight knots in a direct 
 line from Portsmouth. Casting an eye behind him, 
 he perceived that the cutter had given up the chase, 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 69 
 
 and was returning towards the distant roads. Under 
 circumstances so discouraging, the attorney, who be 
 gan to be alarmed for his boat, which was flying 
 along on the water, towed by the ship, prepared to 
 take his leave ; for he was fully aware that he had 
 no power to compel the other to heave-to his ship, to 
 enable him to get out of her. Luckily the water was 
 still tolerably smooth, and with fear and trembling, 
 Mr. Seal succeeded in blundering into the boat; not, 
 however, until the watermen had warned him of their 
 intention to hold on no longer. Mr. Grab followed, 
 with a good deal of difficulty, and just as a hand was 
 about to let go the painter, the captain appeared at 
 the gangway with the man they were in quest of, and 
 said in his most winning manner 
 
 "Mr. Grab, Mr. Davis; Mr. Davis, Mr. Grab; I 
 seldom introduce steerage passengers, but to oblige 
 two old friends I break the rule. That's what I call 
 a category. My compliments to Mrs. Grab. Let 
 go the painter." 
 
 The words were no sooner uttered than the boat 
 was tossing and whirling in the caldron left by the 
 passing ship. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 What country, friends, is this ? 
 l%ria, lady. 
 
 Twelfth Night. 
 
 CAPTAIN TRUCK cast an eye aloft to see if every 
 thing drew, as coolly as if nothing out of the usual 
 course had happened; he and his crew having, seem 
 ingly, regarded the attempt to board them as men re 
 gard the natural phenomena of the planets, or in other 
 
70 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 words, as if the ship, of which they were merely 
 parts, had escaped by her own instinct or volition. 
 This habit of considering the machine as the govern 
 ing principle is rather general among seamen, who, 
 while they ease a brace, or drag a bowline, as the 
 coachman checks a rein, appear to think it is only 
 permitting the creature to work her own will a little 
 more freely. It is true all know better, but none talk, 
 or indeed would seem to feel, as if they thought other 
 wise. 
 
 "Did you observe how the old barky jumped out 
 of the way of those rovers in the cutter?" said 
 the captain complacently to the quarter-deck group, 
 when his survey aloft had taken sufficient heed, that 
 his own nautical skill should correct the instinct of 
 the ship. " A skittish horse, or a whale with the irons 
 in him, or, for that matter, one of the funniest of your 
 theatricals, would not have given a prettier aside 
 than this poor old hulk, which is certainly just the 
 clumsiest craft that sails the ocean. I wish King 
 William would take it into his royal head, now, to 
 send one of his light-heeled cruisers out to prove it, 
 by way of resenting the cantaverous trick the Mon- 
 tauk played his boat 1 /' 
 
 The dull report of a gun, as the sound came short 
 and deadened up against the breeze, checked the 
 raillery of Mr. Truck. On looking to leeward, there 
 was sufficient light to see the symmetrical sails of 
 the corvette they had left at anchor, trimmed close 
 by the wind, and the vessel itself standing out under 
 a press of canvass, apparently in chase. The gun 
 had evidently been fired as a signal of recall to the 
 cutter, blue lights being burnt on board of both the 
 ship and its boat, in proof that they were communi 
 cating. 
 
 The passengers now looked gravely at each other, 
 for the matter, in their eyes, began to be serious. 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 71 
 
 Some suggested the possibility that the offence of 
 Davis might be other than debt, but this was dis 
 proved by the process and the account of the bailiff 
 himself; while most concluded that a determination 
 to resent the slight done the authorities had caused 
 the cruiser to follow them out, with the intention of 
 carrying them back again. The English passengers 
 in particular began now to reason in favour of the 
 authority of the crown, while those who were known 
 to be Americans grew warm in maintaining the rights 
 of their flag. Both the Effinghams, however, were 
 moderate in the expression of their opinions, for edu 
 cation, years, and experience, had taught them to dis 
 criminate justly. 
 
 " As respects the course of Captain Truck, in re 
 fusing to permit the cutter to board him, he is proba 
 bly a better judge than any of us," Mr. Effingham 
 observed with gentlemanly reserve " for he must 
 better understand the precise position of his ship at 
 the time; but concerning the want of right in a for- 
 reign vessel of war to carry this ship into port in a 
 time of profound peace, when sailing on the high 
 seas, as will soon be the case with the Montauk, 
 admitting that she is not there at present, I should 
 think there can be no reasonable doubt. The dispute, 
 if there is to be any, has now to become matter of 
 negotiation; or redress must be sought through the 
 general agents of the two nations, and not taken by 
 the inferior officers of either party. The instant the 
 Montauk reaches the public highway of nations, she 
 is within the exclusive jurisdiction of the country un 
 der whose flag she legally sails/' 
 
 "Vattel, to the back bone!" said the captain, giv 
 ing a nod of approbation, again clearing the end of 
 his cigar. 
 
 Now, John Effingham was a man of strong feel 
 ings, which is often but another word for a man of 
 
72 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 JflBL' 
 
 strong prejudices; and he had been educated between 
 thirty or forty years before, which is saying virtually, 
 that he was educated under the influence of the Bri 
 tish opinions, that then weighed (and many of which 
 still weigh) like an incubus on the national interests 
 of America. It is true, Mr. Effingham was in all 
 senses the contemporary, as he had been the school 
 fellow, of his cousin ; that they loved each other as 
 brothers, had the utmost reliance on each other's 
 principles in the main, thought alike in a thousand 
 things, and yet, in the particular of English domina 
 tion, it was scarcely possible for one man to resemble 
 another less than the widowed kinsman resembled 
 the bachelor. 
 
 Edward Effingham was a singularly just-minded 
 man, and having succeeded at an early age to his 
 estate, he had lived many years in that intellectual 
 retirement which, by withdrawing him from the 
 strifes of the world, had left a cultivated sagacity to 
 act freely on a natural disposition. At the period 
 when the entire republic was, in substance, exhibit 
 ing the disgraceful picture of a nation torn by ad 
 verse factions, that had their origin in interests alien 
 to its own; when most were either Englishmen or 
 Frenchmen, he had remained what nature, the laws 
 and reason intended him to be, an American. Enjoy 
 ing the otium cum dignitate on his hereditary estate, 
 and in his hereditary abode, Edward Effingham, 
 with little pretensions to greatness, and with many 
 claims to goodness, had hit the line of truth which so 
 many of the " god-likes" of the republic, under the 
 influence of their passions, and stimulated by the 
 transient and fluctuating interests of the day, entirely 
 over-looked, or which, if seeing, they recklessly dis 
 regarded. A less impracticable subject for excite 
 ment, the primum mobile of all American patriotism 
 and activity, if we are to believe the theories of the 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 73 
 
 times, could not be found, than this gentleman. In 
 dependence of situation had induced independence of 
 thought: study arid investigation rendered him ori 
 ginal and just, by simply exempting him from the 
 influence of the passions ; and while hundreds were 
 keener, abler in the exposition of subtleties, or more 
 imposing with the mass, few were as often right, and 
 none of less selfishness, than this simple-minded and 
 upright gentleman. He loved his native land, while 
 he saw and regretted its weaknesses; was its firm 
 and consistent advocate abroad, without becoming 
 its interested or mawkish flatterer at home, and at all 
 times, and in all situations, manifested that his heart 
 was where it ought to be. 
 
 In many essentials, John Effingham was the con 
 verse of all this. Of an intellect much more acute 
 and vigorous than that of his cousin, he also pos 
 sessed passions less under control, a will more stub 
 born, and prejudices that often neutralized his rea 
 son. His father had inherited most of the personal 
 property of the family, and with this he had plunged 
 into the vortex of moneyed speculation that succeeded 
 the adoption of the new constitution, and verifying 
 the truth of the sacred saying, that " where the trea 
 sure is, there will the heart be also," he had entered 
 warmly and blindly into all the factious and irrecon 
 cilable principles of party, if such a word can pro 
 perly be applied to rules of conduct that vary with 
 the interests of the day, and had adopted the cur 
 rent errors with which faction unavoidably poisons 
 the mind. 
 
 America was then much too young in her inde 
 pendence, and too insignificant in all eyes but her 
 own, to reason and act for herself, except on points 
 that pressed too obviously on her immediate con 
 cerns to be overlooked ; but the great social princi 
 ples, or it might be better to say, the great social 
 
 VOL. i. 7 
 
74 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 interests, that then distracted Europe, produced 
 quite as much sensation in that distant country, as at 
 all comported with a state of things that had so little 
 practical connexion with the result. The Effingham 
 family had started federalists, in the true meaning of 
 the term ; for their education, native sense and prin 
 ciples, had a leaning to order, good government, and 
 the dignity of the country; but as factions became 
 fiercer, and names got to be confounded and contra 
 dictory, the landed branch settled down into what 
 they thought were American, and the commercial 
 branch into what might properly be termed English 
 federalists. We do not mean that the father of John 
 intended to be untrue to his native land ; but by fol 
 lowing up the dogmas of party he had reasoned him 
 self into a set of maxims which, if they meant any 
 thing, meant everything but that which had been 
 solemnly adopted as the governing principles of his 
 own country, and many of which \vere diametrically 
 opposed to both its interests and its honour. 
 
 John Effingham had insensibly imbibed the senti 
 ments of his particular sect, though the large fortune 
 inherited from his father had left him too indepen 
 dent to pursue the sinuous policy of trade. He had 
 permitted temperament to act on prejudice to such 
 an extent that. he vindicated the right of England to 
 force men from under the American flag, a doctrine 
 that his cousin was too simple-minded and clear 
 headed ever to entertain for an instant: and he was 
 singularly ingenious in discovering blunders in all 
 the acts of the republic, when they conflicted with 
 the policy of Great Britain. In short, his talents 
 were necessary, perhaps, to reconcile so much so 
 phistry, or to render that reasonably plausible that 
 was so fundamentally false. After the peace of 1815, 
 John Effingham went abroad for the second time, 
 and he hurried through England with the eagerness 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 75 
 
 of strong affection ; an affection that owed its ex 
 istence even more to opposition than to settled no 
 tions of truth, or to natural ties. The result was 
 disappointment, as happens nineteen times in twenty, 
 and this solely because, in the zeal of a partisan, he 
 had fancied theories, and imagined results. Like the 
 English radical, who rushes into America with a 
 mind unsettled by impracticable dogmas, he expe 
 rienced a reaction, and this chiefly because he found 
 that men were not superior to nature, and discovered 
 so late in the day, what he might have known at 
 starting, that particular causes must produce particu 
 lar effects. From this time, John Effingham became 
 a wiser and a more moderate man; though, as the 
 shock had not been sufficiently violent to throw him 
 backward on truth, or rather upon the opposing pre 
 judices of another sect, the remains of the old notions 
 were still to be discovered lingering in his opinions, 
 and throwing a species of twilight shading over his 
 mind; as in nature the hues of evening and the 
 shadows of the morning follow, or precede, the light 
 of the sun. 
 
 Under the influence of these latent prejudices, then, 
 John Effingham replied to the remarks of his cousin, 
 and the discourse soon partook of the discursive 
 character of all arguments, in which the parties are 
 not singularly clear-headed, and free from any other 
 bias than that of truth. Nearly all joined in it, and 
 half-an-hour was soon passed in settling the law of 
 nations, and the particular merits or demerits of the 
 instance before them. 
 
 It was a lovely night, and Mademoiselle Viefville 
 and Eve walked the deck for exercise, the smooth 
 ness of the water rendering the moment every way 
 favourable. As has been already said, the common 
 feeling in the escape of the new-married couple had 
 broken the ice, and less restraint existed between the 
 
76 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 passengers, at the moment when Mr. Grab left the 
 ship, than would have been the case at the end of a 
 week, under ordinary circumstances. Eve Effing- 
 ham had passed her time since her eleventh year 
 principally on the continent of Europe, and in the 
 mixed intercourse that is common to strangers in 
 that part of the world ; or, in other words, equally 
 without the severe restraint that is usually imposed 
 there on the young of her own sex, or without the 
 extreme license that is granted to them at home. 
 She came of a family too well toned to run into the 
 extravagant freedoms that sometimes pass for easy 
 manners in America, had she never quitted her fa 
 ther's house even: but her associations abroad had 
 unavoidably imparted greater reserve to her ordi 
 nary deportment than the simplicity of cis-Atlantic 
 usages would have rendered indispensable in the 
 most fastidious circles. With the usual womanly 
 reserves, she was natural and unembarrassed in her 
 intercourse with the world, and she had been allow 
 ed to see so many different nations, that she had ob 
 tained a self-confidence that did her no injury, under 
 the influence of an exemplary education, and great 
 natural dignity of mind. Still, Mademoiselle Vief- 
 ville, notwithstanding she had lost some of her own 
 peculiar notions on the subject, by having passed so 
 many years in an American family, was a little sur 
 prised at observing that Eve received the respectful 
 advances of Mr. Sharp and Mr. Blunt with less re 
 serve than it was usual to her to manifest to an en 
 tire stranger. Instead of remaining a mere listener, 
 she had answered several remarks of the first, and 
 once or twice she had even laughed with him openly 
 at some absurdity of the committee of five. The 
 cautious governess wondered, but half disposed to 
 fancy that there was no more than the necessary 
 freedom of a ship in it all, for, like a true French- 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 77 
 
 woman, Mademoiselle Viefville had very vague no 
 tions of the secrets of the mighty deep she per 
 mitted it to pass, confiding in the long-tried taste 
 and discretion of her charge. While Mr. Sharp 
 discoursed with Eve, who held her arm the while, 
 she herself had fallen into an animated conversation 
 with Mr. Blunt, who walked at her side, and who 
 spoke her own language so well, that she at first set 
 him down as a countryman, travelling under an Eng 
 lish appellation as a nom de guerre. While this dia 
 logue was at its height of interest for Paul Blunt 
 discoursed with his companion aptly on Paris and 
 its excellences with a skill that soon absorbed all her 
 attention, " Paris, ce magnifique Paris" having al 
 most as much influence on the happiness of the go 
 verness, as it was said to have had on that of 
 Madame de Stael; Eve's companion dropped his 
 voice to a tone that was rather confidential for a 
 stranger, although it was perfectly respectful, and 
 said, 
 
 " I have flattered myself, perhaps through the in 
 fluence of self-love alone, that Miss Effingham has 
 not so far forgotten all whom she has met in her 
 travels as to think me an utter stranger." 
 
 " Certainly not," returned Eve, with perfect sim 
 plicity and composure ; " else would one of my 
 faculties, that of memory, be perfectly useless. I 
 knew you at a glance, and consider the worthy cap 
 tain's introduction as so much finesse of breeding 
 utterly thrown away." 
 
 " I am equally gratified and vexed at all this; gra 
 tified and infinitely flattered to find that I have not 
 passed before your eyes like the" common herd, who 
 leave no traces of even their features behind them ; 
 and vexed at finding myself in a situation that, I 
 fear, you fancy excessively ridiculous?' 
 
 " Oh, one hardly dare to attach such consequences 
 7* 
 
78 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 to acts of young men, or young women either, in an 
 age as original as our own. I saw nothing particu 
 larly absurd but the introduction; arid so many 
 absurder have since passed, that this is almost for 
 gotten." 
 
 " And the name ?" 
 
 " Is certainly a keen one. If I am not mistaken, 
 when we were in Italy you were content to let your 
 servant bear it; but, venturing among a people so 
 noted for sagacity as the Yankees, I suppose you 
 have fancied it was necessary to go armed cap-ti- 
 pit? 
 
 Both laughed lightly, as if they equally enjoyed 
 the pleasantry, and then he resumed : 
 
 " But I sincerely hope you do not impute improper 
 motives to the incognito?" 
 
 "I impute it to that which makes many young 
 men run from Rome to Vienna, or from Vienna to 
 Paris; which causes you to sell the vis-d-vis to buy 
 a dormeuse; to know your friends to-day, and to for 
 get them to-morrow; or, in short, to do a hundred 
 other things that can be accounted for on no other 
 motive." 
 
 " And this motive ?" 
 
 " Is simply caprice." 
 
 " I wish I could persuade you to ascribe some 
 better reason to all my conduct. Can you think of 
 nothing, in the present instance, less discreditable?" 
 
 " Perhaps I can," Eve answered, after a moment 
 of thought; then laughing slightly again, she added, 
 quickly, " But I fear, in exonerating you from the 
 charge of unmitigated caprice, I shall ascribe a rea 
 son that does little less credit to your knowledge." 
 
 " This will appear in the end. Does Mademoiselle 
 Viefville remember me, do you fancy ?" 
 
 " It is impossible ; she was ill, you will remember, 
 the three months we saw so much of you." 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 79 
 
 " And your father, Miss Effingham ; am I really 
 forgotten by him?'* 
 
 " I am quite certain you are not. He never for 
 gets a face, whatever in this instance may have be 
 fallen the name." 
 
 " He received me so coldly, and so much like a 
 total stranger !" 
 
 " He is too well-bred to recognise a man who 
 wishes to be unknown, or to indulge in exclamations 
 of surprise, or in dramatic starts. He is more stable 
 than a girl, moreover, and may feel less indulgence 
 to caprice." 
 
 " I feel obliged to his reserve ; for exposure would 
 be ridiculous, and so long as you and he alone know 
 me, I shall feel less awkward in the ship. I am cer 
 tain neither will betray me." 
 " Betray !" 
 
 " Betray, discover, annihilate me if you will. Any 
 thing is preferable to ridicule." 
 
 "This touches a little on the caprice; but you 
 flatter yourself with too much security; you are 
 known to one more besides my father, myself, and 
 the honest man whom you have robbed of all his 
 astuteness, which I believe was in his name." 
 " For pity's sake, who can it be?" 
 " The worthy Nanny Sidley, my whilom nurse, 
 and actual femme de chambre. No ogre was ever 
 more vigilant on his ward than the faithful Nanny, 
 and it is vain to suppose she does not recall your 
 features." 
 
 " But ogres sometimes sleep ; recollect how many 
 have been overcome in that situation." 
 
 Eve smiled, but shook her head. She was about to 
 assure Mr. Sharp of the vanity of his belief, when 
 an exclamation from her governess diverted the at 
 tention of both, and before either had time to speak 
 

 80 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 again, Mademoiselle Viefville turned lo them, and 
 said rapidly in French 
 
 " I assure you, ma chere, I should have mistaken 
 monsieur for a countryman by his language, were it 
 not for a single heinous fault that he has just com 
 mitted/' 
 
 " Which fault you will suffer me to inquire into, 
 that I may hasten to correct it?" asked Mr. Blunt. 
 
 " Mais, monsieur, you speak too perfectly, too 
 grammatically, for a native. You do not take the 
 liberties witji the language that one who feels he 
 owns it thinks he has a right to do. It is the fault of 
 too much correctness/' 
 
 " And a fault it easily becomes. I thank you for 
 the hint, mademoiselle ; but as I am now going 
 where little French will be heard, it is probable it 
 will soon be lost in greater mistakes." 
 
 The two then turned away again, and continued 
 the dialogue that had been interrupted by this tri 
 fling. 
 
 "There may also be one more to whom you are 
 known," continued Eve, as soon as the vivacity of 
 the discourse of the others satisfied her the remark 
 would not be heard. 
 
 " Surely, you cannot mean him" 
 
 4< Surely, I do mean him. Are you quite certain 
 that ' Mr. Sharp, Mr. Blunt ; Mr. Blunt, Mr. Sharp,' 
 never saw each other before ?" 
 
 " I think not until the moment we entered the boat 
 in company. He is a gentlemanly young man; he 
 seems even to be more, and one would not be apt to 
 forget him. He is altogether superior to the rest of 
 the set : do you not agree with me ?" 
 
 Eve made no answer, probably because she 
 thought her companion was not sufficiently intimate 
 to interrogate her on the subject of her opinions of 
 others. Mr. Sharp had too much knowledge of the 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 81 
 
 world not to perceive the little mistake he had made, 
 and after begging the young lady, with a ludicrous 
 deprecation of her mercy, not to betray him, he 
 changed the conversation with the tact of a man 
 who saw that the discourse could not be continued 
 without assuming an air of a confidential character 
 that Eve was indisposed to permit. Luckily, a pause 
 in the discourse between the governess and her col- 
 loquist permitted a happy turn to the conversation. 
 
 " I believe you are an American, Mr. Blunt," he 
 remarked ; " and as I am an Englishman, we may 
 be fairly pitted against each other on this important 
 question of international law, and about which I hear 
 our worthy captain flourishing extracts from Vattel 
 as familiarly as household terms. I hope, at least, 
 you agree with me in thinking that when the sloop- 
 of-war comes up with us, it will be very silly on our 
 part to make any objections to being boarded by 
 her?" 
 
 " I do not know that it is at all necessary I should 
 be an American to give an opinion on such a point," 
 returned the young man he addressed, courteously, 
 though he smiled to himself as he answered " For 
 what is right, is right, quite independent of nations, 
 or of nationality. It really does appear to me that 
 a public-armed vessel ought to have, in war or peace, 
 a right to ascertain the character of all merchant- 
 ships, at least on the coast of the country to which 
 the cruisers belong. Without this power, it is not 
 easy to see in what manner they can seize smugglers, 
 capture pirates, or otherwise enforce the objects for 
 which such vessels are usually sent to sea, in the 
 absence of positive hostilities." 
 
 " I am happy to find you agreeing with me, then, 
 in the legality of the doctrine of the right of search." 
 
 Paul Blunt again smiled, and Eve, as she caught 
 a glimpse of his fine countenance in turning their 
 
82 HOMEWARD BOUIVD. 
 
 short walk, fancied there was a concealed pride of 
 reason in the expression. Still he answered as mild 
 ly and quietly as before. 
 
 " The right of search, certainly, to attain these 
 ends, but to attain no more. If nations denounce 
 piracy, for instance, and employ especial agents to 
 detect and overcome the freebooters, there is reason 
 in according to these agents all the rights that are 
 requisite to the discharge of the duties: but, in con 
 ceding this much, I do not see that any authority is 
 acquired beyond that which immediately belongs to 
 the particular service to be performed. If we give a 
 man permission to enter our house to look for thieves, 
 it does not follow that, because so admitted, he has 
 a right to exercise any other function. I do believe 
 that the ship in chase of us, as a public cruiser, ought 
 to be allowed to board this vessel ; but finding no 
 thing contrary to the laws of nations about her, that 
 she will have no power to detain or otherwise molest 
 her. Even the right I concede ought to be exercised 
 in good faith, and without vexatious abuses." 
 
 " But, surely, you must think that in carrying off 
 a refugee from justice we have placed ourselves in 
 the wrong, and cannot object, as a principle, to the 
 poor man's being taken back again into the country 
 from which he has escaped, however much we may 
 pity the hardships of the particular case?" 
 
 " I much question if Captain Truck will be dis 
 posed to reason so vaguely. In the first place, he 
 will be apt to say that his ship was regularly cleared, 
 and that he had authority to sail ; that in permitting 
 the officer to search his vessel, while in British 
 waters, he did all that could be required of him, the 
 law not compelling him to be either a bailiff or an 
 informer; that the process issued was to take Davis, 
 and not to detain the Montauk; that, once out of 
 British waters, American law governs, and the 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 83 
 
 English functionary became an intruder of whom he 
 had every right to rid himself, and that the process 
 by which he got his power to act at all became im 
 potent the instant it was without the jurisdiction un 
 der which it was granted." 
 
 " I think you will find the captain of yonder cruiser 
 indisposed to admit this doctrine." 
 
 " That is not impossible ; rnen often preferring 
 abuses to being thwarted in their wishes. But the 
 captain of yonder cruiser might as well go on board 
 a foreign vessel of war, and pretend to a right to 
 command her, in virtue of the commission by which 
 he commands his own ship, as to pretend to find rea 
 son or law in doing what you seem to predict." 
 
 " I rejoice to hear that the poor man cannot now 
 be torn from his wife !" exclaimed Eve. 
 
 " You then incline to the doctrine of Mr. Blunt, 
 Miss Effingham?" observed the other controver 
 sialist a little reproachfully. " I fear you make it a 
 national question." 
 
 " Perhaps I have done what all seem to have done, 
 permitted sympathy to get the better of reason. And 
 yet it would require strong proof to persuade me that 
 villanous-looking attorney was engaged in a good 
 cause, and that meek an'd warm-hearted wife in a 
 bad one !" 
 
 Both the gentlemen smiled, and both turned to the 
 fair speaker, as if inviting her to proceed. But Eve 
 had checked herself, having already said more than 
 became her, in her own opinion. 
 
 " I had hoped to find an ally in you, Mr. Blunt, to 
 sustain the claim of England to seize her own sea 
 men when found on board of vessels of another na 
 tion," resumed Mr. Sharp, when a respectful pause 
 had shown both the young men that they need expect 
 nothing more from their fair companion ; " but I 
 fear 1 must set you down as belonging to those who 
 

 84 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 \vish to see the power of England reduced, coute qui 
 coute." 
 
 This was received as it was meant, or as a real 
 opinion veiled under pleasantry. 
 
 " I certainly do not wish to see her power maintain 
 ed, coute qui coute" returned the other, laughing ; 
 "and in this opinion, I believe, I may claim both these 
 ladies as allies." 
 
 " Certainement /" exclaimed Mademoiselle Vief- 
 ville, who was a living proof that the feelings created 
 by centuries of animosity are not to be subdued by a 
 few flourishes of the pen. 
 
 " As for me, Mr. Sharp," added Eve, " you may 
 suppose, being an American girl, I cannot subscribe 
 to the right of any country to do us injustice ; but I 
 beg you will not include me among those who wish 
 to see the land of my ancestors wronged, in aught that 
 she may rightfully claim as her due." 
 
 " This is powerful support, and I shall rally to the 
 rescue. Seriously, then, will you allow me to inquire, 
 sir, if you think the right of England to the services 
 of her seamen can be denied?" 
 
 " Seriously, then, Mr. Sharp, you must permit me 
 to ask if you mean by fprce, or by reason ?" 
 
 " By the latter, certainly." 
 
 " I think you have taken the weak side of the Eng 
 lish argument; the nature of the service that the sub 
 ject, or the citizen, as it is now the fashion to say at 
 Paris, mademoiselle " 
 
 " Tant pis" muttered the governess. 
 
 " Owes his. government," continued the young 
 man, slightly glancing at Eve, at the interruption, 
 " is purely a point of internal regulation. In England 
 there is compulsory service for seamen without re 
 striction, or what is much the same, without any 
 equal protection ; in France, it is compulsory service 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 85 
 
 on a general plan; in America, as respects seamen, 
 the service is still voluntary." 
 
 "Your pardon; will the institutions of America 
 permit impressment at all?" 
 
 "I should think, not indiscriminate impressment; 
 though I do not see why laws might not be enacted 
 to compel drafts for the ships of war, as well as for 
 the army: but this is a point that some of the profes 
 sional gentlemen on board, if there be any such, might 
 better answer than myself." 
 
 " The skill with which you have touched on these 
 subjects to-night, had made me hope to have found 
 such a one in you; for to a traveller, it is always de 
 sirable to enter a country with a little preparation, 
 and a ship might offer as much temptation to teach as 
 to learn." 
 
 " If you suppose me an American lawyer, you give 
 me credit for more than I can lay claim to." 
 
 As he hesitated, Eve wondered whether the slight 
 emphasis he had laid on the two words we have Itali 
 cised, was heaviest on that which denoted the coun 
 try, or on that which denoted the profession. 
 
 "I have been much in America, and have paid a 
 little attention to the institutions, but should be sorry 
 to mislead you into the belief that I am at all infalli 
 ble on such points," Mr. Blunt continued. 
 
 " You were about to touch on impressment." 
 
 " Simply to say that it is a municipal, or national 
 power; one in no degree dependant on general prin 
 ciples, and that it can properly be exercised in no 
 situation in which the exercise of municipal or na 
 tional powers is forbidden. I can believe that this 
 power may be exercised on board American ships in 
 British waters or, at least, that it is a more plausible 
 right in such situations; but I cannot think it can be 
 rightfully exercised anywhere else. I do not think 
 England would submit to such a practice an hour, 
 
 VOL. i. 8 
 
85 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 reversing the case, and admitting her present strength : 
 and an appeal of this sort is a pretty good test of a 
 principle." 
 
 " Ay, ay, what is sauce for the goose is sauce for 
 the gander, as Vattel says," interrupted Captain 
 Truck, who had overheard the last speech or two: 
 " not that he says this in so many words, but then, he 
 has the sentiment at large scattered throughout his 
 writings. For that matter, there is little that can be 
 said on a subject that he does not put before his read 
 ers, as plainly as Beach Head lies before the naviga 
 tor of the British Channel. With Bowditch and 
 Vattel, a man might sail round the globe, and little 
 fear of a bad landfall, or a mistake in principles. My 
 present object is to tell you, ladies, that the steward 
 has reported the supper in waiting for the honour of 
 your presence." 
 
 Before quitting the deck, the party inquired into 
 the state of the chase, and the probable intentions of 
 the sloop-of-war. 
 
 " We are now on the great highway of nations," 
 returned Mr. Truck, " and it is my intention to tra 
 vel it without jostling, or being jostled. As for the 
 sloop, she is standing out under a press of canvass, 
 and we are standing from her, in nearly a straight 
 line, in like circumstances. She is some eight or ten 
 miles astern of us, and there is an old saying among 
 seamen that 'a stern chase is a long chase.' I do 
 not think our case is about to make an exception to 
 the rule. I shall not pretend to say what will be the 
 npshot. of the matter ; but there is not the ship in the 
 British navy that can gain ten miles on the Montauk, 
 in her present trim, and with this breeze, in as many 
 hours; so-we are quit of her for the present." 
 
 The last words were uttered just as Eve put her 
 foot on the step to descend into the cabin. 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 87 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Trin. Stephano, 
 
 Steph. Doth thy other mouth call me? Mercy! Mercy! 
 
 Tempest. 
 
 THE life of a packet steward is one of incessant 
 mixing and washing, of interrogations and com- 
 poundings, all in a space of about twelve feet square. 
 These functionaries, usually clever mulattoes who 
 have caught fhe civilisation of the kitchen, are busy 
 from morning till night in their cabins, preparing 
 dishes, issuing orders, regulating courses, starting 
 corks, and answering questions. Apathy is the great 
 requisite for the station; for wo betide the wretch 
 who fancies any modicum of zeal, or good nature, 
 can alone fit him for the occupation. From the mo 
 ment the ship sails until that in which a range of the 
 cable is overhauled, or the chain is rowsed up in 
 readiness to anchor, no smile illumines his face, no 
 tone issues from his voice while on duty, but that of 
 dogged routine of submission to those above, or of 
 snarling authority to those beneath him. As the hour 
 for the "drink gelt," or " buona mana," approaches, 
 however, he becomes gracious and smiling. On his 
 first appearance in the pantry of a morning, he has 
 a regular series of questions to answer, and for 
 which, like the dutiful Zeluco, who wrote all his let 
 ters to his mother on the same day, varying the dates 
 to suit the progress of time, he not unfrequently has 
 a regular set of answers cut and dried, in his gastro- 
 nomical mind. " How 's the wind ?" " How 's the 
 weather?" "How 's her head?" all addressed to this 
 
 
88 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 standing almanack, are mere matters of course, for 
 which he is quite prepared, though it is by no means 
 unusual to hear him ordering a subordinate to go on 
 deck, after the answer is given, with a view to ascer 
 tain the facts. It is only when the voice of the cap 
 tain is heard from his state-room, that he conceives 
 himself bound to be very orthodox, or critical, though 
 such is the tact of all connected with ships, that they 
 instinctively detect the " know nothings," who are 
 uniformly treated with an indifference suited to their 
 culpable ignorance. Even the " old salt" on the fore 
 castle has an instinct for a brother tar, though a pas 
 senger, and a due respect is paid to Neptune in 
 answering his inquiries, while half the time the 
 maiden traveller meets with a grave equivoque, a 
 marvel, or a downright mystification. 
 
 On the first morning out, the steward of the Mon- 
 tauk commenced the dispensation of his news; for 
 no sooner was he heard rattling the glasses, and 
 shuffling plates in the pantry, than the attack was 
 begun by Mr. Dodge, in whom " a laudable thirst 
 after knowledge," as exemplified in putting ques 
 tions, was rather a besetting principle. This gentle 
 man had come out in the ship, as has been mention 
 ed, and unfortunately for the interest of his propen 
 sity, not only the steward, but all on board, had, as it 
 is expressed in slan^ language, early taken the mea 
 sure of his foot. The result of his present applica 
 tion was the following brief dialogue. 
 
 "Steward," called out Mr. Dodge, through the 
 blinds of his state-room; "whereabouts are we?" 
 
 " In the British Channel, sir." 
 
 " I might have guessed that myself." 
 
 "So I s'pose, sir; nobody is better at guessing 
 and diwining than Mr. Dodge." 
 
 " But, in what part of the Channel are we, Sauri- 
 ders?" 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 89 
 
 ** About the middle, sir." 
 
 " How far have we come in the night ?" 
 
 " From Portsmouth Roads to this place, sir." 
 
 Mr. Dodge was satisfied, and the steward, W 7 ho 
 would not have dared to be so explicit with any 
 other cabin-passenger, continued coolly to mix an 
 omelette. The next attack was made from the same 
 room, by Sir George Templemore. 
 
 " Steward, my good fellow, do you happen to 
 know whereabouts we are ?" 
 
 " Certainly, sir ; the land is still werry obwious." 
 
 " Are we getting on cleverly?" 
 
 '* Nicely, sir ;" with a mincing emphasis on the 
 first word, that betrayed there was a little waggery 
 about the grave-looking mulatto. 
 
 " And the sloop-of-war, steward?" 
 
 " Nicely too, sir." 
 
 There was a shuffling in the state-room, followed 
 by a silence. The door of Mr. Sharp's room was 
 now opened" an inch or two, and the following ques 
 tions issued through the crevice: 
 
 " Is the wind favourable, steward?" 
 
 " Just her character, sir." 
 
 " Do you mean that the wind is favourable?" 
 
 " For the Montauk, sir ; she 's a persuader in this 
 breeze." 
 
 " But is she going in the direction we wish ?" 
 
 " If the gentleman wishes to perambulate Ame 
 rica, it is probable he will get there with a little 
 patience." 
 
 Mr. Sharp pulled-to his door, and ten minutes 
 passed without further questions; the steward begin 
 ning to hope the morning catechism was over, 
 though he grumbled a wish that gentlemen would 
 " turn out" and take a look for themselves. Now, 
 up to this moment, Saunders knew no more, than 
 those who had just been questioning him of the par- 
 8* 
 
 
00 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 ticular situation of the ship, in which he floated as 
 indifferent to the whereabouts and the winds, as men 
 sail in the earth along its orbit, without bethinking 
 them of parallaxes, nodes, ecliptics, and solstices. 
 Aware that it was about time for the captain to be 
 heard, he sent a subordinate on deck, with a view to 
 be ready to meet the usual questions from his com 
 mander. A couple of minutes were sufficient to put 
 him an courant of the real state of things. The next 
 door that opened was that of Paul Blunt, however, 
 who thrust his head into the cabin, with all his dark 
 curls in the confusion of a night scene. 
 
 " Steward !" 
 
 " Sir." 
 
 "How's the wind?" 
 
 " Quite exhilarating, sir." 
 
 " But, from what quarter?" 
 
 " About south, sir." 
 
 " Is there much of it?" 
 
 " A prewailing breeze, sir." 
 
 "And the sloop?" 
 
 " She 's to leeward, sir, operating along as fast as 
 she can." 
 
 " Steward !" 
 
 "Sir," stepping hurriedly out of his pantry, in or 
 der to hear more distinctly. 
 
 " Under what sail are we?" 
 
 " Topgallant sails, sir." 
 
 " How 's her head ?" 
 
 " West-south-west, sir." 
 
 "Delicious! Any news of the rover?" 
 
 " Hull down to leeward, sir, and on our quarter." 
 
 " Staggering along, eh ?" 
 
 " Quite like a disguised person, sir." 
 
 " Better still. Hurry along that breakfast of yours, 
 sir; I'm as hungry as a Troglodyte." 
 
 The honest captain had caught* this word from a 
 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 91 
 
 recent treatise against agrarianism, and having an 
 acquired taste for orders in one sense, at least, he 
 flattered himself with being what is called a Conser 
 vative ; in other words, he had a strong relish for 
 that maxim of the Scotch freebooter, which is ren 
 dered into English by the homely aphorism of " keep 
 what you 've got, and get what you can." 
 
 A cessation of the interrogatories took place, and 
 soon after the passengers began to appear in the 
 cabin, one by one. As the first step is almost inva 
 riably to go on deck, especially in good weather, in 
 a few minutes nearly all of the last night's party were 
 again assembled in the open air, a balm that none 
 can appreciate but those who have experienced the 
 pent atmosphere of a crowded vessel. The steward 
 had rendered a faithful account of the state of the 
 weather to the captain, who was now seen standing 
 in the main-rigging, looking at the clouds to wind 
 ward, and at the sloop-of-war to leeward, in the 
 knowing manner of one who was making compari 
 sons materially to the disadvantage of the latter. 
 
 The day was fine, and the Montauk, bearing her 
 canvass nobly, was, to use the steward's language, 
 also staggering along, under everything that would 
 draw, from her topgallant-sails down, with the wind 
 near two points forward of the beam, or on an easy 
 bowline. As there was but little sea, her rate was 
 quite nine knots, though varying with the force of 
 the wind. The cruiser had certainly followed them 
 thus far, though doubts began to be entertained 
 whether she was in chase-, or merely bound like 
 themselves to the westward ; a course common to all 
 vessels that wish to clear the Channel, even when it 
 is intended to go south, as the rocks and tides of the 
 French coast are inconvenient neighbours in long 
 nights. 
 
 " Who knows, after all, that the cutter which tried 
 
 
92 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 to board us," asked the captain aloud, ** belongs to 
 the ship to leeward ?" 
 
 " I know the boat, sir," answered the second mate; 
 " and the ship is the Foam." 
 
 " Let her foam away, then, if she wishes to speak 
 us. Has any one tried her bearings, since daylight?" 
 
 " We set her by the compass at six o'clock, sir, 
 and she has not varied her bearing, as far as from 
 one belaying pin to another, in three hours ; but her 
 hull rises fast: you can now make out her ports, and 
 at daylight the bottom of her courses dipped." 
 
 " Ay, ay, she is a light-going Foam, then ! If that 
 is the case, she. will be alongside of us by night." 
 
 " In which event, captain, you will be obliged to 
 give him a broadside of Vattel," threw in John Ef- 
 fingham, in his cool sarcastic manner. 
 
 " If that will answer his errand, he is welcome to 
 as much as he can carry. I begin to doubt, gentle 
 men, whether this fellow be not in earnest: in which 
 case you may have an opportunity of witnessing 
 how ships are handled, when seamen have their 
 management. I have no objection to setting the ex 
 perience of a poor come-and-go sort of a fellow, like 
 myself, in opposition to the geometry and Hamilton 
 Moore of a young man-of-war's-man. I dare say, 
 now, yonder chap is a lord, or a lord's progeny, 
 while poor Jack Truck is just as you see him." 
 
 " Do you not think half-an-hour of compliance on 
 our part might bring the matter to an amicable con 
 clusion at once?' said Paul Blunt. "Were we to 
 run down to him, the object of his pursuit could be 
 determined in a few minutes." 
 
 " What ! and abandon poor Davis to the rapacity 
 of that rascally attorney ?" generously exclaimed 
 Sir George Templemore. " 1 would prefer paying 
 the port-charges myself, for running into the handiest 
 French port, and letting the honest fellow escape !" 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 93 
 
 " There is no probability that a cruiser would at 
 tempt to take a mere debtor from a foreign vessel on 
 the open sea." 
 
 " If there were no tobacco in the world, Mr. 
 Blunt, I might feel disposed to waive the categories, 
 and show the gentleman that courtesy," returned the 
 captain, who was preparing another cigar. " But 
 while the cruiser might not feel authorised to take 
 an absconding debtor from this vessel, he might feel 
 otherwise on the subject of tobacco, provided there 
 has been an information for smuggling." 
 
 Captain Truck then explained, that the subordi 
 nates of the packets frequently got their ships into 
 trouble, by taking adventures of the forbidden weed 
 clandestinely into European ports, and that his ship, 
 in such circumstances, would lose her place in the 
 line, and derange all the plans of the company to 
 which she belonged. He did the English govern 
 ment the justice to sny, that it had always manifested 
 a liberal disposition not to punish the innocent for the 
 guilty; but were any such complaints actually in the 
 wind, he thought he could settle it with much less 
 loss to himself on his return, than on the day of sail 
 ing. While this explanation was delivered, a group 
 had clustered round the speaker, leaving Eve and her 
 party on the opposite side of the deck. 
 
 '* This last speech of Mr. Blunt's quite unsettles my 
 opinion of his national character, as Vattel and our 
 worthy captain w r ould say," remarked Mr. Sharp. 
 "Last night, I set him down as a right loyal Ameri 
 can; but I think it would not be natural for a tho 
 rough-going countryman of yours, Miss Effingham, 
 to propose this act of courtesy to a cruiser of King 
 William." 
 
 " How far any countrymen of mine, thorough-going 
 or not, have reason to manifest extreme courtesy to 
 any of your cruisers," Eve laughingly replied, "1 
 
94 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 shall leave Captain Truck to say. But, with you, I 
 have long been at a loss to determine whether Mr. 
 Blunt is an Englishman or an American, or indeed, 
 whether he be either." 
 
 " Long, Miss Effingham ! He then has the honour 
 of being well known to you ?" 
 
 Eve answered steadily, though the colour mounted 
 to her brow; but whether from the impetuous excla 
 mation of her companion, or from any feeling con 
 nected with the subject of their conversation, the 
 young man was at a loss to discover. 
 
 " Long as girls of twenty count time some four 
 or five years; but you may judge how well, when I 
 tell you I am ignorant of his country even." 
 
 " And may I venture to ask which do you, your 
 self, give him credit for being, an American or an 
 Englishman?" 
 
 Eve's bright eyes laughed> as she answered, " You 
 have put the question with so much finesse, and with 
 a politeness so well managed, that I should indeed be 
 churlish to refuse an answer: Nay, do not interrupt 
 me, and spoil all the good you have done by unne 
 cessary protestations of sincerity." 
 
 "All I wish to say is, to ask an explanation of a 
 finesse, of which I am quite as innocent as of any 
 wish to draw, down upon myself the visitations of 
 your displeasure." 
 
 " Do you, then, really conceive it a credit to be 
 an American ?" 
 
 " Nobody of less modesty than yourself, Miss Ef 
 fingham, under all the circumstances, would dream of 
 asking the question." 
 
 " I thank you for the civility, which must be taken 
 as it is offered, I presume, quite as a thing en regie ; 
 but to leave our fine opinions of each other, as well as 
 our prejudices, out of the question " 
 
 "You will excuse me if I object to this, for I feel 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 95 
 
 my good sense implicated. You can hardly attribute 
 to me opinions so utterly unreasonable, so unworthy 
 of a gentleman, so unfounded, in short! Am I not 
 incurring all the risks and hardships of a long sea- 
 voyage, expressly to visit your great country, and, I 
 trust, to improve by its example and society ?" 
 
 " Since you appear to wish it, Mr. Sharp " Eve 
 glanced her playful eye up at him as she pronounced 
 the name "I will be as credulous as a believer in 
 animal magnetism : and that, I fancy, is pushing cre 
 dulity to the verge of reason. It is now settled be 
 tween us, that you do conceive it an honour to be an 
 American, born, educated, and by extraction." 
 
 "All of which being the case with Miss Effing- 
 ham." 
 
 " All but the second ; indeed, they write me fear 
 ful things concerning this European education of 
 mine: some even go so far as to assure me I shall be 
 quite unfitted to live in the society to which I properly 
 belong!" 
 
 " Europe will be rejoiced to receive you back 
 again, in that case; and no European more so than 
 myself." 
 
 The beautiful colour deepened a little on the cheek 
 of Eve, but she made no immediate reply. 
 
 " To return to our subject," she at length said. 
 " Were I required to say, I should not be able to de 
 cide on the country of Mr. Blunt; nor have T ever 
 met with any one who appeared to know. I saw him 
 first in Germany, where he circulated in the best 
 company ; though no one seemed acquainted with 
 his history, even there. He made a good figure; was 
 quite at his ease; speaks several languages almost as 
 well as the natives of the different countries them 
 selves; and, altogether, was a subject of curiosity 
 with those who had leisure to think of any thing but 
 their own dissipation and folly." 
 
96 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 Mr. Sharp listened with obvious gravity to the fair 
 speaker, and had not her own eyes been fastened on 
 the deck, she might have detected the lively interest 
 betrayed in his. Perhaps the feeling which was at 
 the bottom of all this, to a slight degree, influenced 
 his answer. 
 
 " Quite an Admirable Crichton !" 
 
 " I do not say that, though certainly expert in 
 tongues. My own rambling life has made me ac 
 quainted with a few languages, and I do assure you, 
 this gentleman speaks three or four with almost equal 
 readiness, and with no perceptible accent. I remem 
 ber, at Vienna, many even believed him to be a Ger 
 man." 
 
 "What! with the name of Blunt?" 
 
 Eve smiled, and her companion, who silently 
 watched every expression of her varying counte 
 nance, as if to read her thoughts, noted it. 
 
 "Names signify little in these migratory times," 
 returned the young lady. " You have but to imagine 
 a voTf, before it, and it would pass at Dresden, or at 
 Berlin. Von Blunt der Edelgebor?ie Graf Von Blu?it, 
 Hofrath; or if you like it better, Geheimer Ratk mit 
 Excellent und eure Gnaden." 
 
 " Or, Baw-Berg- Veg-Inspector-Substitute /" added 
 Mr. Sharp, laughing. " No, no ! this will hardly pass. 
 Blunt is a good old English name; but it has not 
 finesse enough for Italian, German, Spanish, or any 
 thing else but for John Bull and his family." 
 
 " I see no necessity, for my part, for all this Blunt- 
 ishness; the gentleman may think frankness a good 
 travelling quality." 
 
 " Surely, he has not concealed his real name !" 
 
 "Mr. Sharp, Mr. Blunt; Mr. Blunt, Mr. Sharp;" 
 rejoined Eve, laughing until her bright eyes danced 
 with pleasure. " There would be something ridicu 
 lous, indeed, in seeing so much of the finesse of a mas- 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 97 
 
 ter of ceremonies subjected to so profound a mystifi 
 cation ! I have been told that passing introductions 
 amount to little among you men, and this would be a 
 case in point.'* 
 
 " I would I dared ask if it be really so." 
 
 "Were I to be guilty of indiscretion in another's 
 case, you would not fail to distrust me in your own. 
 I am, moreover, a protestant, and abjure auricular 
 confessions." 
 
 " You will not frown if I inquire whether the rest 
 of your party remember him?" 
 
 " My father, Mademoiselle Viefville, and the ex 
 cellent Nanny Sidley, again ; but, I think, none other 
 of the servants, as he never visited us. Mr. John 
 Effingham was travelling in Egypt at the time, and 
 did not see him at all, and we only met in general so 
 ciety; Nanny's acquaintance was merely that of see 
 ing him check his horse in the Prater, to speak to us 
 of a morning." 
 
 " Poor fellow, I pity him ; he has, at least, never 
 had the happiness of strolling on the shores of Cosmo 
 and the islands of Lago Maggiore in your company, 
 or of studying the wonders of the Pitti and the Vati 
 can." 
 
 " If I must confess all, he journeyed with us on foot 
 and in boats an entire month, among the wonders of 
 the Obcrland, and across the Wallenstadt. This was 
 at a time when we had no one with us but the regular 
 guides and the German courier, who was discharged 
 in London." 
 
 " Were it not for the impropriety of tampering 
 with a servant, I would cross the deck and question 
 your good Nanny, this moment !" said Mr. Sharp 
 with playful menace. " Of all torture, that of sus 
 pense is the hardest to be borne." 
 
 " I grant you full permission, and acquit you of all 
 sins, whether of disrespect, meanness, impertinence, 
 
 VOL. i. 9 
 
 
98 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 ungentlemanlike practices, or any other vice that 
 may be thought to attend and characterize the act." 
 
 "This formidable array of qualities would check 
 the curiosity of a village gossip!" 
 
 " It has an effect I did not intend, then; I wish you 
 to put your threat in execution." 
 
 "Not seriously, surely'?" 
 
 " Never more so. Take a favourable moment to 
 speak to the good soul, as an old acquaintance; she 
 remembers you well, and by a little of that interro 
 gating management you possess, a favourable oppor 
 tunity may occur to bring in the other subject. In 
 the mean time, I will glance over the pages of this 
 book." 
 
 As Eve began to read, Mr. Sharp perceived she was 
 in earnest, and hesitating a moment, in doubt of the 
 propriety of the act, he yielded to her evident and 
 expressed desire, and strolled carelessly towards the 
 faithful old domestic. He addressed her indifferently 
 at first, until believing he might go further, he smil 
 ingly observed that he believed he had seen her in 
 Italy. To this Nanny quietly assented, and when he 
 indirectly added that it was under another name, she 
 smiled, but merely intimated her consciousness of the 
 fact, with a quick glance of the eye. 
 
 " You know that travellers assume names for the 
 sake of avoiding curiosity," he added, "and I hope 
 you will not betray me." 
 
 " You need not fear me, sir ; I meddle with little 
 besides my own duty, and so long as Miss Eve ap 
 pears to think there is no harm in it, I will venture 
 to say it is no more than a gentleman's caprice." 
 
 " Why, that is the very word she applied to it her 
 self! You have caught the term from Miss Effing- 
 ham." 
 
 " Well, sir, and if I have, it is caught from one who 
 deals little harm to any." 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 99 
 
 " I believe I am not the only one on board who 
 travels under a false name, if the truth were known?" 
 
 Nanny looked first at the deck, then at her inter 
 rogator's face, next towards Mr. Blunt, withdrawing 
 her eye again, as if guilty of an indiscretion, and 
 finally at the sails. Perceiving her embarrassment, 
 respecting her discretion, and ashamed of the task he 
 had undertaken, Mr. Sharp said a few civil things 
 suited to the condition of the woman, and sauntering 
 about the deck for a short time, to avoid suspicion, 
 soon found himself once more alongside of Eve. The 
 latter inquired with her eyes, a little exultingly per 
 haps, concerning his success. 
 
 " I have failed," he said ; " but something must be 
 ascribed to my own awkward diffidence; for there 
 is so much meanness in tampering with a servant, 
 that I had not the heart to push my questions, even 
 while I am devoured by curiosity." 
 
 " YourJ fastidiousness is not a disease with which 
 all on board are afflicted, for there is at least one 
 grand inquisitor among us, by what I can learn; so 
 take heed to your sins, and above all be very guarded 
 of old letters, marks, and other tell-tales, that usually 
 expose impostors." 
 
 " To all that, I believe, sufficient care has already 
 been had, by that other Dromio, my own man." 
 
 " And in what w r ay do you share the name between 
 you ? Is it Dromio of Syracuse, and Dromio of Ephe- 
 sus? or does John call himself Fitz-Edward, or Mor 
 timer, or De Courcy?' 
 
 " He has complaisance enough to make the passage 
 with nothing but a Christian name, I believe. In 
 truth, it was by a mere accident that I turned usurper 
 in this way. He took the state-room for me, and 
 being required to give a name, he gave his own, as 
 usual. When I went to the docks to look at the ship, 
 I was saluted as Mr. Sharp, and then the conceit 
 
100 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 i 
 
 took me of trying how it would wear for a month or 
 six weeks. I would give the world to know if the 
 Geheimer Rath got his cognomen in the same honest 
 manner." 
 
 " I think not, as his man goes by the pungent title 
 of Pepper. Unless poor John should have occasion 
 for two names during the passage, you are reasonably 
 safe. And, still, I think," continued Eve, biting her 
 lips, like one who deliberated, " if it were any longer 
 polite to bet, Mr. John Effingham would hazard all 
 the French gloves in his trunks, against all the Eng 
 lish finery in yours, that the inquisitor just hinted at 
 gets at your secret before we arrive. Perhaps I 
 ought rather to say, ascertains that you are not Mr. 
 Sharp, and that Mr. Blunt is." 
 
 Her companion entreated her to point out the per 
 son to whom she had given the sobriquet she men 
 tioned. 
 
 " Accuse me of giving nicknames to no one. The 
 man has this title from Mademoiselle Viefville, and 
 his own great deeds. It is a certain Mr. Steadfast 
 Dodge, who, it seems, knows something of us, from 
 the circumstance of living in the same county, and, 
 who, from knowing a little in this comprehensive 
 manner, is desirous of knowing a great deal more." 
 
 " The natural result of all useful knowledge." 
 
 " Mr. John Effingham, who is apt to fling sarcasms 
 at all lands, his native country included, affirms that 
 this gentleman is but a fair specimen of many more 
 it will be our fortune to meet in America. If so, we 
 shall not long be strangers ; for according to Made 
 moiselle Viefville and my good Nanny, he has al 
 ready communicated to them a thousand interesting 
 particulars of himself, in exchange for which he asks 
 no more than the reasonable compensation of having 
 all his questions concerning us truly answered." 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 101 
 
 " This is certainly alarming intelligence, and I 
 shall take heed accordingly." 
 
 " If he discover that John is without a surname, I 
 am far from certain he will not prepare to have him 
 arraigned for some high crime or misdemeanour; for 
 Mr. John Effingham maintains that the besetting 
 propensity of all this class is to divine the w r orst the 
 moment their imaginations cease to be fed with 
 facts. All is false with them, and it is flattery or 
 accusation." 
 
 The approach of Mr. Blunt caused a cessation of 
 the discourse, Eve betraying a slight degree of sen 
 sitiveness about admitting him to share in these little 
 asides, a circumstance that her companion observed, 
 not without satisfaction. The discourse now became 
 general, the person who joined them amusing the 
 others with an account of several proposals already 
 made by Mr. Dodge, which, as he expressed it, in 
 making the relation, manifested the strong commu 
 nity-characteristics of an America. The first pro 
 position was to take a vote to ascertain whether Mr. 
 Van Buren or Mr. Harrison was the greatest fa 
 vourite of the passengers ; and, on this being defeat 
 ed, owing to the total ignorance of so many on board 
 of both the parties he had named, he had suggested 
 the expediency of establishing a society to ascertain 
 daily the precise position of the ship. Captain Truck 
 had thrown cold water on the last proposal, however, 
 by adding to it what, among legislators, is called a 
 " rider ;" he having drily suggested that one of the 
 duties of the said society should be to ascertain also 
 the practicability of wading across the Atlantic. 
 
 9* 
 
102 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 "When clouds are seen, wise men put on their cloaks ; 
 When great leaves full, then winter is at hand ; 
 When the sun sets, who cloth not look for night ? 
 Untimely storms make men expect a dearth : 
 All may "be well ; but if God sort it so, 
 'Tis more than we deserve, or I expect. 
 
 Richard 111. 
 
 THESE conversations, however, were mere episodes 
 of the great business of the passage. Throughout 
 the morning, the master was busy in rating his mates, 
 giving sharp reprimands to the stewards and cooks, 
 overhauling the log-line, introducing the passengers, 
 seeing to the stowage of the anchors, in getting down 
 the signal-pole, throwing in touches of Vattel, and 
 otherwise superintending duty, and dispensing opin 
 ions. All this time, the cat in the grass does not 
 watch the bird that hops along the ground with keener 
 vigilance than he kept his eye on the Foam. To an 
 ordinary observer, the two ships presented the fami 
 liar spectacle of vessels sailing in the same direction, 
 with a very equal rate of speed; and as the course 
 was that necessary to clear the Channel, most of the 
 passengers, and, indeed, the greater part of the crew, 
 began to think the cruiser, like themselves, was 
 merely bound to the westward. Mr. Truck, on the 
 contrary, judging by signs and movements that more 
 naturally suggested themselves to one accustomed to 
 direct the evolutions of a ship, and to reason on their 
 objects, than to the mere subjects of his will, thought 
 differently. To him, the motive of the smallest change 
 on board the sloop-of-war was as intelligible as if it 
 had , been explained in words, and he even foresaw 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 103 
 
 many that were about to take place. Bcifore noon, 
 the Foam had got fairly abeam, and Mr. Leach, 
 pointing out the circumstance, observed, that if her 
 wish was to overhaul them, she ought then to tack; 
 it being a rule among seamen, that the pursuing ves 
 sel should turn to windward as often as she found 
 herself nearest to her chase. But the experience of 
 Captain Truck taught him better; the tide was set 
 ting into the Channel on the flood, and the wind 
 enabled both ships to take the current on their lee- 
 bows, a power that forced them up to windward ; 
 whereas, by tacking, the Foam would receive the 
 force of the stream on her weather broadside, or so 
 nearly so, as to sweep her farther astern than her 
 difference in speed could easily, or in season, repair. 
 
 " She has the heels of us, and she weathers on us, 
 as it is," grumbled the master; "and that might 
 satisfy a man less modest. I have led the gentleman 
 such a tramp already that he will be in none of the 
 best humours when he comes alongside, and we may 
 make up our minds on seeing Portsmouth again be 
 fore we see New York, unless a slant of wind, or the 
 night, serve us a good turn. I trust, Leach, you 
 have not been destroying your prospects in life by 
 looking too wistfully at a tobacco-field 1" 
 
 "Not I, sir ; and if you will give me leave to say 
 it, Captain Truck, I do not think a plug has been 
 landed from the ship, which did not go ashore in a 
 bona-fide tobacco-box, that might appear in any 
 court in England. The people will swear, to a man, 
 that this is true." 
 
 " Ay, ay ! arid the Barons of the Exchequer would 
 be the greatest fools in England not to believe them. 
 If there has been no defrauding the revenue, why 
 does a cruiser follow this ship, a regular packet, to 
 sea ?" 
 
 "This affair of the steerage passenger, Davis, sir, 
 
104 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 is probably the cause. The man may be heavily in 
 debt, or possibly a defaulter; for these rogues, when 
 they break down, often fall lower than the 'twixt- 
 decks of a ship like this." 
 
 " This will do to put the quarter-deck and cabin in 
 good humour at sailing, and give them something to 
 open an acquaintance with; but it is sawdust to 
 none but your new beginners. I have known that 
 Seal this many a year, and the rogue never yet had 
 a case that touched the quarter-deck. It is as the 
 man and his wife say, and I'll not give them up, out 
 here in blue water, for as much foam as lies on Jersey 
 beach after an easterly blow. It will not be any of 
 the family of Davis that will satisfy yonder wind- 
 eater; but he will lay his hand on the whole family 
 of the Montauk, leaving them the agreeable alter 
 native of going back to Portsmouth in his pleasant 
 society, or getting out here in mid-channel, and 
 wading ashore as best they can. D me! if I be 
 lieve, Leach, that Vattel will bear the fellow out in it, 
 even if there has been a whole hogshead of the 
 leaves trundled into his island without a permit!" 
 
 To this Mr. Leach had no encouraging answer to 
 make, for, like most of his class, he held practical 
 force in much greater respect than the abstractions 
 of books. He held it prudent, therefore, to be silent, 
 though greatly doubting the efficacy of a quotation 
 from any authority on board, when fairly put in op 
 position to a written order from the admiral at Ports 
 mouth, or even to a signal sent down from the Admi 
 ralty at London. 
 
 The day wore away, making a gradual change in 
 the relative positions of the two ships, though so 
 slowly, as to give Captain Truck strong hopes of be 
 ing able to dodge his pursuer in the coming night, 
 which promised to be dark and squally. To return 
 to Portsmouth was his full intention, but not until he 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 105 
 
 had first delivered his freight and passengers in New 
 York ; for, like all men bound up body and soul in 
 the performance of an especial duty, he looked on a 
 frustration of his immediate object as a much greater 
 calamity than even a double amount of more remote 
 evil. Besides, he felt a strong reliance on the libe 
 rality of the English authorities in the end, and had 
 little doubt of being able to extricate himself and his 
 ship from any penalties to which the indiscretion or 
 cupidity of hi^ subordinates might have rendered him 
 liable. 
 
 Just as the sun dipped into the watery track of the 
 Montauk, most of the cabin passengers again ap 
 peared on deck, to take a look at the situation of the 
 two vessels, and to form their own conjectures as to 
 the probable result of the adventure. By this time 
 the Foam had tacked twice, once to weather upon the 
 wake of her chase, and again to resume her line of 
 pursuit. The packet was too good a ship to be 
 easily overtaken, and the cruiser was now nearly 
 hull-down astern, but evidently coming up at a rate 
 that would bring her alongside before morning. The 
 wind blew in. squalls, a circumstance that always 
 aids a vessel of war, as the greater number of her 
 hands enables sail to be made and shortened with 
 ease and rapidity. 
 
 " This unsettled weather is as much as a mile an 
 hour against us," observed Captain Truck, who was 
 far from pleased at the fact of his being outsailed by 
 anything that floated ; " and, if truth must be said, I 
 think that fellow has somewhere about half a knot 
 the best of it, in the way of foot, on a bowline and 
 with this breeze. But he has no cargo in, and they 
 trim these boats like steel-yards. Give us more 
 wind, or a freer, and I would leave him to digest his 
 orders, as a shark digests a marling-spike, or a ring 
 bolt, notwithstanding all his advantages; for little 
 
106 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 good would it then do him to be trying to run into 
 the wind's eye, like a steam-tug. As it is, we must 
 submit. We are in a category, and be d d to it 1" 
 
 It was one of those wild-looking sunsets that are 
 so frequent in the autumn, in which appearances are 
 worse, perhaps, than the reality. The ships were 
 now so near the Chops of the Channel that no land 
 was visible, and the entire horizon presented that 
 chill and wintry aspect that belongs to gloomy and 
 driving clouds, to which streaks of dull light serve 
 more to give an appearance of infinite space than 
 any of the relief of brightness. It w r as a dreary 
 night-fall to a landsman's eye ; though they who bet 
 ter understood the signs of the heavens, as they are 
 exhibited on the ocean, saw little more than the 
 promise of obscurity, and the usual hazards of dark 
 ness in a much-frequented sea. 
 
 " This will be a dirty night," observed John Effing- 
 ham, " and we may have occasion to bring in some 
 of the flaunting vanity of the ship, ere another morn 
 ing returns." 
 
 " The vessel appears to be in good hands," return 
 ed Mr. Effingham : " I have watched them narrowly ; 
 for, I know not why, I have felt more anxiety on the 
 occasion of this passage than on any of the nine I 
 have already made." 
 
 As he spoke, the tender father unconsciously bent 
 his eyes on Eve, who leaned affectionately on his 
 arm, to steady her light form against the pitching of 
 the vessel. She understood his feelings better than 
 he did himself, possibly, since accustomed to his fond 
 est care from childhood, she well knew that he sel 
 dom thought of others, or even of himself, while her 
 own wants or safety appealed to his unwearying 
 love. 
 
 " Father," she said, smiling in his wistful face, 
 " we have seen more troubled waters than these, far, 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 107 
 
 and in a much frailer vessel. Do you not remember 
 the Wallenstadt and its miserable skiff? where I 
 have heard you say there was really danger, though 
 we escaped from it all with a little fright." 
 
 " Perfectly well do I recollect it, love, nor have I 
 forgotten our brave companion, and his good service, 
 at that critical moment. But for his stout arm and 
 timely succour we might not, as you say, have been 
 quit for the fright." 
 
 Although Mr. Effingham looked only at his daugh 
 ter, while speaking, Mr. Sharp, who listened with 
 interest, saw the quick retreating glance of Eve at 
 Paul Blunt, and felt something like a chill in his 
 blood as he perceived that her own cheeks seemed 
 to reflect the glow which appeared on that of the 
 young man. He alone observed this secret evidence 
 of common interest in some event in which both had 
 evidently been actors, those around them being too 
 much occupied in the arrangements of the ship, and 
 too little suspicious, to heed the trifling circumstance. 
 Captain Truck had ordered all hands called, to make 
 sail, to the surprise of even the crew. The vessel, at 
 the moment, was staggering along under as much 
 canvass as she could apparently bear, and the mates 
 looked aloft with inquiring eyes, as if to ask what 
 more could be done." 
 
 The master soon removed all doubts. With a ra 
 pidity that is not common in merchant ships, but 
 which is usual enough in the packets, the lower 
 studding-sails, and two topmast-studding-sails were 
 prepared, and made ready for hoisting. As soon as 
 the words " all ready" were uttered, the helm was 
 put up, the sails were set, arid the Montauk was 
 running with a free wind towards the narrow pas 
 sage between the Scilly Islands and the Land's End. 
 Captain Truck was an expert channel pilot, from 
 long practice, and keeping the run of the tides in his 
 
108 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 head, he had loosely calculated that his vessel had so 
 much offing as, with a free wind, and the great pro 
 gress she had made in the last twenty- four hours, 
 would enable him to lay through the pass. 
 
 " 'Tis a ticklish hole to run into in a dirty night, 
 with a staggering breeze," he said, rubbing his hands 
 as if the hazard increased his satisfaction, " and we 
 will now see if this Foam has mettle enough to 
 follow." 
 
 " The chap has a quick eye and good glasses, even 
 though he should want nerve for the Scilly rocks," 
 cried the mate, who was looking out from the mizen 
 rigging. " There go his stun'-sails already, and a 
 plenty of them !" 
 
 Sure enough the cruiser threw out her studding- 
 sails, had them full and drawing in five minutes, and 
 altered her course so as to follow the Montauk. There 
 was now no longer any doubt concerning her object ; 
 for it was hardly possible two vessels should adopt so 
 bold a step as this, just at dark, and on such a night, 
 unless the movements of one were regulated by the 
 movements of the other. 
 
 In the mean time anxious faces began to appear 
 on the quarter-deck, and Mr. Dodge was soon seen 
 moving stealthily about among the passengers, whis 
 pering here, cornering there, and seemingly much 
 occupied in canvassing opinions on the subject of 
 the propriety of the step that the master had just 
 taken ; though, if the truth must be told, he rather 
 stimulated opposition than found others prepared to 
 meet his wishes. When he thought, however, he 
 had collected a sufficient number of suffrages to ven 
 ture on an experiment, that nothing but an inherent 
 aversion to shipwreck and a watery grave could 
 embolden him to make, he politely invited the cap 
 tain to a private conference in the state-room occu 
 pied by himself and Sir George Templemore. Ghan- 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 109 
 
 ging the venue, as the lawyers term it, to his own 
 little apartment, no master of a packet willingly 
 consenting to transact business in any other place 
 Captain Truck, who was out of cigars at the mo 
 ment, very willingly assented. 
 
 When the two were seated, and the door of the 
 room was closed, Mr. Dodge carefully snuffed the 
 candle, looked about him to make sure there was no 
 eave's-dropper in a room eight feet by seven, and 
 then commenced his subject, with what he conceived 
 to be a commendable delicacy and discretion. 
 
 " Captain Truck," he said,'in the sort of low con 
 fidential tone that denotes equally concern and mys 
 tery, "I think by this time you must have set me 
 down as one of your warm and true friends and sup 
 porters. I came out in your ship, and please God 
 we escape the perils of the sea, it is my hope and 
 intention to return home in her." 
 
 " If not, friend Dodge," returned the master, ob 
 serving that the other paused to note the effect of his 
 peroration, and using a familiarity in his address 
 that the acquaintance of the former passage had 
 taught him was not misapplied; "if not, friend 
 Dodge, you have made a capital mistake in getting 
 on board of her, as it is by no means probable an 
 occasion will offer to get out of her, until we fall in 
 with a news-boat, or a pilot-boat, at least somewhere 
 in the latitude and longitude of Sandy Hook. You 
 smoke, I believe, sir V 9 
 
 " I ask no better," returned Steadfast, declining 
 the offer; "I have told every one on the Continent," 
 Mr. Dodge had been to Paris, Geneva, along the 
 Rhine, and, through Belgium and Holland, and in his 
 eyes, this was the Continent, " that no better ship 
 or better captain sails the ocean ; and you know, 
 captain, I have a way with me, when I please, that 
 causes what I say to be remembered, Why, my 
 
 VOL. i. 10 
 
110 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 dear sir, I had an article extolling the whole line in 
 the most appropriate terms, and this ship in par 
 ticular, put into the journal at Rotterdam. It was 
 so well done that not a soul suspected it came from 
 a personal friend of yours." 
 
 The captain was rolling the small end of a cigar 
 in his mouth to prepare it for smoking, the regula 
 tions of the ship forbidding any further indulgence 
 below; but when he received this assurance, he 
 withdrew the tobacco with the sort of mystifying 
 simplicity that gets to be a second nature with a 
 regular votary of Neptune, and answered with a 
 coolness of manner that was in ludicrous contrast to 
 the affected astonishment of the words : 
 
 " The devil you did ! Was it in good Dutch ?" 
 
 " I do not understand much of the language," said 
 Mr. Dodge hesitatingly; for all he knew, in truth, 
 was yaw and nein, and neither of these particularly 
 well; "but it looked to be uncommonly well ex 
 pressed. I could do no more than pay a man to 
 translate it. But to return to this affair of running 
 in among the Scilly Islands such a night as this." 
 
 "Return, my good fellow ! this is the first syllable 
 you have said* about the matter!" 
 
 " Concern on your account has caused me to for 
 get myself. To be frank with you, Captain Truck, 
 and if I wer'n't your very best friend I should be 
 silent, there is considerable excitement getting up 
 about this matter." 
 
 " Excitement ! what is that like ? a sort of moral 
 head-sea, do you mean?" 
 
 "Precisely: and I must tell you the truth, though 
 I had rather a thousand times not; but this change 
 in the ship's course is monstrous unpopular!" 
 
 " That is bad news, with a vengeance, Mr. Dodge ; 
 I shall rely on you, as an old friend, to get up an op 
 position." 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND, 111 
 
 " My dear captain, I have done all I could in that 
 way already ; but T never met with people so bent 
 on a thing as most of the passengers. The Effing- 
 hams are very decided, though so purse-proud and 
 grand; Sir George Templemore declares it is quite 
 extraordinary, and even the French lady is furious. 
 To be as sincere as the crisis demands, public opinion 
 is setting so strong against you, that I expect an ex 
 plosion." 
 
 " Well, so long as the tide sets in my favour, I 
 must endeavour to bear it. Stemming a current, in 
 or out of water, is up-hill work; but with a good 
 bottom, clean copper, and plenty of wind, it may be 
 done." 
 
 " It would not surprise me were the gentlemen to 
 appeal to the general sentiment against you when 
 we arrive, and make a handle of it against your 
 line !" 
 
 " It may be so indeed ; but what can be done ? If 
 we return, the Englishman will certainly catch us, 
 and, in that case, my own opinion would be dead 
 against me !" 
 
 "Well, well, captain; I thought as a friend I 
 would speak my mind. If this thing should really 
 get into the papers in America, it would spread like 
 fire in the prairies. You know what the papers are, 
 I trust, Captain Truck '(" 
 
 " I rather think I do, Mr. Dodge, with many 
 thanks for your bints, and I believe I know what the 
 Scilly Islands are too. The elections will be nearly 
 or quite over by the time we get in, and, thank God, 
 they'll not be apt to make a party question of it, 
 this fall at least. In the mean time rely on my keep 
 ing a good look-out for the shoals of popularity, and 
 the quicksands of excitement. You smoke some 
 times, I know, and I can recommend this cigar as 
 fit to regale the nose of that chap of Strasbourg 
 
112 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 you read your Bible, I know, Mr. Dodge, and need 
 not be told whom I mean. The steward will be 
 happy to give you a light on deck, sir." 
 
 In this manner, Captain Truck, with the sangfroid 
 of an old tar, and the tact of a packet-master, got 
 rid of his troublesome visiter, who departed, half 
 suspecting that he had been quizzed, but still rumi 
 nating on the expediency of getting up a committee, 
 or at least a public meeting in the cabin, to follow 
 up the blow. By the aid of the latter, could he but 
 persuade Mr. Effingham to take the chair, and Sir 
 George Templemore to act as secretary, he thought 
 he might escape a sleepless night, and, what was of 
 quite as much importance, make a figure in a para 
 graph on reaching home. 
 
 Mr. Dodge, whose Christian name, thanks to a 
 pious ancestry, was Steadfast, partook of the quali 
 ties that his two appellations not inaptly expressed. 
 There was a singular profession of steadiness of pur 
 pose, and of high principle about him, all of wh -'h 
 vanished in Dodge at the close. A great stickler for 
 the rights of the people, he never considered that this 
 people was composed of many integral parts, but lie 
 viewed all things as gravitating towards the great ag 
 gregation. Majorities were his hobbies, and though 
 singularly timid as an individual, or when in the 
 minority, put him on the strongest side and he was 
 ready to face the devil. In short, Mr. Dodge was a 
 people's man, because his strongesj desire, his " am 
 bition and his pride," as he often expressed it, was to 
 be a man of the people. In his particular neighbour 
 hood, at home, sentiment ran in veins, like gold in 
 the mines, or in streaks of public opinion, and though 
 there might be three or four of these public senti 
 ments, so long as each had its party, no one was 
 afraid to avow it ; but as for maintaining a notion 
 that was not thus upheld, there was a savour of 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 113 
 
 aristocracy about it that would damn even a mathe 
 matical proposition, though regularly solved and 
 proved. So much and so long had Mr. Dodge re 
 spired a moral atmosphere of this community-cha 
 racter, and gregarious propensity, that he had, in 
 many things, lost all sense of his individuality; as 
 much so, in fact, as if he breathed with a pair of 
 county lungs, ate with a common mouth, drank from 
 the town-pump, and slept in the open air. 
 
 Such a man was not very likely to make an im 
 pression on Captain Truck, one accustomed to rely 
 on himself alone, in the face of warring elements, 
 and who knew that a ship could not safely have 
 more than a single will, and that the will of her 
 master. 
 
 The accidents of life could scarcely form extremes 
 of character more remote than that of Steadfast 
 Dodge and that of John Truck. The first never did 
 anything beyond acts of the most ordinary kind, 
 without first weighing its probable effect in the 
 neighbourhood; its popularity or unpopularity; how 
 it might tally with the different public opinions that 
 were whiffling through the county ; in what manner 
 it would influence the next election, and whether it 
 would be likely to elevate him or depress him in the 
 public mind. No Asiatic slave stood more in terror 
 of a vindictive master than Mr. Dodge stood in fear 
 and trembling before the reproofs, comments, cen 
 sures, frowns, cavillings and remarks of every man 
 in his county, who happened to belong to the political 
 party that just at that moment was in power. As to 
 the minority, he was as brave as a lion, could snap 
 his fingers at them, and was foremost in deriding and 
 scoffing at all they said and did. This, however, 
 was in connexion with politics only; for the instant 
 party-drill ceased to be of value, Steadfast's valour 
 oozed out of his composition, and in all other things 
 
 0* 
 
114 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 he dutifully consulted every public opinion of the 
 neighbourhood. This estimable man had his weak 
 points as well as another, and what is more, he was 
 quite sensible of them, as was proved by a most jeal 
 ous watchfulness of his besetting sins, in the way of 
 exposure if not of indulgence. In a word, Steadfast 
 Dodge was a man that wished to meddle with and 
 control all things, without possessing precisely the 
 spirit that was necessary to leave him master of him 
 self; he had a rabid desire for the good opinion of 
 every thing human, without always taking the means 
 necessary to preserve his own ; was a stout de- 
 claimer for the rights of the community, while for 
 getting that the community itself is but a means set 
 up for the accomplishment of a given end ; and felt 
 an inward and profound respect for everything that 
 was beyond his reach, which manifested itself, not in 
 manly efforts to attain the forbidden fruit, but rather 
 in a spirit of opposition and detraction, that only be 
 trayed, through its jealousy, the existence .of the 
 feeling, which jealousy, however, he affected to con 
 ceal under an intense regard for popular rights, 
 since he was apt to aver it was quite intolerable that 
 any man should possess anything, even to qualities, in 
 which his neighbours might not properly participate. 
 All these, moreover, and many similar traits, Mr. 
 Dodge encouraged in the spirit of liberty ! 
 
 On the other hand, John Truck sailed his own 
 ship ; was civil to his passengers from habit as well as 
 policy; knew that every vessel must have a captain ; 
 believed mankind to be little better than asses ; took 
 his ow 7 n observations, and cared not a straw for 
 those of his mates; was never more bent on follow 
 ing his own views than when all hands grumbled 
 and opposed him; was daring by nature, decided 
 from use and long self-reliance, and was every way 
 a man fitted to steer his bark through the trackless 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 115 
 
 ways of lite, as well as those of the ocean. It was 
 fortunate for one in his particular position, that na 
 ture had made the possessor of so much self-will and 
 temporary authority, cool and sarcastic rather than 
 hot-headed and violent, and for this circumstance 
 Mr. Dodge in particular had frequent occasions for 
 felicitation. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 But then are we in order, when we are 
 Most out of order. 
 
 Jack Cade. 
 
 DISAPPOINTED in his private appeal to the captain's 
 dread of popular disapprobation, Mr. Dodge returned 
 to his secret work on deck ; for, like a true freeman 
 of the exclusive school, this person never presumed 
 to work openly, unless sustained by a clear majority; 
 canvassing all around him, and striving hard to 
 create a public opinion, as he termed it, on -his side 
 of the question, by persuading his hearers that every 
 one was of his particular way of thinking already ; a 
 method of exciting a feeling much practised by par 
 tisans of his school. In the interval, Captain Truc|c 
 was working up his day's reckoning by himself, hi 
 his own state-room, thinking little, and caring less, 
 about any thing but the results of his figures, which 
 soon convinced him, that by standing a few hours 
 longeron his present course, he should "plump his 
 ship ashore" somewhere between Falmouth and the 
 Lizard. 
 
 This discovery annoyed the worthy master so 
 much the more, on account of the suggestions of his, 
 late visitor; for nothing could be less to his taste 
 
1J6 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 than to have the appearance of altering his determi 
 nation under a menace. Still something must be 
 done before midnight, for he plainly perceived that 
 thirty or forty miles, at the farthest, would fetch up 
 the Monlauk, on her present course. The pas 
 sengers had left the deck to escape the night air, and 
 he heard the Effinghams inviting Mr. Sharp and Mr. 
 Blunt into the ladies' cabin, which had been taken 
 expressly for their party, while the others were call 
 ing upon the stewards for the usual allowance of hot 
 drinks, at the dining-table without. The talking and 
 noise disturbed him; his own state-room became too 
 confined, and he went on deck to come to his deci 
 sion, in view of the angry-looking skies and the 
 watery waste, over which he was called to prevail. 
 Here we shall leave him, pacing the quarter-deck, in 
 inoody silence alone, too much disturbed to smoke 
 even, while the mate of the watch sat in the mizen- 
 rigging, like a monkey, keeping a look-out to wind 
 ward and ahead. In the mean time, we will return 
 to the cabin of the Effinghams. 
 
 The Montauk was one of the noblest of those sur 
 passingly beautiful and yacht-like ships that now ply 
 between the two hemispheres in such numbers, and 
 in which luxury and the fitting conveniences seem 
 to vie with each other for the mastery. The cabins 
 were lined with satin-wood and bird's-eye maple ; 
 small marble columns separated the glittering panels 
 of polished wood, and rich carpets covered the 
 floors. The main cabin had the great table, as a 
 fixture, in the centre, but that of Eve, somewhat 
 shorter, but of equal width, was free from all encum 
 brance of the sort. It had its sofas, cushions, mir 
 rors, stools, tables, and an upright piano. The doors 
 of the state-rooms, and other conveniences, opened 
 on its sides and ends. In short, it presented, at that 
 hour, the resemblance of a tasteful boudoir, rather 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 117 
 
 than that of an apartment in a cramped and vulgar 
 ship.. 
 
 Here, then, all who properly belonged to the place 
 were assembled, with Mr. Sharp and Mr. Blunt as 
 guests, when a tap at the door announced another 
 visiter. It was Mr. Dodge, begging to be admitted 
 on a matter of business. Eve smiled, as she bowed 
 assent to old Nanny, who acted as her groom of the 
 chambers, and hastily expressed a belief that her 
 guest must have come with a proposal to form a 
 Dorcas society. 
 
 Although Mr. Dodge was as bold as Ca3sar in 
 expressing his contempt of anything but popular 
 sway, he never came into the presence of the quiet 
 and well-bred without a feeling of distrust and un 
 easiness, that had its rise in the simple circumstance 
 of his not being used to their company. Indeed, 
 there is nothing more appalling, in general, to the 
 vulgar and pretending, than the simplicity and natu 
 ral ease of the refined. Their own notions of ele 
 gance lie so much on the surface, that they seem at 
 first to suspect an ambush, and it is probable that, 
 finding so much repose where, agreeably to their 
 preconceived opinions, all ought to be fuss and pre 
 tension, they imagine themselves to be regarded as 
 intruders. 
 
 Mr. Effingham gave their visiter a polite recep 
 tion, and one that was marked with a little more than 
 the usual formality, by way of letting it be under 
 stood that the apartment was private ; a precaution 
 that he knew was very necessary in associating with 
 tempers like those of Steadfast. All this was thrown 
 away on Mr. Dodge, notwithstanding every other 
 person present admired the tact with which the host 
 kept his guest at a distance, by extreme attention, 
 for the latter fancied so much ceremony was but a 
 homage to his claims. It had the effect to put him 
 

 
 118 HOMEWARD . BOUND. 
 
 on his o\vn good behaviour, however, and of sus 
 pending the brusque manner in which he had intend 
 ed to broach his subject. As every body waited in 
 calm silence, as if expecting an explanation of the 
 cause of this visit, Mr. Dodge soon felt himself con 
 strained to say something, though it might not be 
 quite as clear as he could wish. 
 
 " We have had a considerable pleasant time, Miss 
 Effingham, since we sailed from Portsmouth," he ob 
 served familiarly. 
 
 Eve bowed her assent, determined not to take to 
 herself a visit that did violence to all her habits and 
 notions of propriety. But Mr. Dodge was too ob 
 tuse to feel the hint conveyed in mere reserve of 
 manner. 
 
 "It would have been more agreeable, I allow, had 
 not this man-of-war taken it into her head to follow 
 us in this unprecedented manner." Mr. Dodge was 
 as fond of his dictionary as the steward, though he 
 belonged to the political, while Saunders merely be 
 came the polite school of talkers. " Sir George calls 
 it a most * uncomfortable procedure.' You know Sir 
 George Templemore, without doubt, Miss Effing- 
 ham f" 
 
 " I am aware there is a person of that name on 
 board, sir," returned Eve, who recoiled from this fa 
 miliarity with the sensitiveness with which a well- 
 educated female distinguishes between one who ap 
 preciates her character and one who does not; "but 
 have never had the honour of his acquaintance." 
 
 Mr. Dodge thought all this extraordinary, for he 
 had witnessed Captain Truck's introduction, and did 
 not understand how people \vho had sailed twenty- 
 four hours in the same ship, and had been fairly in 
 troduced, should not be intimate. As for himself, he 
 fancied he was, what he termed, " well acquainted" 
 with the Effinghams, from having talked of them a 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 119 
 
 great deal ignorantly, and not a little maliciously ; a 
 liberty he felt himself fully entitled to take, from the 
 circumstance of residing in the same county, al 
 though he had never spoken to one of the family, 
 until accident placed him in their company on board 
 the same vessel. 
 
 "Sir George is a gentleman of great accomplish 
 ments, Miss Effingham, I assure you; a man of un 
 qualified merit. We have the same state-room, for 
 I like company, and prefer chatting a little in my 
 berth to being always asleep. He is a baronet, I 
 suppose you know, not that I care anything for 
 titles, all men being equal in truth, though 
 though " 
 
 " Unequal in reality, sir, you probably meant to 
 add," observed John Effingham, who was lolling on 
 Eve's workstand, his eagle-shaped face fairly curling 
 with the contempt he felt, and which he hardly cared 
 to conceal. 
 
 " Surely not, sir !" exclaimed the terrified Stead 
 fast, looking furtively about, lest some active enemy 
 might be at hand to quote this unhappy remark to his 
 prejudice. " Surely not ! men are every way equal, 
 and no one can pretend to be better than another. 
 No, no, it is nothing to me that Sir George is a ba 
 ronet; though one would prefer having a gentleman 
 in the same state-room to having a coarse fellow. 
 Sir George thinks, sir, that the ship is running into 
 great danger by steering for the land in so dark a 
 night, and in such dirty weather. He has many out- 
 of-the-way expressions, Sir George, I must admit, for 
 one of his rank; he calls the weather dirty, and the 
 proceedings uncomfortable;, modes of expression, 
 gentlemen, to which I give an unqualified disappro 
 bation/' 
 
 "Probably Sir George would attach more im- 
 
I 
 
 120 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 portance to a qualified disapprobation," retorted John 
 Effingham. 
 
 "Quite likely," returned "Mr. Dodge innocently, 
 though the two other visiters, Eve and Mademoiselle 
 Viefville permitted slight muscular movements ahout 
 the lips to be seen : " Sir George is quite an original 
 in his way. We have few originals in our part of 
 the country, you know, Mr. John Effingham; for to 
 say the truth, it is rather unpopular to differ from 
 the neighbourhood, in this or any other respect. Yes, 
 sir, the people will rule, and ought to rule. Still, I 
 think Sir George may get along well enough as a 
 stranger, for it is not quite as unpopular in a stran 
 ger to be original, as in a native. I think you will 
 agree with me, sir, in believing it excessively pre 
 suming in an American to pretend to be different 
 from his fehow-citizens." 
 
 " No one, sir, could entertain such presumption, I 
 am persuaded, in your case." 
 
 "No, sir, I do not speak from personal motives: 
 but on the great general principles, that are to be 
 maintained for the good of mankind. I do not know 
 that any man has a right to be peculiar in a free 
 country. It is aristocratic, and has an air of think 
 ing one man is better than another. I am sure Mr. 
 Effingham cannot approve of it?" 
 
 " Perhaps not. Freedom has many arbitrary laws 
 that it will not do to violate." 
 
 "Certainly, sir, or where would be its supremacy. 
 If the people cannot control and look down pecu 
 liarity, or any thing they dislike, one might as well 
 live in a despotism at once." 
 
 "As I have resided much abroad, of late year's, 
 Mr. Dodge," inquired Eve, who was fearful her kins 
 man would give some cut that w r ould prove to be past 
 bearing, as she saw his eye was menacing, and who 
 felt a disposition to be amused at the other's philoso- 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 131 
 
 phy, that overcame the attraction of repulsion she 
 had at first experienced towards him " will you fa 
 vour me with some of those great principles of li 
 berty of which I hear so much, but which, I fear, 
 have been overlooked by my European instructors..?" 
 
 Mademoiselle Vicfville looked grave: Messrs. 
 Sharp and Blunt delighted ; Mr. Dodge, himself, 
 mystified. 
 
 " I should feel myself little able to instruct Miss 
 Effingham on such a subject," the latter modestly 
 replied, " as no doubt she has seen too much miserv 
 in the nations she has visited, not to appreciate justly 
 all the advantages of that happy country which has 
 the honour of claiming her for one of its fair daugh 
 ters." 
 
 Eve was terrified at her own temerity, for she was 
 far from anticipating so high a flight of eloquence in 
 return for her own simple request, but it was too late 
 to retreat. 
 
 "None of the many illustrious and god-like men 
 that our own beloved land has produced can pretend 
 to more zeal in its behalf than myself, but I fear my 
 abilities to do it justice will fall far short of the sub 
 ject," he continued. " Liberty, as you know, Miss 
 Effingham, as you w r ell know, gentlemen, is a boon 
 that merits our unqualified gratitude, and which calls 
 for our daily and hourly thanks to the gallant spirits 
 \vho, in the days that tried men's souls, were fore 
 most in the tented field, and in the councils of the 
 nation." 
 
 John Effingham turned a glance at Eve that seem 
 ed to tell her how unequal she was to the task she 
 had undertaken, and which promised a rescue, with 
 her consent; a condition that the young lady most 
 gladly complied with in the same silent but expres 
 sive manner. 
 
 " Of all this my young kinswoman is properly sen- 
 
 VOL. i. 11 
 
122 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 sible, Mr. Dodge," he said by way of diversion ; " but 
 she, and I confess myself, have some little perplexity 
 on the subject of what this liberty is, about which 
 so much has been said and written in our time. Per 
 mit me to inquire, if you understand by it a perfect 
 independence of thought, action, and rights?" 
 
 "Equal laws, equal rights, equality in all respects, 
 and pure, abstract, unqualified liberty, beyond all 
 question, sir." 
 
 "What, a power in the strong man to beat the 
 little man, and to take away his dinner?" 
 
 " By no means, sir ; Heaven forbid that I should 
 maintain any such doctrine ! It means entire liberty : 
 no kings, no aristocrats, no exclusive privileges ; but 
 one man as good as another !" 
 
 " Do you understand, then, that one man is as good 
 as another, under our system, Mr. Dodge?" 
 
 " Unqualifiedly so, sir ; I am amazed that such a 
 question should be put by a gentleman of your in 
 formation, in an age like this !" 
 
 " If one man is as good as another," said Mr. 
 Blunt, who perceived that John Effingham was biting 
 his lips, a sign that something more biting would fol 
 low, " will you do me the favour to inform me, why 
 the country puts itself to the trouble and expense of 
 the annual elections?" 
 
 " Elections, sir ! In what manner could free insti 
 tutions flourish, or be maintained without constantly 
 appealing to the people, the only true sources of 
 power ?" 
 
 " To this I make no objections, Mr. Dodge," re 
 turned the young man, smiling ; " but why an elec 
 tion ; if one man is as good as another, a lottery 
 would be cheaper, easier, and sooner settled. Why 
 an election, or even a lottery at all ? why not choose 
 the President as the Persians chose their king, by 
 the neighing of a horse ?" 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 123 
 
 " This would be indeed an extraordinary mode of 
 proceeding for an intelligent and virtuous people, Mr. 
 Blunt; and I must take the liberty of saying that 1 
 suspect you of pleasantry. If you wish an answer, 
 I will say, at once, by such a process we might get 
 a knave, or a fool, or a traitor." 
 
 " How, Mr. Dodge ! I did not expect this charac 
 ter of the country from you! Are the Americans, 
 then, all fools, or knaves, or traitors'?" 
 
 " If you intend to travel much in our country, sir, 
 I would advise great caution in throwing out such an 
 insinuation, for it would be apt to meet with a very 
 general and unqualified disapprobation. Americans 
 are enlightened and free, and as far from deserving 
 these epithets as any people on earth." 
 
 " And yet the fact follows from your own theory. 
 If one man is as good as another, and any one of 
 them is a fool, or a knave, or a traitor, all are 
 knaves, or fools, or traitors ! The insinuation is not 
 mine, but it follows, I think, inevitably, as a conse 
 quence of your own proposition." 
 
 In the pause that succeeded, Mr. Sharp said in a 
 low voice to Eve, " He is an Englishman, after all !" 
 
 " Mr. Dodge does not mean that one man is as 
 good as another in that particular sense," Mr. Effing- 
 ham kindly interposed, in his quality of host; "his 
 views are less general, I fancy, than his words would 
 give us, at first, reason to suppose." 
 
 " Very true, Mr. Effingham, very true, sir ; one 
 man is not as good as another in that particular 
 sense, or in the sense of elections, but in all other 
 senses. Yes, sir," turning towards Mr. Blunt again, 
 as one renews the attack on an antagonist, who has 
 given a fall, after taking breath; " in all other senses, 
 one man is unqualifiedly as good as another. One 
 man has the same rights as another." 
 
 " The slave as the freeman ?" 
 
121 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 " The slaves arc exceptions, sir. But in the i'rce 
 slates, except in the case of elections, one man is as 
 good as another in all things. That is our meaning, 
 and any other principle would be- unqualifiedly un 
 popular." 
 
 "Can one man make a shoe as well as another?" 
 
 " Of rights, sir, I stick to the rights, you will re 
 member." 
 
 "Has the minor the same rights as the man of full 
 age; the apprentice as the master; the vagabond as 
 the resident; the man who cannot pay as the man 
 who can ?" 
 
 "No, sir, not in that sense cither. You do not un 
 derstand me, sir, I fear. All that 1 mean is, that in 
 particular things, one man is as good as another in 
 America. This is American doctrine, though it may 
 riot happen to be English, and 1 Hatter myself it will 
 stand the test of the strictest investigation." 
 
 " And you will allow me to inquire where this is 
 uot the case, in particular things. If you mean to 
 say that there are fewer privileges accorded to the 
 accidents of birth, or to fortune and station in Ame 
 rica, than is usual in other countries, we shall agree ; 
 but I think it will hardly do to say there arc none !" 
 
 "Privileges accorded to birth in America, sir! 
 The idea would be odious to her people!" 
 
 "Does not the child inherit the property of the 
 father!" 
 
 "Most assuredly; but this can hardly be termed 
 a privilege." 
 
 " That may depend a good deal on taste. I should 
 account it a greater privilege, than to inherit a title 
 without the fortune." 
 
 " I perceive, gentlemen, that we do not perfectly 
 understand each other, and I must postpone the dis 
 cussion to a more favourable opportunity ; for I con 
 fess great uneasiness at this decision of the captain's-, 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 125 
 
 about steering in among the rocks of Scilla." (Mr. 
 Dodge was not as clear-headed as common, in con 
 sequence of the controversy that had just occurred.) 
 " I challenge you to renew the subject another time, 
 gentlemen. I only happened in" (another peculiarity 
 of diction in this gentleman) "to make a first call, 
 for I suppose there is no exclusion in an American 
 ship ?" 
 
 " None whatever, sir," Mr. John Effingham coldly 
 answered. "All the state rooms are in common, 
 and I propose to seize an early occasion to return 
 this compliment, by making myself at home in the 
 apartment which has the honour to lodge Mr. Dodge 
 and Sir George Templemore." 
 
 Here Mr. Dodge beat a retreat, without touching 
 at all on his real errand. Instead of even following 
 up the matter with the other passengers, he got into 
 a corner, with one or two congenial spirits, who had 
 taken great offence that the Effinghams should pre 
 sume to retire into their cabin, and particularly that 
 they should have the extreme aristocratical audacity 
 to shut the door, where he continued pouring into the 
 greedy ears of his companions his own history of 
 the recent dialogue, in which, according to his own 
 account of the matter, he had completely gotten the 
 better of that "young upstart, Blunt," a man of 
 whom he knew positively nothing, divers anecdotes 
 of the Effingham family, that came of the lowest and 
 most idle gossip of rustic malignancy, and his own 
 vague and confused notions of the rights of persons 
 and of things. Very different was the conversation 
 that ensued in the ladies' cabin, after the welcome 
 disappearance of the uninvited guest. Not a remark 
 of any sort was made on his intrusion, or on his 
 folly ; even John Effingham, little addicted in com 
 mon to forbearance, being too proud to waste his 
 breath on so low game, and too well taught to open 
 
 11* 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 upon a man the moment his back was turned. But 
 the subject \vas continued, and in a manner better 
 suited to the education, intelligence, and views of the 
 several speakers. 
 
 Eve said but little, though she ventured to ask a 
 question now and then; Mr. Sharp and Mr. Blunt 
 being the principal supporters of the discourse, with 
 an occasional quiet, discreet remark from the young 
 lady's father, arid a sarcasm, now and then, from 
 John Erfingham. Mr. Blunt, though advancing his 
 opinions with diffidence, and with a proper deference 
 for the greater experience of the two elder gentle 
 men, soon made his superiority apparent, the subject 
 proving to be one on which he had evidently thought 
 a great deal, and that too with a discrimination and 
 originality that are far from common. 
 
 He pointed out the errors that are usually made 
 on the subject of the institutions of the American 
 Union, by confounding the effects of the general go 
 vernment with those of the separate states ; and he 
 clearly demonstrated that the Confederation itself 
 had, in reality, no distinctive character of its own, 
 even for, or against liberty. It was a confederation, 
 and got its character from the characters of its seve 
 ral parts, which of themselves were independent in 
 all things, on the important point of distinctive prin 
 ciples, with the exception of the vague general pro 
 vision that they must be republics ; a provision that 
 meant anything, or nothing, so far as true liberty- 
 was concerned, as each state might decide for itself. 
 
 " The character of the American government is to 
 be sought in the characters of the state governments," 
 he concluded, " which vary with their respective po 
 licies. It is in this way that communities that hold 
 one half of their numbers in domestic bondage are 
 found tied up in the same political fasces with other 
 communities of the most democratic institutions. The 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 127 
 
 general government assures neither liberty of speech, 
 liberty of conscience, action, nor of anything else, 
 except as against itself; a provision that is quite un 
 necessary, as it is purely a government of delegated 
 powers, and has no authority to act at all on these 
 interests." 
 
 "This is very different from the general impres 
 sion in Europe," observed Mr. Sharp; "and as I 
 perceive I have the good fortune to be thrown into the 
 society of an American, if not an American lawyer, 
 able to enlighten my ignorance on these interesting 
 topics, I hope to be permitted, during some of the 
 idle moments, of which we are likely to have many, 
 to profit by it." 
 
 The other coloured, bowed to the compliment, but 
 appeared to hesitate before he answered. 
 . "'Tis not absolutely necessary to be an American 
 by birth," he said, "as I have already had occasion 
 to observe, in order to understand the institutions of 
 the country, and I might possibly mislead you were 
 you to fancy that a native was your instructer. I 
 have often been in the country, however, if not born 
 in it, and few young men, on this side of the Atlan 
 tic, have had their attention pointed, with so much 
 earnestness, to all that affects it as myself." 
 
 " I was in hopes we had the honour of including 
 you among our countrymen," observed John Effing- 
 ham, with evident disappointment. " So many young 
 men come abroad disposed to quarrel with foreign 
 excellences, of which they know nothing, or to con 
 cede so many of our own, in the true spirit of ser- 
 viles, that I was flattering myself I had at last found 
 an exception." 
 
 Eve also felt regret, though she hardly avowed to 
 herself the reason why. / 
 
 "He is, then, an Englishman, after all !" said Mr. 
 Sharp, in another aside. 
 
128 HOMEWARD BOUND, 
 
 " Why not a German or a Swiss or even a 
 Russian ?" 
 
 " His English is perfect ; no continental could 
 speak so fluently, with such a choice of words, so 
 totally without an accent, without an effort. As 
 Mademoiselle Viefville says, he does not speak 
 well enough for a foreigner." 
 
 Eve was silent, for she was thinking of the singu 
 lar manner in which a conversation so oddly com 
 menced, had brought about an explanation on a point 
 that had often given her many doubts. Twenty times 
 had she decided in her own mind that this young 
 man, whom she could properly call neither stranger 
 nor acquaintance, was a countryman, and as often 
 had she been led to change her opinion. He had 
 now been explicit, she thought, and she felt compelled 
 to set him down as a European, though not disposed, 
 still, to believe he was an Englishman. For this lat 
 ter notion, she had reasons it might not have done 
 to give to a native of the island they had just left, 
 as she knew to be the fact with Mr. Sharp. 
 
 Music succeeded this conversation, Eve having 
 taken the precaution to have the piano tuned before 
 quitting port, an expedient we would recommend to 
 all who have a regard for the instrument that ex 
 tends beyond its outside, or even for their own ears. 
 John Effingharn executed brilliantly on the violin; 
 and, as it appeared on inquiry, the two younger gen 
 tlemen performed respectably on the flute, flageolet, 
 and one or two other wind instruments. We shall 
 leave them doing great justice to Beethoven, Rossini, 
 and Mayerbeer, whose compositions Mr. Dodge did 
 not fail to sneer at in the outer cabin, as affected and 
 altogether unworthy of attention, and return on deck 
 to the company of the anxious master. 
 
 Captain Truck had continued to pace the deck 
 moodily and alone, during the whole evening, and 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 129 
 
 ho only seemed to come to a recollection of himself 
 when the relief passed him on his way to the wheel, 
 at eight bells. Inquiring the hour, he got into the 
 mizcn rigging, with a night-glass, and swept the ho 
 rizon in search of the Foam. Nothing could be 
 made out, the darkness having settled upon the water 
 in a way to circumscribe the visible horizon to very 
 narrow limits. 
 
 " This may do," lie muttered to himself, as he 
 swung oil* by a rope, and alighted again on the 
 planks of the deck. Mr. Leach was summoned, and 
 an order was passed for the relieved watch to re 
 main on deck for duly. 
 
 When all was ready, the first mate went through 
 the ship, seeing that all the candles were extinguish 
 ed, or that the hoods were drawn over the sky 
 lights, in such a way as to conceal any rays that 
 might gleam upwards from the cabin. At the same 
 time attention was paid to the bhirraele-lamp. This 
 precaution observed, the people went to work to re 
 duce the sail, and in the course of twenty minutes 
 they had got in the studding-sails, and all the stand 
 ing canvass to the topsails, the fore-course, and a 
 forward staysail. The three topsails were then reef 
 ed, with sundry urgent commands to the crew to be 
 active, for, " The Englishman was coming up like a 
 horse, all this time, no doubt." 
 
 This much effected, the hands returned on deck, 
 as much amazed at the several arrangements as if 
 the order had been to cut away the masts. 
 
 "If we had a few guns, and were a little stronger- 
 handed/ 7 growled an old salt to the second-mate, as 
 he hitched up his trousers and rolled over his quid, 
 "I should think the hard one, aft, had been stripping 
 for a fight ; but as it is, we have nothing to carry on 
 the war with, unless we throw sea-biscuits into the 
 enemy !" 
 
 
130 PIOMEVVARD BOUND, 
 
 "Stand by to veer! 91 called out the captain from 
 the quarter-deck, or, as he pronounced it, " ware." 
 
 The men sprang to the braces, and the bows of the 
 ship fell off gradually, as the yards yielded slowly to 
 the drag. In a minute the Montauk was rolling dead 
 before it, and her broadside came sweeping up to the 
 wind with the ship's head to the eastward. This 
 new direction in the course had the double effect of 
 hauling off the land, and of diverging at more than 
 right angles from the line of sailing of the Foam, if 
 that ship still continued in pursuit. The seamen nod 
 ded their heads at each other in approbation, for all 
 now as well understood the meaning of the change 
 as if it had been explained to them verbally. 
 
 The revolution on deck produced as sudden a re 
 volution below. The ship was no longer running 
 easily on an even keel, but was pitching violently into 
 a head-beating sea, and the wind, which a few mi 
 nutes before, was scarcely felt to blow, was now 
 whistling its hundred strains among the cordage. 
 Some sought their berths, among whom were Mr. 
 Sharp and Mr. Dodge ; some hurried up the 
 stairs to learn the reason, and all broke up their avo 
 cations for the night. 
 
 Captain Truck had the usual number of questions 
 to answer, which he did in the following succinct 
 and graphic manner, a reply that we hope w 7 ill prove 
 as satisfactory to the reader, as it was made, to be 
 perforce, satisfactory to the curious on board. 
 
 '* Had we stood on an hour longer, gentlemen, 
 we should have been lost on the coast of Cornwall !" 
 he said, pithily : " had w r e stopped where we were, 
 the sloop-of-war would have been down upon us in 
 twenty minutes: by changing the course, in the way 
 you have seen-, he may got to leeward of us ; if he 
 find it out, he may change his own course, in the 
 dark, being as likely to go wrong as to go right ; or 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 131 
 
 he may stand in, and set up the ribs of his majesty's 
 ship Foam to dry among the rocks of the Lizard, 
 where I hope all her people will get safely ashore, 
 dry shod." 
 
 After waiting the result anxiously for an hour, the 
 passengers retired to their rooms one by one ; but 
 Captain Truck did not quit the deck until the middle 
 watch was set. Paul Blunt heard him enter his state 
 room, which was next to his own, and putting out 
 his head, he inquired the news above. The worthy 
 master had discovered something about this young 
 man which created a respect for his nautical infor 
 mation, for he never misapplied a term, and he in 
 variably answered all his questions promptly, and 
 with respect. 
 
 " Dirtier, and dirtier," he said, in defiance of Mr. 
 Dodge's opinion of the phrase, pulling off his pee- 
 jacket, and laying aside his so'-wester ;" a cap-full 
 of wind, with just enough drizzle to take the com 
 fort out of a man, and lacker him down like a boot." 
 
 " The ship has gone about?" 
 
 " Like a dancing-master with two toes. We have 
 got her head to the southward and westward again ; 
 another reef in the topsails," (which word Mr. Truck 
 pronounced tawsails, with great unction,) " England 
 well under our lee, and the Atlantic ocean right be 
 fore us. Six hours on this course, and we make a 
 fair wind of it." 
 
 " And the sloop ?" 
 
 " Well, Mr. Blunt, I can give no direct account of 
 her. She has dropped in along-shore, I suspect, 
 where she is clawing off, like a boy climbing a hil 
 lock of ice on his hands and knees ; or is flying 
 about among the other foam, somewhere in the lati 
 tude of the Lizard. An easy pillow to you, Mr. 
 Blunt, and no tacking till the first nap's up." 
 
 " And the poor wretches in the Foam ?" 
 
 " Why, the Lord have mercy on their souls !" 
 
132 HOMKWARD IJOUND. 
 
 - 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The moon was now 
 
 Rising full orbed, but broken by a cloud. 
 The wind was hushed, and the sea mirror-like. 
 
 Italy. 
 
 MOST of the passengers appeared on deck soon 
 after Saunders was again heard rattling among his 
 glasses. The day was sufficiently advanced to allow 
 a distinct view of all that was passing, and the wind 
 had shifted. The change had not occurred more 
 than ten minutes, and as most of the inmates of the 
 cabin poured up the cabin-stairs nearly in a body, 
 Mr. Leach had just got through with the necessary 
 operation of bracing the yards about, for the breeze, 
 which was coming stiff, now blew from the north 
 east. No land was visible, and the mate was just 
 giving his opinion that they were up with Scilly, 
 as Captain Truck appeared in the group. 
 
 One glance aloft, and another at the heavens suf 
 ficed to let the experienced master into all the secrets 
 of his present situation. His next step was to jump 
 into the rigging, and to take a look at the sea, in the 
 direction of the Lizard. There, to his extreme dis 
 appointment, appeared a ship with everything set 
 that would draw, and with a studding-sail flapping, 
 before it could be drawn down, which he knew in 
 an instant to be the Foam. At this spectacle Mr. 
 Truck compressed his lips, and made an inward im 
 precation, that it would ill comport with our notions 
 of propriety to repeat. 
 
 " Turn the hands up and shake out the reefs, sir," 
 he said coolly to his mate, for it was a standing rule 
 of the captain's to seem calmest when he was in the 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 133 
 
 greatest rage. " Turn them up, sir, and show every 
 rag that will draw, from the truck to the lower stud 
 ding-sail boom, and be d d to them !" 
 
 On this hint Mr. Leach bestirred himself, and the 
 men were quickly on the yards, casting loose gaskets 
 and reef-points. Sail opened after sail, and as the 
 steerage passengers, who could show a force of 
 thirty or forty men, aided with their strength, the 
 Montauk was soon running dead before the wind, 
 under every thing that would draw, and with stud 
 ding-sails on both sides. The mates looked surpri 
 sed, the seamen cast inquiring glances aft, but Mr. 
 Truck lighted a cigar. 
 
 " Gentlemen," said the captain, after a few philo 
 sophical whiffs, " to go to America with yonder fel 
 low on my weather beam is quite out of the question: 
 he would be up with me, and in possession, before 
 ten o'clock, and my only play is to bring the wind 
 right over the taffrail, where, luckily, we have got it. 
 I think we can bother him at this sport, for your 
 sharp bottoms are not as good as your kettle-bottoms 
 in ploughing a full furrow. As for bearing her can 
 vass, the Montauk will stand it as long as any ship 
 in King William's navy, before the gale. And on 
 one thing you may rely; I '11 carry you all into Lis 
 bon, before that tobacco-hating rover shall carry you 
 back to Portsmouth. This is a category to which I 
 will stick." 
 
 This characteristic explanation served to let the 
 passengers understand the real state of the case. No 
 one remonstrated, for all preferred a race to being 
 taken ; and even the Englishmen on board began 
 again to take sides with the vessel they were in, and 
 this the more readily, as Captain Truck freely admit 
 ted that their cruiser was too much for him on every 
 tack but the one he was about to try. Mr. Sharp 
 hoped that they might now escape, and as for Sir 
 
 VOL. i. 12 
 
134 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 George Templemore, h generously repeated his 
 offer to pay, out of his own pocket, all the port- 
 charges in any French, Spanish, or Portuguese har 
 bour, the master would enter, rather than see such 
 an outrage done a foreign vessel in a time of pro 
 found peace. 
 
 The expedient of Captain Truck proved his judg 
 ment, and his knowledge of his profession. Within 
 an hour it was apparent that, if there was any essen 
 tial difference in the sailing of the two ships under 
 the present circumstances, it was slightly in favour 
 of the Montauk. The Foam now set her ensign for 
 the first time, a signal that she wished to speak the 
 ship in sight. At this Captain Truck chuckled, for 
 he pronounced it a sign that she was conscious she 
 could not get them within range of her guns. 
 
 " Show him the gridiron," cried the captain, 
 briskly ; " it will not do to be beaten in civility by a 
 man who has beaten us already on so many tacks; 
 but keep all fast as a church-door on a week-day." 
 
 This latter comparison was probably owing to the 
 circumstance of the master's having come from a 
 part of the country where all the religion is com 
 pressed into twenty-four hours that commence on a 
 Saturday-night at sunset, and end at sunset the next 
 day: at least, this was his own explanation of the 
 matter. The effect of success was always to make 
 Mr. Truck loquacious, and he now began to tell many 
 excellent anecdotes, of which he had stores, all of 
 events that happened to him in person, or of which 
 he had been an eye-witness : and on which his hear 
 ers, as Sancho said, might so certainly depend as true, 
 that, if they chose, they might safely swear they had 
 seen them themselves. 
 
 " Speaking of churches and doors, Sir George," 
 he said, between the puffs of the cigar, " were you 
 ever in Rhode Island ?" 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 135 
 
 " Never, as this is my first visit to America, cap 
 tain." 
 
 " True ; well, you will be likely to go there, if you 
 go to Boston, as it is the best way ; unless you would 
 prefer to run over Nantucket shoals, and a hundred 
 miles of ditto, as Mr. Dodge calls it." 
 
 " Ditter, captain, if you please ditter : it is the 
 continental word for round-about." 
 
 " The d 1 it is ! it is worth knowing, however. 
 
 And what may be the French for pee-jacket ?" 
 
 " You mistake me, sir, ditter, a circuit, or the 
 longer way." 
 
 " That is the road we are now travelling, by 
 George ! T say, Leach, do you happen to know that 
 we are making a ditter to America?" 
 
 " You were speaking of a church, Captain Truck," 
 politely interposed Sir George, who had become 
 rather intimate with his fellow-Gccupant of the state 
 room. 
 
 " I was travelling through that state, a few years 
 since, on my way from Providence to New London, 
 at a time when a new road had just been opened. It 
 was on a Sunday, and the stage a four-horse power, 
 you must know had never yet run through on the 
 Lord's-day. Well, we might be, as it were, oft' 
 here at right angles to our course, and there was a 
 short turn in the road, as one would say, out yonder. 
 As we hove in sight of the turn, I saw a chap at the 
 mast-head of a tree ; down he slid, and away he 
 went right before it, towards a meeting-house two or 
 three cables length .down the road. We followed at 
 a smart jog, and just before we got the church 
 abeam, out poured the whole congregation, horse 
 and foot, parson and idlers, sinners and hypocrites, 
 to see the four-horse power go past. Now this is 
 what 1 call keeping the church-door open on a Sun 
 day." 
 
136 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 We might have hesitated about recording this 
 anecdote of the captain's, had we not received an 
 account of the same occurrence from a quarter that 
 left no doubt that his version of the affair was sub 
 stantially correct. This and a few similar adven 
 tures, some of which he invented, and all of which 
 he swore were literal, enabled the worthy master to 
 keep the quarter-deck in good humour, while the 
 ship was running at the rate of ten knots the hour in 
 a line so far diverging from her true course. But 
 the relief to landsmen is so great, in general, in 
 meeting with a fair wind at sea, that few are dis 
 posed to quarrel with its consequences. A bright 
 day, a steady ship, the pleasure of motion as they 
 raced with the combing seas, and the interest of the 
 chase, set every one at ease; and even Steadfast 
 Dodge was less devoured with envy, a jealousy of 
 his own deservings, and the desire of management, 
 than usual. Not an introduction occurred, and yet 
 the little world of the ship got to be better acquainted 
 with each other in the course of that day, than would 
 have happened in months of the usual collision on 
 -land. 
 
 The Montauk continued to gain on her pursuer 
 until the sun set, when Captain Truck began again 
 to cast about him for the chances of the night. He 
 knew that the ship was running into the mouth of the 
 Bay of Biscay, or at least was fast approaching it, 
 and he bethought him of the means of getting to the 
 westward. The night promised to be anything [.but 
 dark, for though a good many wild-looking clouds 
 were by this time scudding athwart the heavens, the 
 moon diffused a sort of twilight gleam in the air. 
 Waiting patiently, however, until the middle-watch 
 was again called, he reduced sail, and hauled the 
 ship oft' to a south-west course, hoping by this slight 
 change insensibly to gnin an offing before the Foam 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 137 
 
 was aware of it ; a scheme that he thought more 
 likely to be successful, as by dint of sheer driving 
 throughout the day, he had actually caused the 
 courses of that vessel to dip before the night shut in. 
 Even the most vigilant became Aweary of watch 
 ing, and Captain Truck was unpleasantly disturbed 
 next morning by an alarm that the Foam was just 
 out of gun-shot, coming up with them fast. On gain 
 ing the deck he found the fact indisputable. Favour 
 ed by the change in the course, the cruiser had been 
 gradually gaining on the Montauk ever since the 
 first watch was relieved, and had indeed lessened the 
 distance between the respective ships by two-thirds. 
 No remedy remained but to try the old expedient of 
 getting the wind over the taffrail once more, and of 
 showing all the canvass that could be spread. As 
 like causes are known to produce like effects, the 
 expedient brought about the old results. The packet 
 had the best of it, and the sloop-of-war slowly fell 
 astern. Mr. Truck now declared he would make a 
 " regular business of it," and accordingly he drove 
 his ship in that direction throughout the day, the fol 
 lowing night, and until near noon of the day which 
 succeeded, varying his course slightly to suit the 
 wind, which he studiously kept so near aft as to allow 
 the studding-sails to draw on both sides. At meri 
 dian, on the fourth day out, the captain got a good 
 observation, and ascertained that the ship was in the 
 latitude of Oporto, with an offing of less than a de 
 gree. At this time the top-gallant sails of the Foam 
 might be discovered from the deck, resembling a 
 boat clinging to the watery horizon. As he had 
 fully made up his mind to run into port in preference 
 to being overhauled, the master had kept so near the 
 land, with an intention of profiting by his position, in 
 the event of any change favouring his pursuers, but 
 

 138 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 he now believed that at sunset he should be safe in 
 finally shaping his course for America. 
 
 " There must be double-fortified eyes aboard that 
 fellow to see what we are about at this distance, 
 when the night is once shut in," he said to Mr. 
 Leach, who seconded all his orders with obedient 
 zeal, " and we will watch our moment to slip out 
 fairly into the great prairie, and then we shall dis 
 cover who best knows the trail ! You'll be for trot 
 ting off to. the prairies, Sir George, as soon as we 
 get in, and for trying your hand at the buflalos, like 
 all the rest of them. Ten years since, if an English 
 man came to look at us, he was afraid of being 
 scalped in Broad- Way, and now he is never satisfied 
 unless he is astraddle of the Rocky Mountains in the 
 first fortnight. I take over lots of cockney-hunters 
 every summer, who just get a shot at a grizzly bear 
 or two, or at an antelope, and come back in time for 
 the opening of Drury Lane." 
 
 " Should, we not be more certain of accomplishing 
 your plans, by seeking refuge in Lisbon for a day or 
 two. I confess now I should like to see Lisbon, and 
 as for the port-charges, I would rather pay them 
 twice, than that this poor man should be torn from 
 his wife. On this point I hope, Captain Truck, I 
 have made myself sufficiently explicit." 
 
 Captain Truck shook the baronet heartily by the 
 hand, as he always did when this offer was renewed, 
 declaring that his feelings did him honour. 
 
 " Never fear for Davis," he said. " Old Grab 
 shall not have him this tack, nor the Foam neither. 
 I'll throw him overboard before such a disgrace be 
 fall us or him. Well, this leech has driven us from 
 the old road, and nothing now remains but to make 
 the southern passage, unless the wind prevail at 
 south." 
 
 The Montauk, in truth, had not much varied from 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 139 
 
 a course that was once greatly in favour with the 
 London ships, Lisbon and New York being really in 
 the same parallel of latitude, and the currents, if pro 
 perly improved, often favouring the run. It is true, 
 the Montauk had kept closer in with the continent 
 by a long distance than was usual, even for the pas 
 sage he had named; but the peculiar circumstances 
 of the chase had left no alternative, as the master 
 explained to his listeners. 
 
 " It was a coasting voyage, or a tow back to 
 Portsmouth, Sir George," he said, " and of the two 
 I know you like the Montauk too well to wish to be 
 quit of her so soon." 
 
 To this the baronet gave a willing assent, protest 
 ing that his feelings had got so much enlisted on the 
 side of the vessel he was in, that he would cheerfully 
 forfeit a thousand pounds rather than be overtaken. 
 The master assured him that was just what he liked, 
 and swore that he was the sort of passenger he most 
 delighted in. ^V 
 
 "When a man puts his foot on the deck of a ship, 
 Sir George, he should look upon her as his home, his 
 church, his wife and children, his uncles and aunts, 
 and all the other lumber ashore. This is the senti 
 ment to make seamen. Now, I entertain a greater 
 regard for the shortest ropeyarn aboard this ship, 
 than for the topsail-sheets or best bower of any other 
 vessel. It is like a man's loving his own ringer, or 
 toe, before another person's. I have heard it said 
 that one should love his neighbour as well as himself; 
 but for my part I love my ship better than my neigh 
 bour's, or my neighbour himself, and I fancy, if the 
 truth were known, my neighbour pays me back in 
 the same coin ! For my part, I like a thing because 
 it is mine." 
 
 A little before dark the head of the Montauk was 
 inclined towards Lisbon, as if her intention was to 
 
140 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 run in, but the moment the dark spot that pointed out 
 the position of the Foam was lost in the haze of the 
 horizon, Captain Truck gave the order to " ware" 
 and sail was made to the west-south-west. 
 
 Most of the passengers felt an intense curiosity to 
 know the state of things on the following morning, 
 and all the men among them were dressed and on 
 deck just as the day began to break. The wind had 
 been fresh and steady all night, and as the ship had 
 been kept with her yards a little checked, and top 
 mast studding-sails set, the officers reported her to 
 be at least a hundred miles to the westward of the 
 spot where she veered. The reader will imagine 
 the disappointment the latter experienced, then, when 
 they beheld the Foam a little on their weather- 
 quarter, edging away for them as assiduously as she 
 had been hauling up for them the night they sailed 
 from Portsmouth, distant little more than a league ! 
 
 " This is indeed extraordinary perseverance," said 
 Paul Blunt to Eve, at whose side he was standing at 
 the moment the fact was ascertained, " and I think 
 our captain might do well to heave-to and ascertain 
 its cause." 
 
 " I hope not," cried his companion with vivacity. 
 "I confess to an esprit de corps, and a gallant deter 
 mination to * see it out,' as Mr. Leach styles his own 
 resolution. One does not like to be followed about 
 the ocean in this manner, unless it be for the interest 
 it gives the voyage. After all, how much better is 
 this than dull solitude, and what a zest it gives to the 
 monotony of the ocean !" 
 
 " Do you then find the ocean a scene of mono 
 tony?" " 
 
 " Such it has oftener appeared to me than any 
 thing else, and I give it a fair trial, having never le 
 mal de mer. But I acquit it of this sin now ; for the 
 interest of a chase, in reasonably good weather, is 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 141 
 
 quite equal to that of .a horse-race, which is a thing 
 I delight in. Even Mr. John Effingham can look 
 radiant under its excitement." 
 
 " And when this is the case he is singularly hand 
 some; a nobler line of face is seldom seen than that 
 of Mr. John Effingham." 
 
 " He has a noble outline of soul, if he did but 
 know it himself," returned Eve, warmly: " I love no 
 one as much as he, with the exception of my father, 
 and as Mademoiselle Viefville would say, pour 
 cause." 
 
 The young man could have listened all day, but 
 Eve smiled, bowed graciously, though with a glisten 
 ing eye, and hastily left the deck, conscious of having 
 betrayed some of her most cherished feelings to one 
 who had no claim to share them. 
 
 Captain Truck, while vexed to his heart's core, 
 or, as he expressed it himself, " struck aback, like an 
 old lady shot off a hand-sled in sliding down hill," 
 was prompt in applying the old remedy to the evil. 
 The Montauk was again put before the wind, sail 
 was made, and the fortunes of the chase were once 
 more cast on the " play of the ship." 
 
 The commander of the Foam certainly deprecated 
 this change, for it was hardly made before he set his 
 ensign, and fired a gun. But of these signals no 
 other notice was taken than to show a flag in return, 
 when the captain and his mates proceeded to get 
 the bearings of the sloop-of-war. Ten minutes show 
 ed they were gaining ; twenty did better ; and in an 
 hour she was well on the quarter. 
 
 Another day of strife succeeded, or rather of pure 
 sailing, for not a rope was started on board the Mon 
 tauk, the wind still standing fresh and steady. The 
 sloop made many signals, all indicating a desire to 
 speak the Montauk, but Captain Truck declared 
 himself too experienced a navigator to be caught by 
 
142 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 bunting, and in too great a hurry to stop and chat 
 by the way. 
 
 " Vattel had laid down no law for such a piece of 
 complaisance, in a time of profound peace. I arn 
 not to be caught by that category." 
 
 The result may be anticipated from what has 
 been already related. The two ships kept before the 
 wind until the Foam was again far astern, and the 
 observations of Captain Truck told him, he was as 
 far south as the Azores. In one of these islands he 
 was determined to take refuge, provided he was not 
 favoured by accident, for going farther south was 
 out of the question, unless absolutely driven to it. 
 Calculating his distance, on the evening of the sixth 
 day out, he found that he might reach an anchorage 
 at Pico, before the sloop-of-war could close with 
 him, even allowing the necessity of hauling up again 
 by the wind. 
 
 But Providence had ordered differently. Towards 
 midnight, the breeze almost failed and became baf 
 fling, and when the day dawned the officer of the 
 watch reported that it was ahead. The pursuing 
 ship, though still in sight, was luckily so far astern 
 and to leeward as to prevent any danger from a 
 visit by boats, and there was leisure to make the pre 
 parations that might become necessary on the spring 
 ing up of a new breeze. Of the speedy occurrence of 
 such a change there was now every symptom, the 
 heavens lighting up at the northwest, a quarter from 
 which the genius of the storms mostly delights in 
 making a display of his power. 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 143 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 I come with mightier things ; 
 Who calls me silent ? I have many tones 
 The dark sky thrills with low mysterious moans, 
 Borne on my sweeping- winds. 
 
 Mrs. Hemans. 
 
 THE awaking of the winds on the ocean is fre 
 quently attended with signs and portents as sublime 
 as any the fancy can conceive. On the present 
 occasion, the breeze that had prevailed so steadily 
 for a week was succeeded by light baffling puffs, as 
 if, conscious of the mighty powers of the air that 
 were assembling in their strength, these inferior 
 blasts were hurrying to and fro for a refuge. The 
 clouds, too, were whirling about in uncertain eddies, 
 many of the heaviest and darkest descending so low 
 along the horizon, that they had an appearance of 
 settling on the waters in quest of repose. But the 
 waters themselves were unnaturally agitated. The 
 billows, no longer following each other in long regular 
 waves, were careering upwards, like fiery coursers 
 suddenly checked in their mad career. The usual 
 order of the eternally unquiet ocean was lost in a 
 species of chaotic tossings of the element, the seas 
 heaving themselves upward, without order, and fre 
 quently without visible cause. This was the reaction 
 of the currents, and of the influence of breezes still 
 older than the last. Not the least fearful symptom of 
 the hour was the terrific calmness of the air amid 
 such a scene of menacing wildness. Even the ship 
 came into the picture to aid the impression of intense 
 expectation ; for with her canvass reduced, she, too, 
 seemed to have lost that instinct which had so lately 
 
144 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 guided her along the trackless waste, and was " wal 
 lowing," nearly helpless, among the confused waters. 
 Still she was a beautiful and a grand object; perhaps 
 more so at that moment than at any other; for her 
 vast and naked spars, her well-supported masts, and 
 all the ingenious and complicated hamper of the ma 
 chine gave her a resemblance to some sinewy and 
 gigantic gladiator, pacing the arena, in waiting for 
 the conflict that was at hand. 
 
 " This is an extraordinary scene," said Eve, who 
 clung to her father's arm, as she gazed around her 
 equally in admiration and in awe ; " a dread exhi 
 bition of the sublimity of nature !" 
 
 " Although accustomed to the sea," returned Mr. 
 Blunt, " I have witnessed these ominous changes but 
 twice before, and I think this the grandest of them 
 all." . 
 
 " Were the others followed by tempests?" inquired 
 the anxious parent. 
 
 " One brought a tremendous gale, while the other 
 passed away like a misfortune of which we get a 
 near view, but are permitted to escape the effects." 
 
 " I do not know that I wish such to be entirely our 
 present fortune," rejoined Eve, "for there is so much 
 sublimity in this view of the ocean unaroused, that I 
 feel desirous of seeing it when aroused." 
 
 " We are not in the hurricane latitudes, or hurri 
 cane months," resumed the young man, " and it is 
 not probable that there is anything more in reserve 
 for us than a hearty gale of wind, which may, at 
 least, help us to get rid of yonder troublesome fol 
 lower." 
 
 " Even that I do not wish, provided he will let us 
 continue the race on our proper route. A chase 
 across the Atlantic would be something to enjoy at 
 the moment, gentlemen, and something to talk of in 
 after life." 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 145 
 
 " I wonder if such a thing be possible !" exclaimed 
 Mr. Sharp ; " it would indeed be an incident to re 
 count to another generation !" 
 
 " There is little probability of our witnessing such 
 an exploit." Mr. Blunt remarked, " for gales of wind 
 on the ocean have the same separating influence on 
 consorts of the sea, that domestic gales have on 
 consorts of the land. Nothing is more difficult than 
 to keep ships and fleets in sight of each other in very 
 heavy weather, unless, indeed, those of the best quali 
 ties are disposed to humour those of the worst." 
 
 " I know not which may be called the best, or 
 which the worst, in this instance, for our tormentor 
 appears to be as much better than ourselves in some 
 particulars, as we are better than he in others. If 
 the humouring is to come from our honest captain, it 
 will be some such humouring as the spoiled child 
 gets from a capricious parent in moments of anger." 
 
 Mr. Truck passed the group at that instant, and 
 heard his name coupled with the word honest, in the 
 mouth of Eve, though he lost the rest of the sentence. 
 
 " Thank you for the compliment, my dear young 
 lady," he said ; " and I wish I could persuade Cap 
 tain Somebody, of his Britannic Majesty's ship Foam, 
 to be of the same way of thinking. It is all because 
 he will not fancy me honest in the article of tobacco 
 that he has got the Montauk down here, on the 
 Spanish coast, \vhere the man who built her would 
 not know her ; so unnatural and unseemly is it to 
 catch a London liner so far out of her track. I shall 
 have to use double care to get the good craft home 
 again." 
 
 " And why this particular difficulty, captain ?" 
 Eve, who was amused with Mr. Truck's modes of 
 speech, pleasantly inquired, " Is it not equally easy to 
 go from one part of the ocean, as from another?" 
 
 " Equally easy ! Bless you, my dear young lady, 
 
 VOL. i. 13 
 
146 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 Sxi never made a more capital mistake in your life, 
 o you imagine it is as easy to go from London to 
 New York, now, as to go from New York to Lon 
 don?" 
 
 " I am so ignorant as to have made this ridiculous 
 mistake, if mistake it be ; nor do I now see why it 
 should be otherwise." 
 
 "Simply because it is up-hill, ma'am. As for our 
 position here to the eastward of the Azores, the diffi 
 culty is soon explained. By dint of coaxing I had 
 got the good old ship so as to know every inch of 
 the road on the northern passage, and now I shall be 
 obliged to wheedle her along on a new route, like a 
 shy horse getting through a new stable-door. One 
 might as well think, of driving a pig from his sty, as 
 to get a ship out of her track." 
 
 " We trust to you to do all this and much more at 
 need. But to what will these grand omens lead ? 
 Shall we have a gale, or is so much magnificent 
 menacing to be taken as an empty threat of Na 
 ture's?" 
 
 " That we shall know in the course of the day, 
 Miss Effingham, though Nature is no bully, and sel 
 dom threatens in vain. There is nothing more curi 
 ous to study, or which needs a nicer eye to detect, 
 than your winds." 
 
 "Of the latter I am fully persuaded, captain, for 
 they are called the ' viewless winds,' you will remem 
 ber, and the greatest authority we possess, speaks of 
 them as being quite beyond the knowledge of man : 
 * That we may hear the sound of the wind, but can 
 not tell whence it comeih, or whither it goeth.' " 
 
 "I do not remember the writer you mean, my dear 
 young lady," returned Mr. Truck, quite innocently; 
 " but he was a sensible fellow, for I believe Vattcl has 
 never yet dared to grapple with the winds. There 
 are people who fancy the weather is foretold in the 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 147 
 
 almanack ; but, according to my opinion, it is safer 
 to trust a rhcumatis' of two or three years' standing. 
 A good, well-established, old-fashioned rheumatis' 
 I say nothing of your- new-fangled diseases, like the 
 cholera, and varioloid, and animal magnitudes but 
 a good old-fashioned rheumatis', such as people used 
 to have when I was a boy, is as certain a barometer 
 as that which is at this moment hanging up in the 
 coach-house here, within two fathoms of the very 
 spot where we are standing. I once had a rheu 
 matis' that I set much store by, for it would let me 
 know when to look out for easterly weather, quite as 
 infallibly as any instrument I ever sailed with. I 
 never told you the story of the old Connecticut 
 horse-jockey, and the typhoon, I believe; and as we 
 are doing nothing but waiting for the weather to 
 make up its mind" 
 
 " The weather to make up its mind !" exclaimed 
 Eve, looking around her in awe at the sublime and 
 terrific grandeur of the ocean, of the heavens, and 
 of the pent and moody air ; " is there, then, an un 
 certainty in this?" 
 
 " Lord bless you ! my dear young lady, the 
 weather is often as uncertain, and as undecided, and 
 as hard to please, too, as an old girl who gets sudden 
 offers on the same day, from a widower with ten 
 children, an attorney with one leg, and the parson of 
 the parish. Uncertain, indeed ! Why I have known 
 the weather in this grandiloquent condition for a 
 whole day. Mr. Dodge, there, will tell you it is 
 making up its mind which way it ought to blow, to 
 be popular ; so, as we have nothing better to do, 
 Mr. Effingham, I will tell you the story about my 
 neighbour, the horse-jockey. Hauling yards when 
 there is no wind, is like playing on a Jew's-harp, at a 
 concert of trombones." 
 
 Mr. Effingham made a complaisant sign of assent, 
 
148 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 and pressed- the arm of the excited Eve for pa 
 tience. 
 
 " You must know, gentlemen," the captain com 
 menced, looking round to collect as many listeners 
 as possible, for he excessively disliked lecturing to 
 small audiences, when he had anything to say that 
 he thought particularly clever, "you must know 
 that we had formerly many craft that went between 
 the river and the islands " 
 
 ' "The river 1" interrupted the amused Mr. Sharp. 
 
 "Certain.; the Connecticut, I mean; we all call it 
 the river down our way between the river and the 
 West Indies, with horses, cattle, and other knick- 
 knacks of that description. Among others was old 
 Joe' Bunk, who had followed the trade in a high- 
 decked brig for some twenty-three years, he and the 
 brig having grown old in company, like man and 
 wife. About forty years since, our river ladies be 
 gan to be tired of their bohea, and as there was a good 
 deal said in favour of souchong in those days, an ex 
 citement was got up on the subject, as Mr. Dodge 
 calls it, and it was determined to make an experiment 
 in the new quality, before they dipped fairly into the 
 trade. Well, what do you suppose was done in the 
 premises, as Vattel says, my dear young lady?" 
 
 Eve's eyes were still on the grand and portentous 
 aspect of the heavens, but she civilly answered, 
 
 " No doubt they sent to a shop and purchased a 
 sample." 
 
 "Not they; they knew too much for that; since 
 any rogue of a grocer might cheat them. When the 
 excitement had got a little headway on it, they 
 formed a tea society, with the parson's wife for 
 presidentess, and her oldest daughter for secretary. 
 In this way they went to work, until the men got 
 into the fever too, and a project was set a-foot to 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 149 
 
 send a craft to China for a sample of what they 
 wanted." 
 
 " China !" exclaimed Eve, this time looking the 
 captain fairly in the face. 
 
 "China, certain; it lies off hereaway, you know, 
 round on the other side of the earth. Well, whom 
 should they choose to go on the errand but old Joe 
 Bunk. The old man had been so often to the islands 
 and back, without knowing anything of navigation, 
 they thought he was just their man, as there was no 
 such thing as losing him.'' 
 
 "One would think he was the very mnn to get 
 lost," observed Mr. Effingham, while the captain fit 
 ted a fresh cigar; for smoke he would, and did, in 
 any company, that was out of the cabin, although he 
 always professed a readiness to cease, if any person 
 disliked the fragrance of tobacco. 
 
 "Not he, sir; he was just as well off in the Indian 
 Ocean as he would be here, for he knew nothing 
 about, either. Well, Joe fitted up the brig; the Seven 
 Dollies was her name; for you must know we had 
 seven ladies in the town, who were called Dolly, and 
 they each of them used to send a colt, or a steer, or 
 some other delicate article to the islands by Joe, 
 whenever he went; so he fitted up the Seven Dol 
 lies, hoisted in his dollars, and made sail. The last 
 that was seen or heard of the old man for eight 
 months, was off Montauk, where he was fallen in 
 with, two days out, steering south-easterly, by com 
 pass." 
 
 " I should think," observed John Effingham, who 
 began to arouse himself as the story proceeded, 
 " that Mrs. Bunk must have been very uneasy all this 
 time?" 
 
 " Not she ; she stuck to the bohea in hopes the 
 souchong would arrive before the restoration of the 
 Jews. Arrive it did, sure enough, at the end of 
 13* 
 
150 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 eight months, and a capital adventure it proved for 
 all concerned* Old Joe got a great name in the 
 river for the exploit, though how he got to China no 
 one could say, or how he got back again ; or, for 
 a long time, how he got the huge heavy silver tea 
 pot, he brought with him." 
 
 "A silver tea-pot?" 
 
 " Exactly that article. At last the truth came to 
 be known ; for it is not an easy matter to hide any 
 thing of that nature down our way ; it is aristo 
 cratic, as Mr. Dodge says, to keep a secret. At 
 first they tried Joe with all sorts of questions, but he 
 gave them 'guess' for * guess.' Then people began 
 to talk, and finally it was fairly whispered that the 
 old man had stolen the tea-pot. This brought him 
 out ; for it went so far as to be got up before the 
 meeting. Law was out of the question, you will un 
 derstand, as there was no evidence ; but the meeting 
 don't stick much at particulars, provided people talk 
 a good deal." 
 
 " And the result ?" asked John Effingham, " I sup 
 pose the parish took the tea-pot, and gave Joe the 
 grounds." 
 
 " You are as far out of the way as we are here, 
 down on the coast of Spain ! The truth is just this. 
 The Seven Dollies was lying among the rest of 
 them, at anchor, below Canton, with the weather as 
 fine as young girls love to see it in May, when Joe 
 began to get down his yards, to house his masts, and 
 to send out all his spare anchors. He even went so 
 far as to get two hawsers fastened to a junk that 
 was grounded a little a-head of him. This made a 
 talk among the captains of the vessels, and some 
 came on board to ask the reason. Joe told them he 
 was getting ready for the typhoon ; but when they 
 inquired his reasons for believing there was to be a 
 typhoon at all, Joe looked solemn, shook his head, 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 151 
 
 ancTsaid he had reasons enough, but they were his 
 own. Had he been explicit, he would have been 
 laughed at, but the sight of an, old grey-headed man, 
 who had been at sea forty years, getting ready in 
 this serious manner, set the others at work too ; for 
 ships follow each other's movements, like sheep run 
 ning through a breach in the fence. Well, that 
 night the typhoon came in earnest, and it blew so 
 hard, that Joe Bunk said he could see the houses in 
 the moon, all the air having blown out of the atmo 
 sphere." 
 
 "But what has this to do with the tea-pot, Captain 
 Truck?" 
 
 " It is the life and soul of it. The captains in port 
 were so delighted with Joe's foreknowledge, that they 
 clubbed, and presented him with this pot as a testi 
 mony of their gratitude and esteem. He'd got to 
 be popular among them, Mr. Dodge, and that was 
 the way they proved it." 
 
 " But, pray, how did he know that the storm was 
 approaching?" asked Eve, whose curiosity had been 
 awakened in spite of herself. " It could not have 
 been that his ' foreknowledge' was supernatural." 
 
 "That no one can say, for Joe was presbyterian- 
 built, as we say, kettle-bottomed, and stowed well. 
 The truth was not discovered until ten years after 
 wards, when the old fellow got to be a regular crip 
 ple, what between rheumatis', old age, and steaming. 
 One day he had an attack of the first complaint, and 
 in one of its most severe paroxysms, when nature is 
 apt to wince, he roared three times, 'a typhoon ! a 
 typhoon ! a typhoon!' and the murder was out. Sure 
 enough, the next day we had a regular north-easter; 
 but old Joe got no sign of popularity that time. And 
 now, when you get to America, gentlemen and la 
 dies, you will be able to say you have heard the 
 story of Joe Bunk and his tea-pot." 
 
152 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 Thereupon Captain Truck took two or three 
 hearty whiffs of the cigar, turned his face upwards, 
 and permitted the srriQke to issue forth in a continued 
 stream until it was exhausted, but still keeping his 
 head raised in the inconvenient position it had taken. 
 The eye of the master, fastened in this manner on 
 something aloft, was certain to draw all other eyes 
 in the same direction, and in a few seconds all 
 around him were gazing in the same way, though 
 none but himself could tell why. 
 
 " Turn up the watch below, Mr. Leach," Captain 
 Truck at length called out, and Eve observed that he 
 threw away the cigar, although a fresh one ; a 
 proof, as she fancied, that he was preparing for duty. 
 
 The people were soon at their places, and an 
 effort was made to get the ship's head turned to the 
 southward. Although the frightful stillness of the 
 atmosphere rendered the manoeuvre difficult, it suc 
 ceeded in the end, by profiting by the passing and fit 
 ful currents, that resembled so many sighings of the 
 air. The men were then sent on the yards, to furl 
 all the canvass, with the exception of the three top 
 sails and the fore-course, most of it having been 
 merely hauled up to aw r ait the result. All those who 
 had ever been at sea before, saw in these prepara 
 tions proof that Captain Truck expected the change 
 would be sudden and severe: still, as he betrayed no 
 uneasiness, they hoped his measures were merely 
 those of prudence. Mr. Effingham could not refrain 
 from inquiring, however, if there existed any imme 
 diate motives for the preparations that were so ac 
 tively, though not hurriedly, making. 
 
 " This is no affair for the rheumatis'," returned the 
 facetious master, " for, look you here, my worthy sir, 
 and you, my dear young lady." This was a sort of 
 parental familiarity the honest Jack fancied he had a 
 right to take with all his unmarried female passen- 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 153 
 
 gers, in virtue of his office, and of his being a bache 
 lor drawing hard upon sixty ; " look you here, my 
 dear young lady, and you, too, ma'amselle, for you 
 can understand the clouds, I take it, if they are not 
 French clouds; do you not see the manner in which 
 those black-looking rascals are putting their heads 
 together? and are plotting something quite in their 
 own way, I'll warrant you." 
 
 " The clouds are huddling, and rolling over each 
 other, certainly, returned Eve, who had been struck 
 with the wild beauty of their evolutions, " and a no 
 ble, though fearful picture they present ; but I do not 
 understand the particular meaning of it, if there be 
 any hidden omen in their airy flights." 
 
 "No rheumatis' about you, young lady," said the 
 captain, jocularly ; " too young, and handsome, and 
 too modern, too, I dare say, for that old-fashioned 
 complaint. But on one category you may rely, and 
 that is, that nothing in nature conspires without an 
 object." 
 
 "But I do not think vapour whirling in a current 
 of air is a conspiracy," answered Eve, laughing, 
 " though it may be a category." 
 
 "Perhaps not, who knows, however; for it is 
 as easy to suppose that objects understand each 
 other, as that horses and dogs understand each 
 other. We know nothing about it, and, therefore, it 
 behooves us to say nothing. If mankind conversed 
 only of the things they understood, half the words 
 might be struck out of the dictionaries. But, as I 
 was remarking, those clouds, you can see, are get 
 ting together, and are making ready for a start, since 
 here they will not be able to stay much longer." 
 
 "And what will compel them to disappear?" 
 
 " Do me the favour to turn your eyes here, to the 
 nor'-west. You see an opening there that looks like 
 a crouching lion ; is it not. sot" 
 
154 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 " There is certainly a bright clear streak of sky 
 along the margin of the ocean, that has quite lately 
 made its appearance; does it prove that the wind 
 will blow from that quarter ?' 
 
 " Quite as much, my dear young lady, as when 
 you open your window it proves that you mean to 
 put your head out of it." 
 
 "An act a well-bred young woman very seldom 
 performs," observed Mademoiselle Viefville;-"and 
 never in a town." 
 
 "No? Well, in our town on the river, the women's 
 heads are half the time out of the windows. But I 
 donot pretend, ma'atnselle, to be expert in proprieties 
 of this sort, though I can venture to say that I am 
 somewhat of a judge of what the winds would be 
 about when they open their shutters. This opening to 
 the nor'-west, then, is a sure sign of something com 
 ing out of the window, well-bred or not." 
 
 " But," added Eve, " the clouds above us, and 
 those farther south, appear to be hurrying towards 
 your bright opening, captain, instead of from it." 
 
 "Quite in nature, gentlemen ; quite in nature, la 
 dies. When a man has fully made up his mind to 
 retreat, he blusters the most; and one step forward 
 often promises two backward. You often see the 
 stormy petterel sailing at a ship as if he meant to 
 come aboard, but he takes good care to put his helm 
 down before he is fairly in the rigging. So it is with 
 clouds and all other things in nature. Vattel says 
 you may make a show of fight when your necessi 
 ties require it, but that a neutral cannot fire a gun, 
 unless against pirates. Now, these clouds are put 
 ting the best face on the matter, but in a few minutes 
 you will see them wheeling as St. Paul did before 
 them." 
 
 "St. Paul, Captain Truck!" 
 
 " Yes, my dear young lady ; to the right about." 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 155 
 
 Eve frowned, for she disliked some of these nau 
 tical images, though it was impossible not to smile 
 in secret at the queer associations that so often led 
 the well-meaning master's discursive discourse. His 
 mind was a strange jumble of an early religious edu 
 cation, religious as to externals and professions, at 
 least, with subsequent loose observation and much 
 worldly experience, and he drew on his stock of in 
 formation, according to his own account of the mat 
 ter, " as Saunders, the steward, cut the butter from 
 the firkins, or as it came first." 
 
 His prediction concerning the clouds proved to 
 be true, for half an hour did not pass before they 
 were seen " scampering out of the way of the nor'- 
 wester," to use the captain's figure, " like sheep giv 
 ing play to the dogs." The horizon brightened with 
 a rapidity almost supernatural, and, in a surprisingly 
 short space of time, the whole of that frowning vault 
 that had been shadowed by murky and menacing 
 vapour, sporting its gambols in ominous wildncss, 
 was cleared of everything like a cloud, with the 
 exception of a few white, rich, fleecy piles, that 
 \vere grouped in the north, like a battery discharg 
 ing its artillery on some devoted field. 
 
 The ship betrayed the arrival of the wind by a 
 cracking of the spars, as they settled into their 
 places, and then the huge hull began to push aside 
 the waters, and to come under control. The first 
 shock was far from severe, though, as the captain 
 determined to bring his vessel up as near his course 
 as the direction of the breeze would permit, he soon 
 found he had as much canvass spread as she could 
 bear. Twenty minutes brought him to a single reef, 
 and half an hour to a second. 
 
 By this time attention was drawn to the Foam. 
 The old superiority of that cruiser was now appar 
 ent again, and calculations were made concerning 
 
150 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 the possibility of avoiding her, if they continued to 
 stand on much longer on the present course. The 
 captain had hoped the Montauk would have the ad 
 vantage from her greater bulk, when the two ves 
 sels should be brought down to close-reefed topsails, 
 as he foresaw would be the case ; but he was soon 
 compelled to abandon even that hope. Further to 
 the southward he was resolved he would not go, as 
 it would be leading him too far astray, and, at last, 
 he came to the determination to stand towards the 
 islands, which were as near as might be in his track, 
 and to anchor in a neutral road-stead, if too hard 
 pre r -xl. 
 
 " He cannot get up with us before midnight, 
 Leach/' he concluded the conference held with the 
 mate by saying; " and by that time the gale will be 
 at its height, if we are to have a gale, and then the 
 gentlemen will not be desirous of lowering his boats. 
 Jn the mean time, we shall be driving in towards the 
 Azores, and it will be nothing out of the course of 
 nature, should I find an occasion to play him a trick. 
 As for offering up the Montauk a sacrifice on the 
 altar of tobacco, as old Deacon Hourglass used to 
 say in his prayers, it is a category to be averted by 
 any catastrophe short of condemnation." 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 I, tha! shower dewy light 
 
 Through slumbering leaves, bring- storms! the tempest birth 
 Of memory, thought, remorse. Be holy, Earth! 
 I am the solemn Night! 
 
 Mas. HEMAXS. 
 
 IN this instance, it is not our task to record any of 
 the phenomena of the ocean, but a regular, though 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 157 
 
 fierce gale of wind. One of the first signs of its se 
 verity was the disappearance of the passengers from 
 the deck, one shutting himself in his room after ano 
 ther, until none remained visible but John Effingham 
 and Paul Blunt. Both these gentlemen, as it appear 
 ed, had made so many passages, and had got to be 
 so familiar with ships, that sea-sickness and alarms 
 were equally impotent as respects their constitutions 
 and temperaments. 
 
 The poor steerage-passengers were no exception, 
 but they stole for refuge into their dens, heartily re 
 pentant, for the time being, at having braved the 
 dangers and discomforts of the sea. The gentle 
 wife of Davis would now willingly have returned to 
 meet the resentment of her uncle ; and as for the 
 bridegroom himself, as Mr. Leach, who passed 
 through this scene of abominations to see that all 
 was right, described him, " Mr. Grab w r ould not 
 wring him for a dish-cloth, if he could see him in his 
 present pickle." 
 
 Captain Truck chuckled a good deal at this ac 
 count, for he had much the same sympathy for or 
 dinary cases of sea-sickness, as a kitten feels in the 
 agony of the first mouse it has caught, and which it 
 is its sovereign pleasure to play with, instead of 
 eating. 
 
 "It serves him right, Mr. Leach, for getting mar 
 ried ; and mind you don't fall into the same abuse of 
 your opportunities," he said, with an air of self-satis 
 faction, white comparing three or four cigars in the 
 palm of hif' hand, doubtful which of the fragrant 
 plump rolls to put into his mouth. " Getting married, 
 Mr. Blunt, commonly makes a man a fit subject for 
 nausea, and nothing is easier than to set the sto 
 mach-pump in motion in one of your bridegrooms ; 
 is not this true as the gospel, Mr. John Effingham ?" 
 
 Mr. John Effingham made no reply, but the 
 young man who at the moment was admiring his 
 
 VOL. i. 14 
 
158 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 fine form, and the noble outline of his features, was 
 singularly struck with the bitterness, not to say an 
 guish, of the smile with which he bowed a cold as 
 sent. All this was lost on Captain Truck, who pro 
 ceeded con amore. 
 
 " One of the first things that I ask concerning my 
 passengers is, is he married ? when the answer is 
 ' no,' I set him down as a good companion in a gale 
 like this, or as one who can smoke, or crack a joke 
 when a topsail is flying out of a bolt-rope, a com 
 panion for a category. Now, if either of you gen 
 tlemen had Q wife, she would have you under hatches 
 to-day, lest you should slip through a scupperhole, 
 or be washed overboard with the spray, or have 
 
 four eye-brows blown away in such a gale, and then 
 should lose the honour of your company. Comfort 
 is too precious to be thrown away in matrimony. A 
 man may gain foreknowledge by a wife, but he loses 
 free agency. As for you, Mr. John Effingham, you 
 must have coiled away about half a century of life, 
 and there is not much to fear on your account; but 
 Mr. Blunt is still young enough to be in danger of a 
 mishap. I wish Neptune would come aboard of us, 
 hereaway, and swear you to be true and constant 
 to yourself, young gentleman." 
 
 Paul laughed, coloured slightly, and then rallying, 
 he replied in the same voice. 
 
 " At the risk of losing your good opinion, captain; 
 and even in the face of this gale, I shall avow my 
 self an advocate of matrimony." 
 
 " If you will answer me one question, my dear 
 sir, I will tell you whether the case is or is not hope 
 less." 
 
 " In order to assent to this, you will of course see 
 the necessity of letting me know* what the question 
 is." 
 
 " Have you made up your mind who the young 
 woman shall be ? If that point is settled, I can only 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 159 
 
 recommend to you some of Joe Bunk's souchong, 
 and advise you to submit, for there is no resisting 
 one's fate. The reason your Turks yield so easily 
 to predestination and fate, is the number of their 
 wives. Many ci book is written to show the cause 
 of their submitting their necks so easily to the sword 
 and the bow-string. I've been in Turkey, gentle 
 men, and know something of their ways. The rea 
 son of their submitting so quietly to be beheaded is, 
 that they are always ready to hang themselves. How 
 is the fact, sir? have you settled upon the young lady 
 in your own mind or not ?" 
 
 Although there was nothing in all this but the per 
 mitted trifling of boon companions on ship-board, 
 Paul Blunt received it with an awkwardness one 
 would hardly have expected in a young man of his 
 knowledge of the world. He reddened, laughed, 
 made an effort to throw the captain to a greater dis 
 tance by reserve, and in the end fairly gave up the 
 matter by walking to another part of the deck. 
 Luckily, the attention of the honest master was 
 drawn to the ship, at that instant, and Paul flattered 
 himself he was unperceived ; but the shadow of a 
 figure at his elbow startled him, and turning quickly, 
 he found Mr. John Effingham at his side. 
 
 " Her mother was an angel," said the latter husk 
 ily. " I too love her ; but it is as a father." 
 * " Sir ! Mr. Effingham ! These are sudden and 
 unexpected remarks, and such as I am not prepared 
 for." 
 
 " Do you think one as jealous of that fair crea 
 ture as 1, could have overlooked your passion? She 
 is loved by both of you, and she merits the warmest 
 affection of a thousand. Persevere, for while I have 
 no voice, and, I fear, little influence on her decision, 
 some strange sympathy causes me to wish you suc 
 cess. My own man has told me that you have met 
 before, and with her father's knowledge, and this is 
 
 
160 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 all I ask, for my kinsman is discreet. He probably 
 knows you, though I do not." 
 
 The face of Paul glowed like fire, arid he almost 
 gasped for breath. Pitying his distress, Mr. Effing- 
 ham smiled kindly, and was about to quit him, when 
 he felt his hand convulsively grasped by those of the 
 young man. 
 
 "Do riot yet quit me, Mr. Effingham, I entreat 
 you," he said rapidly ; " it is so unusual for me to 
 hear words of confidence, or even of kindness, that 
 they are most precious to me ! I have permitted 
 myself to be disturbed by the random remarks of 
 that well-meaning, but unreflecting man ; but in a 
 moment I shall be more composed more manly 
 less unworthy of your attention and pity." 
 
 " Pity is a word I should never have thought of 
 applying to the person, character, attainments, or, as 
 I hoped, fortunes of Mr. Blunt ; and I sincerely trust 
 that you will acquit me of impertinence. I have felt 
 an interest in you, young man, that I have long ceas 
 ed to feel in most of my species, and I trust this 
 will be some apology for the liberty I have taken. 
 Perhaps the suspicion that you were anxious to stand 
 well in the good opinion of my little cousin was at 
 the bottom of it all." 
 
 " Indeed you have not misconceived my anxiety, 
 sir ; for who is there that could be indifferent to the 
 good opinion of one so simple and yet so cultivated; 
 with a mind in which nature and knowledge seem to 
 struggle for the possession. One, Mr. Effingham, so 
 little like the cold sophistication and heartlessness of 
 Europe, on the one hand, and the unformed girlish- 
 ness of America, on the other ; one, in short, so 
 every way what the fondest father or the most sen 
 sitive brother could wish." 
 
 John Effingham smiled, for to smile at any weak 
 ness was with him a habit ; but his eye glistened. 
 After a moment of doubt, he turned to his young 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 161 
 
 companion, and with a delicacy of expression and 
 a dignity of manner that none could excel him in, 
 when he chose, he put a question that for several 
 days had been uppermost in his thoughts, though no 
 fitting occasion had ever before offered, on which he 
 thought he might venture. 
 
 " This frank confidence emboldens me, one who 
 ought to be ashamed to boast of his greater expe 
 rience, when every day shows him how little profit 
 it has been turned, to presume to render our ac 
 quaintance less formal, by alluding to interests more 
 personal than strangers have a right to touch on. 
 You speak of the two parts of the world just men 
 tioned, in a way to show me you are equally ac 
 quainted with both." 
 
 " I have often crossed the ocean, and, for so young 
 a man, have seen a full share of their societies. Per 
 haps it increases my interest in your lovely kins 
 woman, that, like myself, she properly belongs to 
 neither." 
 
 ** Be cautious how you whisper that in her ear, rny 
 youthful friend ; for Eve Effingham fancies herself 
 as much American in character as in birth. Single- 
 minded and totally without management, devoted 
 to her duties, religious without cant, a warm friend 
 of liberal institutions, without the slightest approach 
 to the impracticable, and in heart and soul a woman ; 
 and you will find it hard to persuade her, that with 
 all her practice in the world, and all her extensive 
 attainments, she is more than a humble copy of her 
 own great beau ideal" 
 
 Paul smiled, and his eyes met those of John Ef 
 fingham the expression of both satisfied the parties 
 that they thought alike in more things than in their 
 common admiration of the subject of their dis 
 course. 
 
 " I feel I have not been as explicit as I ought to be 
 with you, Mr. Effingham," the young man resumed, 
 
 ' 
 

 162 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 after a pause ; ** but on a more fitting occasion, I 
 shall presume on your kindness to be less reserved. 
 My lot has thrown me on the world, almost without 
 friends, quite without relatives, so far as intercourse 
 with them is concerned ; arid I have known little of 
 the language or the acts of the affections." 
 
 John Effirighatn pressed his hand, and from that 
 lime he cautiously abstained from any allusion to his 
 personal concerns ; for a suspicion crossed his mind 
 that the subject was painful to the young man. He 
 knew that thousands of well-educated and frequently 
 of affluent people, of both sexes, were to be found in 
 Europe, to whom, from the circumstance of having 
 been born out of wedlock, through divorces, or 
 other family misfortunes, their private histories were 
 painful, and he at once inferred that some such event, 
 quite probably the first, lay at the bottom of Paul 
 Blunt's peculiar situation. Notwithstanding his warm 
 attachment to Eve, he had too much confidence in 
 her own as well as in her father's judgment, to sup 
 pose an acquaintance of any intimacy would be 
 lightly permitted ; and as to the mere prejudices con 
 nected with such subjects, he was quite free from 
 them. Perhaps his masculine independence of cha 
 racter caused him, on all such points, to lean to the 
 side of the ultra in liberality. 
 
 In this short dialogue, with the exception of the 
 slight though unequivocal allusion of John Effing- 
 ham, both had avoided any farther allusions to Mr. 
 Sharp, or to his supposed attachment to Eve. Both 
 were confident of its existence, and this perhaps was 
 one reason why neither felt any necessity to advert 
 to it; for it was a delicate subject, and one, under 
 the circumstances, that they would mutually wish to 
 forget in their cooler moments. The conversation 
 then took a more general character, and for several 
 hours that day, while the rest of the passengers were 
 kept below by the state of the weather, these two 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 163 
 
 were together, laying, what perhaps it was now too 
 late to term, the foundation of a generous and sin 
 cere friendship. Hitherto Paul had regarded John 
 Erfingham with distrust and awe ; but he found him 
 a man so different from what report and his own 
 fancy had pictured, that the reaction in his feelings 
 served to heighten them, and to aid in increasing his 
 respect. On the other hand, the young man exhibit 
 ed so much modest good sense, a fund of informa 
 tion so much beyond his years, such integrity and 
 justice of sentiment, that when they separated for 
 the night, the old bachelor was full of regret that na 
 ture had not made him the parent of such a son. 
 
 All this time the business of the ship had gone on. 
 The wind increased steadily, until, as the sun went 
 down, Captain Truck announced it, in the cabin, to 
 be a " regular-built gale of wjnd." Sail after sail 
 had been reduced or furled, until the Montauk was 
 lying-to under her fore-sail, a close-reefed main-top 
 sail, a fore-top-mast stay-sail, and a mizen stay-sail. 
 Doubts were even entertained whether the second of 
 these sails would not have to be handed soon, and the 
 fore-sail itself reefed. 
 
 The ship's head was to the south-southwest, her 
 drift considerable, and her way of course barely suf 
 ficient to cause her to feel her helm. The Foam had 
 gained on her several miles during the time sail could 
 be carried ; but she, also, had been obliged to heave- 
 to, at the same increase of the sea and wind as that 
 which had forced Mr. Truck to lash his wheel down. 
 This state of things made a considerable change in 
 the relative positions of the two vessels again. The 
 next morning showing the sloop-of-war hull down, 
 and well on the weather-beam of the packet. Her 
 sharper mould and more weatherly qualities had 
 done her this service, as became a ship intended for 
 war and the chase. 
 
 At all this, however, Captain Truck laughed. He 
 
164 HOMEWARD ROUND. 
 
 could riot be boarded in such weather, and it was 
 matter of indifference where his pursuer might be, 
 so long as he had time to escape him, when the gale 
 ceased. On the whole, he was rather glad than oth 
 erwise of the present state of things, for it offered a. 
 chance to slip away to leeward as soon as the wea 
 ther would permit, if, indeed, his tormentor did not 
 altogether disappear in the northern board, or to 
 windward. 
 
 The hopes and fears of the worthy master, how 
 ever, were poured principally into the ears of his 
 two mates ; for few of the passengers were visible 
 until the afternoon of the second day of the gale ; 
 then, indeed, a general relief to their physical suf 
 fering occurred, though it was accompanied by ap 
 prehensions that scarcely permitted the change to be 
 enjoyed. About noon, on that day, the wind came 
 with such power, that the seas poured down against 
 the bows of the ship with a violence so tremendous, 
 that it got to be questionable whether she could re 
 main with safety in her present condition any 
 longer. Several times in the course of the morning, 
 the waves had forced her bows off, and before the 
 ship could recover her position, the succeeding billow 
 would break against her broadside, and throw a flood 
 of water on her decks. This is a danger peculiar to 
 lying-to in a gale ; for if the vessel get into the trough 
 of the sea, and is met in that situation by a wave of 
 unusual magnitude, she runs the double risk of being 
 thrown on her beam-ends, and of having her decks 
 cleared of everything, by the cataract of water that 
 washes athwart them. Landsmen entertain little no 
 tion of the power of the waters, when driven before 
 a tempest, and are often surprised, in reading of na 
 val catastrophes, at the description of the injuries 
 done. But experience shows that boats, hurricane- 
 houses, guns, anchors of enormous weight, bulwarks 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 165 
 
 and planks, are even swept off into the ocean, in this 
 manner, or are ripped up from their fastenings. 
 
 The process of lying-to has a double advantage, 
 so long as it can be maintained, since it offers the 
 strongest portion of the vessel to the shock of the 
 seas, and has the merit of keeping it as near as pos 
 sible to the desired direction. But it is a middle 
 course, being often adopted as an expedient of safety 
 when a ship cannot scud ; and then, again, it is 
 abandoned for scudding when the gale is so intense 
 ly severe that it becomes in itself dangerous. In no 
 thing are the high qualities of ships so thoroughly 
 tried as in their manner of behaving, as it is termed, 
 in these moments of difficulty ; nor is the seamanship 
 of the accomplished officer so triumphantly establish 
 ed in any other part of his professional knowledge, as 
 when he has had an opportunity of showing that he 
 knows how to dispose of the vast weight his vessel is 
 to carry so as to enable her mould to exhibit its per 
 fection, and on occasion to turn both to the best ac 
 count. 
 
 Nothing will seem easier to a landsman than for a 
 vessel to run before the wind, let the force of the 
 gale be what it may. But his ignorance overlooks 
 most of the difficulties, nor shall we anticipate their 
 dangers, but let them take their places in the regular 
 thread of the narrative. 
 
 Long before noon, or the hour mentioned, Captain 
 Truck foresaw that, in consequence of the seas that 
 were constantly coming on board of her, he should 
 be compelled to put his ship before the wind. He 
 delayed the manoeuvre to the last moment, however, 
 for what he deemed to be sufficient reasons. The 
 longer he kept the ship lying-to, the less he deviated 
 from his proper course to New York, and the greater 
 was the probability of his escaping, stealthily and 
 without observation from the Foam, sincelhe latter, 
 by maintaining her position better, allowed the Mon- 
 
166 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 tauk to drift gradually to leeward, and, of course, to 
 a greater distance. 
 
 But the crisis would no longer admit of delay. All 
 hands were called ; the main-topsail was hauled up, 
 not without much difficulty, and then Captain Truck 
 reluctantly gave the order to haul down the mizen- 
 staysail, to put the helm hard up, and to help the ship 
 round with the yards. This is at all times a critical 
 change, as has just been mentioned, for the vessel is 
 exposed to the ravages of any sea, larger than com 
 mon, that may happen to strike her as she lies, nearly 
 motionless, with her broadside exposed to its force. 
 To accomplish it, therefore, Captain Truck went up 
 a few ratlines in the fore-rigging, (he was too nice a 
 calculator to offer even a surface as small as his own 
 body to the wind, in the after shrouds,) whence he 
 looked out to windward for a lull, and a moment 
 when the ocean had fewer billows than common of 
 the larger and more dangerous kind. At the desired 
 instant he signed with his hand, and the wheel was 
 shifted from the hard-down to hard-up. 
 
 This is always a breathless moment in a ship, for 
 as none can foresee the result, it resembles the en 
 trance of a hostile battery. A dozen men may be 
 swept away in an instant, or the ship herself hove over 
 on her side. John Effingham and Paul, who of all the 
 passengers were alone on deck, understood the haz 
 ards, and they watched the slightest change with the 
 interest of men who had so much at stake. At first, 
 the movement of the ship was sluggish, and such as 
 ill-suited the eagerness of the crew. Then her pitch 
 ing ceased, and she settled into the enormous trough 
 bodily, or the whole fabric sunk, as it were, never to 
 rise again. So low did she fall, that the fore-sail 
 gave a tremendous flap; one that shook the hull and 
 spars from stem to stern. As she rose on the next 
 surge, happily its foaming crest slid beneath her, and 
 the tall masts rolled heavily to windward. Recover- 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 167 
 
 ing her equilibrium, the ship started through the 
 brine, and as the succeeding roller came on, she was 
 urging a-head fast. Still, the sea struck her abeam, 
 forcing her bodily to leeward, and heaving the lower 
 yard-arms into the ocean. Tons of water fell on 
 her decks, with the dull sound of the clod on the cof 
 fin. At this grand moment, old Jack Truck, who 
 was standing in the rigging, dripping with the spray, 
 that had washed over him, with a naked head, and 
 his grey hair glistening, shouted like a Stentor, " Haul 
 in your fore-braces, boys ! away with the yard, like 
 a fiddlestick !" Every nerve was strained; the un 
 willing yards, pressed upon by an almost irresistible 
 column of air, yielded slowly, and as the sail met the 
 gale more perpendicularly, or at right angles to its 
 surface, it dragged the vast hull through the sea with 
 a power equal to that of a steam-engine. Ere an 
 other sea could follow, the Montauk was glancing 
 through the ocean at a furious rate, and though 
 offering her quarter to the billows, their force was 
 now so much diminished by her own velocity, as to 
 deprive them of their principal danger. 
 
 The motion of the ship immediately became easy, 
 though her situation was still far from being without 
 risk. No longer compelled to buffet the waves, but 
 sliding along in their company, the motion ceased to 
 disturb the systems of the passengers, and ten min 
 utes had not elapsed before most of them were again 
 on deck, seeking the relief of the open air. Among 
 the others was Eve, leaning on the arm of her father. 
 
 It was a terrific scene, though one might now 
 contemplate it without personal inconvenience. The 
 gentlemen gathered around the beautiful and appal 
 led spectatress of this grand sight, anxious to know 
 the effect it might produce on one of her delicate 
 frame and habits. She expressed herself as awed, 
 but not alarmed ; for the habits of dependance usual 
 ly leave females less affected by fear, in such cases, 
 
168 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 than those who, by their sex, are supposed to be re 
 sponsible. 
 
 " Mademoiselle Viefville has promised to follow 
 me," she said, " and as I have a national claim to be 
 a sailor, you are not to expect hysterics or even ec 
 stasies from me ; but reserve yourselves, gentlemen, 
 for the Parisienne." 
 
 The Parisienne, sure enough, soon came out of 
 the hurricane-house, with elevated hands, and eyes 
 eloquent of admiration, wonder and fear. Her first 
 exclamations were those of terror, and then turning 
 a wistful look on Eve, she burst into tears. " Ah, 
 ceci est decisif!" she exclaimed. " When we part 
 we shall be separated for life." 
 
 " Then we will not part at all, my dear made 
 moiselle; you have only to remain in America, to 
 escape all future inconveniences of the ocean. But 
 forget the danger, and admire the sublimity of this 
 terrific panorama." 
 
 Well might Eve thus term the scene. The hazards 
 now to be avoided were those of the ship's broach- 
 ing-to, and of being pooped. Nothing may seem 
 easier, as has been said, than to " sail before the 
 wind," the words having passed into a proverb ; but 
 there are times when even a favouring gale becomes 
 prolific of dangers, that we shall now briefly explain. 
 
 The velocity of the water, urged as it is before a 
 tempest, is often as great as that of the ship, and at 
 such moments the rudder is useless, its whole power 
 being derived from its action as a moving body 
 against the element in comparative repose. When 
 ship - and water move together, at an equal rate, in 
 the same direction, of course this power of the helm 
 is neutralized, and then the hull is driven much at the 
 mercy of the winds and waves. Nor is this all ; the 
 rapidity of the billows often exceeds that of a ship, 
 and then the action of the rudder becomes momen 
 tarily reversed, producing an effect exactly opposite 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 109 
 
 io that which is desired. It is true, this last diffi 
 culty is never of more than a few moments' continu 
 ance, else indeed would the condition of the mariner 
 be hopeless ; but it is of constant occurrence, and so 
 irregular as to defy calculations and defeat caution. 
 Tn the present instance, the Montauk would seem to 
 fly through the water, so swift was her progress ; 
 and then, as a furious surge overtook her in the 
 chase, she settled heavily into the element, like a 
 wounded animal, that, despairing of escape, sinks 
 helplessly in the grass, resigned to fate. At such 
 times the crests of the waves swept past her, like 
 vapour in the atmosphere* and one unpractised 
 would be apt to think the ship stationary, though in 
 truth whirling along in company with a frightful mo 
 mentum. 
 
 It is scarcely 'necessary to say, that the process of 
 scudding requires the nicest attention to the helm, in 
 order that the hull may be brought speedily back to 
 the right direction, when thrown aside by the power 
 of the billows ; for, besides losing her way in the 
 caldron of water an imminent danger of itself, if 
 left exposed to the attack of the succeeding waves 
 her decks, at least, would be swept, even should she 
 escape a still more serious calamity. 
 
 Pooping is a hazard of another nature, and is also 
 peculiar to the process of scudding. It merely means 
 the ship's being overtaken by the waters while run 
 ning from them, when the crest of a sea, broken by 
 the resistance, is thrown inboard, over the taffrail or 
 quarter. The term is derived from the name of that par 
 ticular portion of the ship. In order to avoid this risk, 
 sail is carried on the vessel as long as possible, it being 
 deemed erne of the greatest securities of scudding, to 
 force the hull through the water at the greatest at 
 tainable rate. In consequence of these complicated 
 risks, ships that sail the fastest and steer the easiest, 
 scud the best. There is, however, a species of velo- 
 
 VOL. i. 15 
 
170 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 city that becomes a source of new' danger of itself: 
 thus, exceedingly sharp vessels have been known to 
 force themselves so far into the watery mounds in 
 their front, and to receive so much of the element on 
 deck as never to rise again. This is a fate to which 
 those who attempt to sail the American clipper, 
 without understanding its properties, are peculiarly 
 liable. On account of this risk, however, there was 
 now no cause of apprehension, the full-bowed, kettle- 
 bottomed Montauk being exempt from the danger ; 
 though Captain Truck intimated his doubts whether 
 the corvette would like to brave the course he had 
 himself adopted. 
 
 In this opinion, the fact would seem to sustain the 
 master of the packet ; for when the night shut in, the 
 spars of the Foam were faintly discernible, drawn 
 like spiders' webs on the bright streak of the evening 
 sky. In a few more minutes, even this tracery, 
 which resembled that of a magic-lantern, vanished 
 from the eyes of those aloft; for it had not been 
 seen by any on deck for more than an hour. 
 
 The magnificent horrors of the scene increased 
 with the darkness. Eve* and her companions stood 
 supported by the hurricane-house, watching it for 
 hours, the supernatural-looking light, emitted by the 
 foaming sea, rendering the spectacle one of attrac 
 tive terror. Even the consciousness of the hazards 
 heightened the pleasure ; for there was a solemn and 
 grand enjoyment mingled with it all, and the first 
 watch had been set an hour before the party had 
 resolution enough to tear themselves from the sub 
 lime sight of a raging sea. 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND, 171 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Touch, Wast ever in court, shepherd ? 
 
 Cor. No truly. 
 
 Touch. Then thou art damn'd. 
 
 Cor. Nay, I hope 
 
 Touch. Truly, thou art damn'd, like an ill-roasted egg all on 
 one side. 
 
 Jls you Like, It. 
 
 No one thought of seeking his berth when all the 
 passengers were below. Some conversed in broken, 
 half intelligible dialogues, a few tried unavailingly to 
 read, and more sat looking at each other in silent 
 misgivings, as the gale howled through the cordage 
 and spars, or among the angles and bulwarks of the 
 ship. Eve was seated on a sofa of her own apart 
 ment, leaning on the breast of her father, gazing 
 silently through the open doors into the forward 
 cabin ; for all idea of retiring within oneself, unless 
 it might be to secret prayer, was banished from the 
 mind. Even Mr. Dodge had forgotten the gnaw- 
 ings of envy, his philanthropical and exclusive de 
 mocracy, and, what was perhaps more convincing 
 still of his passing views of this sublunary world, his 
 profound deference for rank, as betrayed in his 
 strong desire to cultivate an intimacy with Sir 
 George Templemore. As for the baronet himself, 
 he sat by the cabin-table with his face buried in his 
 hands, and once he had been heard to express a re 
 gret that he had ever embarked. 
 
 Saunders broke the moody stillness of this charac 
 teristic party, with preparations for a supper. He 
 took but one end of the table for his cloth, and a sin 
 gle cover showed that Captain Truck was about to 
 dine, a thing he had not yet done that day. The 
 
172 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 attentive steward had an eye to his commander's 
 tastes ; for it is not often one sees a better garnished 
 board than was spread on this occasion, so far at 
 least as quantity was concerned. Besides the usual 
 solids of ham, corned-beef, and roasted shoat, there 
 were carcasses of ducks, pickled oysters, a delicacy 
 almost peculiar to America, and all the minor con 
 diments of olives, anchovies, dates, figs, almonds, 
 raisins, cold potatoes arid puddings, displayed in a 
 single course, and arranged on the table solely with 
 regard to the reach of Captain Truck's arm. Al 
 though Saunders was not quite without taste, he too 
 well knew the propensities of his superior to neglect 
 any of these important essentials, and great care was 
 had, in particular, so to dispose of everything as to 
 render the whole so many radii diverging from a 
 common centre, which centre was the stationary 
 arm-chair that the master of the packet loved to fill 
 in his hours of ease. 
 
 " You will make many voyages, Mr. Toast," the 
 steward affectedly gave his subordinate, or as he 
 was sometimes facetiously called, the steward's mate, 
 reason to understand, when they had retired to the 
 pantry to await the captain's appearance, " before 
 you accumulate all the niceties of a gentleman's din 
 ner. Every plat" (Saunders had been in the Havre 
 line, where he had caught a few words of this na 
 ture,) " every plat should be within reach of the con 
 vive's arm, and particularly if it happen to be Cap 
 tain Truck, who has a great awersion to delays at 
 his diet. As for the entremets, they may be scat 
 tered miscellaneously with the salt and the mustard, 
 so that they can come with facility in their proper 
 places." 
 
 " I don't know what an entremet is," returned the 
 subordinate, " and I exceedingly desire, sir, to re 
 ceive my orders in such English as a gentleman can 
 diwine." 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 173 
 
 "An entremet, Mr. Toast, is a mouthful thrown in 
 promiscuously between the reliefs of the solids. Now, 
 suppose a gentleman begins on pig ; when he has 
 eaten enough of this, he likes a little brandy and 
 water, or a glass of porter, before he cuts into the 
 beef; and while I'm mixing the first, or starting the 
 cork, he refreshes himself with an entremet, such as 
 a wing of a duck, or perhaps a plate of pickled oys 
 ters. You must know that -there is great odds in 
 passengers ; one set eating and jollifying, from the 
 hour we sail till the hour we get in, while another 
 takes the ocean as it might be sentimentally." 
 
 " Sentimentally, sir ! I s'pose those be they as uses 
 the basins uncommon?" 
 
 " That depends on the weather. I've known a 
 party not eat as much as would set one handsome 
 table in a week, and then, when they conwalesced, it 
 was intimidating how they dewoured. It makes a 
 great difference, too, whether the passengers acqui 
 esce well together or not, for agreeable feelings give 
 a fine appetite. Lovers make cheap passengers al 
 ways." 
 
 " That is extr'or'nary, for I thought such as they 
 was always hard to please, with every thing but one 
 another." 
 
 " You never were more mistaken. I've seen a 
 lover who couldn't tell a sweet potato from an onion, 
 or a canvas-back from an old wife. But of all mor 
 tals in the way of passengers, the bag-man or go-be 
 tween is my greatest animosity. These fellows will 
 sit up all night, if the captain consents, and lie abed 
 next day, and do nothing but drink in their berths. 
 Now, this time w r e have a compilable set, and on the 
 whole, it is quite a condescension and pleasure to 
 wait on them." 
 
 " Well, I think, Mr. Saunders, they isn't alike 'as 
 much as they might be nother." 
 
 " Not more so than wenison and pig. Perfectly 
 15* 
 
174 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 correct, sir ; for this cabin is a lobskous as regards 
 deportment and character. 1 set all the Effinghams 
 down as tip-tops, or, A No. 1, as Mr. Leach calls the 
 ship; and then Mr. Sharp and Mr. Blunt are quite 
 the gentlemen. Nothing is easier, Mr. Toast, than 
 to tell a gentleman ; and as you have set up a new 
 profession, in which I hope, for the credit of the 
 colour, you will be prosperous, it is well worth 
 your while to know how this is done, especially 
 as you need never expect much from a passenger, 
 that is not a true gentleman, but trouble. There is 
 Mr. John Effingham, in particular. His man says 
 he never anticipates change, and if a coat confines 
 his arm, he repudiates it on the spot." 
 
 " Well, it must be a satisfaction to serve such a 
 companion. I think Mr. Dodge, sir, quite a feller." 
 " Your taste, Toast, is getting to be observable, 
 and by cultivating it, you will soon be remark 
 able for a knowledge of mankind. Mr. Dodge, as 
 you werry justly insinuate, is not worry refined, or par 
 ticularly well suited to figure in genteel society." 
 
 " And yet he seems attached to it, Mr. Saunders, 
 for he has purposed to establish five or six societies 
 since we sailed." 
 
 " Werry true, sir ; but then every society is not 
 genteel. When we get back to New York, Toast, I 
 must see and get you into a better set than the one 
 you occupied when we sailed. You will not do yet 
 for our circle, which is altogether conclusive ; but 
 you might be elevated. Mr. Dodge has been elec 
 tioneering with me, to see if we cannot inwent a so 
 ciety among the steerage-passengers for the absti 
 nence of liquors, and another for the perpetration of 
 the morals and religious principles of our forefathers. 
 As for the first, Toast, I told him it was sufficiently 
 indurable to be confined in a hole like the steerage, 
 without being percluded from the consolation of a 
 little drink; and as for the last, it appeared to me 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 175 
 
 that such a preposition inwolvved an attack on liberty 
 of conscience." 
 
 " There you give'd him, sir, quite as good as he 
 sent," returned the steward's mate, chuckling, or 
 perhaps sniggering would be a word better suited to 
 his habits of cachinnation, " and 1 should have been 
 glad to witness his confusion. It seems to me, Mr, 
 Saunders, that Mr. Dodge loves to get up his socie 
 ties in support of liberty and religion, that he may 
 predominate over both by his own inwentions." 
 
 SaundenOlaid his long yellow finger on the broad 
 flat nose of his mate, with an air of approbation, as 
 he replied, 
 
 " Toast, you have hit his character as pat as I 
 touch your Roman. He is a man fit to make prose 
 lytes among the wulgar and Irish," the Hibernian 
 peasant and the American negro are sworn enemies, 
 " but quite unfit for anything respectable or decent. 
 Were it not for Sir George, I would scarcely de 
 scend to clean his state-room." 
 
 " What is your sentiments, Mr. Saunders, respect 
 ing Sir George ?" 
 
 "Why, Sir George is a titled gentleman, and of 
 course is not to be strictured too freely. He has 
 complimented me already with a sovereign, and ap 
 prised me of his intention to be more particular when 
 we get in." 
 
 " 1 feel astonished such a gentleman should neglect 
 to insure a state-room to his own convenience." 
 
 " Sir George has elucidated all that in a conver 
 sation we had in his room, soon after our acquaint 
 ance commenced. He is going to Canada on pub 
 lic business, and sailed at an hour's interval. He 
 was too late for a single room, and his own man is 
 to follow with most of his effects by the next ship. 
 Oh! Sir George may be safely put down as respect 
 able and liberalized, though thrown into disparage 
 ment perhaps by forty circumstances." 
 
176 HOMEWARD BOUXD, 
 
 Mr. Saunders, who had run his vocabulary hard 
 in this conversation, meant to say " fortuitous;" and 
 Toast thought that so many circumstances might 
 well reduce a better man to a dilemma. After a 
 moment of thought, or what in his orbicular shining 
 features he fancied passed for thought, he said, 
 
 " I seem to diwine, Mr. Saunders, that the Efling- 
 hams do not much intimate Sir George." 
 
 Saunders looked out of the pantry-door to recon 
 noitre, and finding the same sober quiet reigning as 
 that already described, he opened a drawer, and 
 drew forth a London newspaper. 
 
 " To treat you with the confidence of a gentleman 
 in a situation as respectable and responsible as the 
 one you occupy, Mr. Toast," he said, " a little ewent 
 has transpired in my presence yesterday, that I 
 thought sufficiently particular to be designated by 
 retaining this paper. Mr. Sharp and Sir George 
 happened to be in the cabin together, alone, and the 
 first, as it suggested to me, Toast, was desirous of 
 removing some of the haughter of the last, for you 
 may have observed that there has been no conver 
 sation between any of the Effinghams, or Mr. Blunt, 
 or Mr. Sharp, and the baronet ; and so to break the 
 ice of his haughter, as it might be, Sir George says, 
 'Really, Mr. Sharp, the papers have got to be so 
 personally particular, that one cannot run into the 
 country for a mouthful of fresh air that they don't 
 record it. Now, I thought not a soul knew of my 
 departure for America, and yet here you see they 
 have mentioned it, w r ith more particulars than are 
 agreeable.' On concluding, Sir George gave Mi- 
 Sharp this paper, and indicated this here paragraph. 
 Mr. Sharp perused it, laid down the paper, and re 
 torted coldly, ' It is indeed quite surprising, sir; but 
 impudence is a general fault of the age.' And then 
 he left the cabin solus, Sir George was so wexed, he 
 went into his state-room and forgot the paper, which 
 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 177 
 
 fell to the steward, you know, on a principle laid 
 down in Wattel, Toast." 
 
 Here the two worthies indulged in a smothered 
 merriment of their own at the expense of their com 
 mander ; for though a dignified man in general, Mr. 
 Saunders could laugh on occasion, and according to 
 his own opinion of himself he danced particularly 
 well. 
 
 "Would you like to read the paragraph, Mr. 
 Toast ?" 
 
 "Quite unnecessary, sir; your account will be 
 perfectly legible and satisfactory." 
 
 By this touch of politeness, Mr. Toast, who knew 
 as much of the art of reading as a monkey com 
 monly knows of mathematics, got rid of the awk 
 wardness of acknowledging the careless manner in 
 which he had trifled with his early opportunities. 
 Luckily, Mr. Saunders, who had been educated as a 
 servant in a gentleman's family, was better off, and 
 as he was vain of all his advantages, he was particu 
 larly pleased to have an opportunity of exhibiting 
 them. Turning to the paragraph he read the follow 
 ing lines, in that sort of didactic tone and elaborate 
 style with which gentlemen who commence the graces 
 after thirty are a little apt to make bows. 
 
 " We understand Sir George Templernore, Bart, 
 the member for Boodleigh, is about to visit our 
 American colonies, with a view to make himself in 
 timately acquainted with the merits of the unpleasant 
 questions by which they are just now agitated, and 
 with the intention of entering into the debates in the 
 house on that interesting subject on his return. We 
 believe that Sir George will sail in the packet of the 
 first from Liverpool, and will return in time to be in 
 his seat after the Easter holidays. His people and 
 effects left town yesterday by the Liverpool coach. 
 During the baronet's absence, his country will be 
 
1/8 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 hunted by Sir Gervaise de Brush, though the estab 
 lishment at Templemore Hall will be kept up." 
 
 " How came Sir George here, then ?" Mr. Toast 
 very naturally inquired. 
 
 " Having been kept too late in London, he was ob 
 liged to come this way or to be left. It is sometimes 
 as close work to get the passengers on board, Mr. 
 Toast, as to get the people. I have often admired 
 how gentlemen and ladies love procrastinating, when 
 dishes that ought to be taken hot, are getting to be 
 quite insipid and uneatable." 
 
 " Saunders !" cried the hearty voice of Captain 
 Truck, who had taken possession of what he called 
 his throne in the cabin. All the steward's elegant 
 diction and finish of demeanour vanished at the well- 
 known sound, and thrusting his head out of the pan 
 try-door, he gave the prompt ship-answer to a call, 
 " Ay, ay, sir !" 
 
 " Come, none of your dictionary in the pantry 
 there, but show your physiognomy in my presence, 
 What the devil do you think Vattel would say to 
 such a supper as this ?" 
 
 " I think, sir, he would call it awerry good supper, 
 for a ship in a hard gale of wind. That's my honest 
 opinion, Captain Truck, and I never deceive any gen= 
 tleman in a matter of food. I think, Mr. Watte! 
 would approve of that there supper, sir." 
 
 "Perhaps he might, for he has made blunders as 
 well as another man. Go, mix me a glass of just 
 what I love, when I've not had a drop all day. Gen 
 tlemen, will any of you honour me, by sharing in a 
 cut ? This beef is not indigestible, and here is a 
 real Marylander, in the way of a ham. No want of 
 oakurn to fill up the chinks with, either." 
 
 Most of the gentlemen were too full of the gale to 
 wish to eat ; besides they had not fasted like Captain 
 Truck since morning. But Mr. Monday, the bag 
 man, as John Effingham had termed him, and who 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 179 
 
 had been often enough at sea to know something of 
 its varieties, consented to take a glass of brandy and 
 water, as a corrective of the Madeira he had been 
 swallowing. The appetite of Captain Truck was 
 little affected by the state of the weather, however ; 
 for though too attentive to his duties to quit the deck 
 until he had ascertained how matters were going on, 
 now that he had fairly made up his mind to eat, he 
 set about it with a heartiness and simplicity that, 
 proved his total disregard of appearances, when his 
 hunger was sharp. For some time he was too much 
 occupied to talk, making regular attacks upon the 
 different plats, as Mr. Saunders called them, without 
 much regard to the cookery or the material, The 
 only pauses were to drink, and this was always done 
 with a steadiness that never left a drop in the glass. 
 Still Mr. Truck was a temperate man ; for he never 
 consumed more than his physical wants appeared to 
 require, or his physical energies knew how to dis* 
 pose of. At length, however, he came to the stew 
 ard's entremets, or he began to stuff what he, him 
 self, had called the " oakum," into the chinks of his 
 dinner. 
 
 Mr. Sharp had watched the whole process from 
 the ladies' cabin, as indeed had Eve, and thinking 
 this a favourable occasion to ascertain the state of 
 things on deck, the former came into the main-cabin, 
 commissioned by the latter, to make the inquiry. 
 
 " The ladies are desirous of knowing where we 
 are, and what is the state of the gale, Captain 
 Truck," said the gentleman, when he had seated him 
 self near the throne. 
 
 " My dear young lady," called out the captain, by 
 way of cutting short the diplomacy of employing 
 ambassadors between them, " I wish in my heart I 
 could persuade you and Mademoiselle V. A. V., (for 
 so he called the governess, in imitation of Eve's pro 
 nunciation of her name,) to try a few of these pickled 
 oysters ; they are as delicate as yourselves, and wor- 
 
180 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 thy to be set before a mermaid, if there were any 
 such thing." 
 
 " I thank you for the compliment, Captain Truck, 
 and while I ask leave to decline it, I beg leave to re 
 fer you to the plenipotentiary Mademoiselle Vief- 
 ville" (Eve would not say herself) " has intrusted 
 with her wishes." 
 
 "Thus you perceive, sir," interposed Mr. Sharp 
 again, "you will have to treat with me, by all the 
 principles laid down by Yattel." 
 
 " And treat you, too, my good sir. Let me per 
 suade you to try a slice of this anti-abolitionist," lay 
 ing his knife on the ham, which he still continued to 
 regard himself with a sort of melancholy interest. 
 " No ; well, I hold over-persuasion as the next thing 
 to neglect. I am satisfied, sir, after all, as Saunders 
 says, that Vattel himself, unless more unreasonable 
 at his grub than in matters of state, would be a hap 
 pier man after he had been at this table twenty mi 
 nutes, than before he sat down." 
 
 Mr. Sharp perceiving that it was idle to pursue his 
 inquiry, while the other was in one of his discursive 
 humours, determined to let things take their course, 
 and fell into the captain's own vein. 
 
 " If Vattel would approve of the repast, few men 
 ought to repine at their fortune in being so well pro 
 vided." 
 
 " I flatter myself, sir, that I understand a supper, 
 especially in a gale of wind, as well as Mr. Vattel, 
 or any other man could do." 
 
 "And yet Vattel was one of the most celebrated 
 cooks of his day." 
 
 Captain Truck stared, looked his grave companion 
 steadily in the eye, for he was too much addicted to 
 mystifying, not to distrust others, and picked his teeth 
 with redoubled vigilance. 
 
 " Vattel a cook ! This is the first I ever heard 
 of it." 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 181 
 
 " There was a Vattel, in a former age, who stood 
 at the head of his art as a cook ; this I can assure 
 you, on my honour: he may not have been your 
 Vattel, however." 
 
 " Sir, there never were two Vattels. This is ex 
 traordinary news to me, and I scarcely know how to 
 receive it." 
 
 " If you doubt my information, you may ask any 
 of the other passengers. Either of the Mr. Effinghams, 
 or Mr. Blunt, or Miss Effingham, or Mademoiselle 
 Viefville will confirm what I tell you, I think, espe 
 cially the latter, for he was her countryman." 
 
 Hereupon Captain Truck began to stuff in the 
 oakum again, for the calm countenance of Mr. 
 Sharp produced an effect ; and as he was ponder 
 ing on the consequences of his oracle's turning out 
 to be a cook, he thought it not amiss to be eating, as 
 it were, incidentally. After swallowing a dozen 
 olives, six or eight anchovies, as many pickled oys 
 ters, and raisins and almonds, as the advertisements 
 say a volo?ile, he suddenly struck his fist on the table, 
 and announced his intention of putting the question 
 to both the ladies. 
 
 " My dear young lady," he called out, " will you 
 do me the honour to say whether you ever heard of 
 a cook of the name of Vattel ?" 
 
 Eve laughed, and her sweet tones were infectious 
 amid the dull howling of the gale, which was con 
 stantly heard in the cabins, like a bass accompani 
 ment, or the distant roar of a cataract among the 
 singing of birds. 
 
 " Certainly, captain," she answered ; " Mr. Vattel 
 was not only a cook, out perhaps the most celebrat 
 ed on record, for sentiment at least, if not for skill." 
 
 " I make no doubt the man did his work well, let 
 him be set about what he might; and, mademoiselle, 
 he was a countryman of yours, they tell me?" 
 
 VOL. i. 16 
 
182 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 " Assurement, Monsieur Vattel has left more dis 
 tinguished souvenirs than any other cook in France." 
 
 Captain Truck turned quickly to the elated and 
 admiring Saunders, who felt his own glory enhanced 
 by this important discovery, and said in that short 
 hand way he had of expressing himself to the chief 
 of the pantry, 
 
 " Do you hear that, sir ; see and find out what 
 they are, and dress me a dish of these souvenirs as 
 soon as we get in. I dare say they are to be had at 
 the Fulton market, and mind while there to look out 
 for some tongues and sounds. I've not made half a 
 supper to-night, for the want of them. I dare say 
 these souvenirs are capital eating, if Monsieur Vat 
 tel thought so highly of them. Pray, mademoiselle, 
 is-the gentleman dead ?" 
 
 " Helas, oui ! How could he live with a sword run 
 through his body ?' 
 
 " Ha ! killed in a duel, I declare ; died fighting for 
 his principles, if the truth were known ! I shall have 
 a double respect for his opinion, for this is the touch 
 stone of a man's honesty. Mr. Sharp, let us take a 
 glass of Geissenheimer to his memory ; we might 
 honour a less worthy man." 
 
 As the captain poured out the liquor, a fall of seve 
 ral tons of water on the deck shook the entire ship, 
 and one of the passengers in the hurricane-house, 
 opening a door to ascertain the cause, the sound of 
 the hissing waters, and of the roaring winds came 
 fresher and more distinct into the cabin. Mr. Truck 
 cast an eye at. the tell-tale over his head to ascertain 
 the course of the ship, and paused just an instant, 
 and then tossed off his wine. 
 
 " This hint reminds me of my mission,'* Mr. Sharp 
 rejoined. " The ladies desire to know your opinion 
 of the state of the weather ?" 
 
 " I owe them an answer if it were only in grati 
 tude for the hint about Vattel. Who the devil would 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 183 
 
 have supposed the man ever was a cook! But these 
 Frenchmen are not like the rest of mankind, and 
 half the nation are cooks, or live by food, in some 
 way or other." 
 
 " And very good cooks, too, Monsieur le Capi- 
 taine," said Mademoiselle Viefville. " Monsieur Vat- 
 tel did die for the honour of his art. He fell on his 
 own sword, because the fish did not arrive in season 
 for the dinner of the king." 
 
 Captain TriTck looked more astonished than ever. 
 Then turning short round to the steward, he shook 
 his head and exclaimed, 
 
 "Do you hear that, sir! How often would you 
 have died, if a sword had been run through you 
 every time the fish was forgotten, or was too late? 
 Once to a dead certainty, about these very tongues 
 and sounds." 
 
 "But the weather?" interrupted Mr. Sharp. 
 " The weather, my dear sir ; the weather, my dear 
 ladies, is very good weather, wfth the exception of 
 winds and waves, of which unfortunately there are, 
 just now, more of both than we want. The ship 
 must scud, and as we go like a race-horse, without 
 stopping to take breath, we may see the Canary Isl 
 ands before the voyage is over. . Of danger there is 
 none in this ship, as long as we can keep clear of the 
 land, and in order that this may be done, I will just 
 step into my state-room, and find out exactly where 
 we are." 
 
 On receiving this information, the passengers re 
 tired for the night, Captain Truck setting about his 
 task in good earnest. The result of his calculations 
 showed that they would run westward of Madeira, 
 which was all he cared about immediately, intend 
 ing always to haul up to his course on the first good 
 occasion, 
 
_ 
 184 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 CHAPTER XIIL 
 
 There are yet two things in my destiny 
 A world to roam o'er, and a home with thee. 
 
 BTKOX. 
 
 EVE EFFINGHAM slept little: although the motion 
 of the ship had been much more severe and uncom 
 fortable while contending with head-winds, on no 
 other occasion were there so many signs of a fierce 
 contention of the elements as in this gale. As she 
 lay in her berth, her ear was within a foot of the 
 roaring waters without, and her frame trembled as 
 she heard them gurgling so distinctly, that it seemed 
 as if they had already forced their way through the 
 seams of the planks, and were filling the ship. Sleep 
 she could not, for a long time, therefore, and during 
 two hours she remained with closed eyes an entranc 
 ed and yet startled listener of the fearful strife that 
 was raging over the ocean. Night had no stillness, 
 for the roar of the winds and waters was incessant, 
 though deadened by the intervening decks and sides ; 
 but now and then an open door admitted, as it might 
 be, the whole scene into the cabins. At such mo 
 ments every sound was fresh, and frightfully grand, 
 even the shout of the officer coming to the ear 
 like a warning cry from the deep. - 
 
 At length Eve, wearied by her apprehensions even, 
 fell into a troubled sleep, in which her frightened fa 
 culties, however, kept so much on the alert, that at 
 no time was the roar of the tempest entirely lost to 
 her sense of hearing* About midnight the glare of 
 a candle crossed her eyes, and she was broad awake 
 in an instant. On rising in her berth she found 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 185 
 
 Nanny Sidley, who had so often and so long watch 
 ed over her infant and childish slumbers, standing at 
 her side, and gazing wistfully in her face. 
 
 " 'Tis a dread night, Miss Eve," half whispered 
 the appalled domestic. " I have not been able to 
 sleep for thinking of you, and of what might hap 
 pen on these wide waters !" 
 
 " And why of me particularly, my good Nanny ?" 
 returned Eve, smiling in the face of her old nurse 
 as sweetly as the infant smiles in its moments of ten 
 derness and recollection. " Why so much of me, 
 my excellent Anne ? are there not others too, 
 worthy of your care, my beloved father your own 
 good self Mademoiselle Viefville Cousin Jack 
 and " the warm colour deepened on the cheek of 
 the beautiful girl, she scarcely knew why herself; 
 " and many others in the vessel, that one, kind as 
 you, might think of, I should hope, when your 
 thoughts become apprehensions, and your wishes 
 prayers." 
 
 " There are many precious souls in the ship, 
 ma'am, out of all question; and I'm sure no one 
 wishes them all safe on land again more than my 
 self; but it seems to me, no one among them all is so 
 much loved as you." 
 
 Eve leaned forward playfully, and drawing her 
 old nurse towards her, kissed her cheek, while her 
 own eyes glistened, and then she laid her flushed 
 cheek on that bosom which had so frequently been 
 its pillow before. After remaining a minute in this 
 affectionate attitude, she rose and inquired if her 
 nurse had been on deck. 
 
 " I go every half-hour, Miss Eve; for I feel it as 
 much my duty to watch over you here, as when I 
 had you all to myself in the cradle. I do not think 
 your father sleeps a great deal to-night, and several 
 of the gentlemen in the other cabins remain dressed; 
 16* 
 
J86 HOMEWARD BOUiVD. 
 
 they ask me how you spend the time in this tempest, 
 whenever I pass their state-room doors." 
 
 Eve's colour deepened, and Anne Sid ley thought 
 she had never seen her child more beautiful, as the 
 bright luxuriant golden hair, which had strayed from 
 the confinement of the cap, fell on the warm cheek, 
 and rendered eyes that were always full of -feeling, 
 softer and more brilliant even than common. 
 
 "They conceal their uneasiness for themselves 
 under an affected concern for me, my good Nan 
 ny," she ^said hurriedly; "and your own affection 
 makes you an easy dupe to the artifice." 
 
 " It may be so, ma'am, for I know but little of the 
 ways of the world. It is fearful, is it not, Miss Eve, 
 to think that we are in a ship, so far from any land, 
 whirling along over the bottom as fast as a horse 
 could plunge ?" 
 
 "The danger is not exactly of that nature, 'per 
 haps, Nanny." 
 
 "There is a bottom to the ocean, is there not? 1 
 have heard some maintain there is no bottom to the 
 sea, and that would make tfie danger so much 
 greater. I think, if I felt certain that the bottom 
 was not very deep, and there was only a rock to be 
 seen now and then, I should not find it so very 
 dreadful." 
 
 Eve laughed like a child, and the contrast between 
 the sweet simplicity of her looks, her manners, and 
 her more cultivated intellect, and the matronly ap- 
 pearjance of the less instructed Anne, made one of 
 those pictures in which the superiority of mind over 
 all other things becomes most apparent. 
 
 "Your notions of safety, my dear Nanny," she 
 said, " are not precisely those of a seaman ; for 1 
 believe there is nothing of -which they stand more in 
 dread than of rocks and the bottom." 
 
 "I fear I'm but a poor sailor, ma'am, for in my 
 judgment we could have no greater consolation in 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 187 
 
 such a tempest than to see them all around us. Do 
 you think, Miss Eve, that the bottom of the ocean, if 
 there is truly a bottom, is whitened with the bones of 
 ship-wrecked mariners, as people say ?" 
 
 " I doubt not, my excellent Nanny, that the great 
 deep might give up many awful secrets ; but you 
 ought to think less of these things, and more of that 
 merciful Providence which has protected us through 
 so many dangers since we have been wanderers. 
 You are in much less danger now than 1 have known 
 you to be, and escape unharmed." 
 
 "1 ! Miss Eve ! Do you suppose that 1 fear for 
 myself? What matters it if a poor old woman like 
 me die a few years sooner or later, or where her 
 frail old body is laid '( I have never been of so much 
 account when living as to make it of consequence 
 where the little which will remain to decay when 
 dead moulders into dust. Do riot, I implore you, 
 Miss Effingham, suppose me so selfish as to feel any 
 uneasiness to-night on my own account." 
 
 " Is it then, as usual, all for me, my dear, my wor 
 thy old nurse, that you feel this anxiety ? Put your 
 heart at ease, for they who know best betray no 
 alarm ; and you may observe that the captain sleeps 
 as tranquilly this night as on any other." 
 
 " But he is a rude man, and accustomed to danger. 
 He has neither wife nor children, and I'll engage 
 has never given a thought to the horrors of having 
 a form precious as this floating in the caverns of the 
 ocean, amidst ravenous fish and sea-monsters." 
 
 Here her imagination overcame poor Nanny Sid- 
 ley, and she folded her arms about the beautiful per 
 son of Eve, and sobbed violently. Her young mis 
 tress, accustomed to similar exhibitions of affection, 
 soothed her with blandishments and assurances that 
 soon restored her self-command, when the dialogue 
 was resumed with a greater appearance of tran 
 quillity on the part of the nurse. They conversed, a 
 
188 HOMEWARD BOUPfD. 
 
 few minutes on the subject of their reliance on God, 
 Eve returning fourfold, or with the advantages of a 
 cultivated intellect, many of those simple lessons of 
 faith and humility that she had received from her 
 companion when a child ; the latter listening, as she 
 always did, to these exhortations, which sounded in 
 her ears, like the echoes of all her own better 
 thoughts, with a love and reverence no other could 
 awaken. Eve passed her small white hand over the 
 wrinkled cheek of Nanny in kind fondling, as it had 
 been passed a thousand times when a child, an act 
 she well knew her nurse delighted in, and con 
 tinued, 
 
 " And now, my good old Nanny, you will set your 
 heart at ease, I know ; for though a little too apt to 
 trouble yourself about one who does not deserve half 
 your care, you are much too sensible and too hum 
 ble to feel distrust out of reason. We will talk of 
 something else a few. minutes, and then you will lie 
 down and rest your weary body." 
 
 " Weary ! I should never feel weary in watch 
 ing, when I thought there was a cause for it." 
 
 Although Nanny made no allusion to herself, Eve 
 understood in whose behalf this watchfulness was 
 meant. She drew the face of the old woman to 
 wards her, and left a kiss on each cheek ere she con 
 tinued : 
 
 " These ships have other things to talk about, be 
 sides their dangers," she said. "Do you not find it 
 odd, at least, that a vessel of war should be sent to 
 follow us about the ocean in this extraordinay way?" 
 
 " Quite so, ma'am, and I did intend to speak to 
 you about it, some time when I saw you had nothing 
 better to think of. At first I fancied, but I believe it 
 was a silly thought, that some of the great English 
 lords and admirals that used to be so much about us 
 at Paris, and Rome, and Vienna, had sent this ship 
 to see you safe to America, Miss Eve ; for I never 
 

 HOMEWARD BOUND. 189 
 
 supposed the'y would make so much fuss concerning 
 a poor runaway couple, like these steerage-passen 
 gers." 
 
 Eve did not refrain from laughing again, at this 
 conceit of Nanny's, for her temperament was gay 
 as childhood, though well restrained by cultivation 
 and manner, and once more she patted the cheek of 
 her nurse kindly. 
 
 " Those great lords and admirals are not great 
 enough for that, dear Nanny, even had they the in 
 clination to do so silly a thing. But has no other 
 reason suggested itself to you, among the many cu 
 rious circumstances you may have had occasion to 
 observe in the ship?" 
 
 Nanny looked at Eve, then turned her eyes aside, 
 glanced furtively at the young lady again, and at last 
 felt compelled to answer. 
 
 " I endeavour, ma'am, to think well of everybody, 
 though strange thoughts will sometimes arise with 
 out our wishing it. I suppose I know to what you 
 allude; but 1 don't feel quite certain it becomes me 
 to speak." 
 
 " With me at least, Nanny, you need have no re 
 serves, and I confess a desire to learn if we have 
 thought alike about some of our fellow-passengers. 
 Speak freely, then ; for you can have no more ap 
 prehension in communicating all your thoughts to 
 me, than in communicating them to your own child." 
 
 "Not as much, ma'am, not half as much ; for you 
 are both child and mistress to me, and I look quite as 
 much to receiving advice as to giving it. It is odd, 
 Miss Eve, that gentlemen should not pass under 
 their proper names, and I have had unpleasant feel 
 ings about it, though I did not think it became me to 
 be the first to speak, while your father was with you, 
 and marnerzelle," for so Nanny always styled the 
 governess, " and Mr. John, all of whom love you al 
 most as much as I do, and all of whom are so much 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 better judges of what is right. But now you en 
 courage me to speak my mind, Miss Eve, I will say 
 I should like that no one came near you who does 
 not carry his heart in his open hand, that the young 
 est child might know his character and understand 
 his motives." 
 
 Eve smiled as her nurse grew warm, but she 
 blushed in spite of an effort to seem indifferent. 
 
 " This would be truly a vain wish, dear Nanny, in 
 the mixed company of a ship," she said. " It is too 
 much to expect that strangers will throw aside all 
 their reserves, on first finding themselves in close 
 communion. The well-bred and prudent will only 
 stand more on their guard under such circum 
 stances." 
 
 " Strangers, ma'am !" 
 
 "I perceive that you recollect the face of one of 
 our shipmates. Why do you shake your head ?" 
 The tell-tale blood of Eve again mantled over her 
 lovely countenance. " I suppose I ought to have 
 said two of our shipmates, though I had doubted 
 whether you retained any recollection of one of 
 them." 
 
 "No gentleman ever speaks to you twice, Miss 
 Eve, that I do not remember him." 
 
 " Thank you, dearest Nanny, for this and a thou 
 sand other proofs of your never-ceasing interest in 
 my welfare ; but 1 had not believed you so vigilant 
 as to take heed of every face that happens to ap 
 proach me." 
 
 " Ah, Miss Eve ! neither of these gentlemen would 
 like to be mentioned by you in this careless manner, 
 I 'm sure. They both did a great deal more than 
 * happen to approach you ;' for as to " 
 
 " Hist ! dear Nanny ; we are in a crowded place, 
 and you may be overheard. You will use no names, 
 therefore, as I believe we understand each other 
 without going into all these particulars. Now, rny 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 191 
 
 dear nurse, would I give something to know which 
 of these young men has made the most favourable 
 impression on your upright and conscientious mind?" 
 
 "Nay, Miss Eve, what is my judgment in com 
 parison with your own, and that of Mr. John Effing- 
 ham, and " 
 
 " My Cousin Jack ! In the name of wonder, 
 Nanny, what has he to do with the matter?" 
 
 " Nothing, ma'am ; only I can see he has his fa 
 vourites as well as another, and I '11 venture to say 
 Mr. Dodge is not the greatest he has in this ship." 
 
 " I think you might add "Sir George Templemore, 
 too," returned Eve, laughing. 
 
 Anne Sidley, looked hard at her young mistress and 
 smiled before she answered ; and then she conti 
 nued the discourse naturally, as if there had been no 
 interruption. 
 
 " Quite likely, ma'am ; and Mr. Monday, and all 
 the rest of that set. But you see how soon he dis 
 covers a real gentleman; for he is quite .easy and 
 friendly with Mr. Sharp and Mr. Blunt, particularly 
 the last." 
 
 Eve was silent, for she did not like the open in 
 troduction of these names, though she scarce knew 
 why herself. 
 
 " My cousin is a man of the world," she resumed, 
 on perceiving that Nanny watched her countenance 
 with solicitude, as if fearful of having gone too far ; 
 '' and there is nothing surprising in his discovering 
 men of his own class. We know both these persons 
 to be not exactly what they seem, though I think we 
 know no harm of either, unless it be the silly change 
 of names. It would have been better had they come 
 on board, bearing their proper appellations ; to us, at 
 least, it would have been more respectful, though 
 both affirm they were ignorant that my father had 
 taken passage in the Montauk, a circumstance that 
 
192 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 may very well be true, as you know we got the cabin 
 that was first engaged by another party." 
 
 " I -should be sorry, ma'am, if either failed in re 
 spect." 
 
 " It is not quite adulatory to make a young woman 
 the involuntary keeper of the secrets of two unre 
 flecting young men ; that is all, my good Nanny. 
 We cannot well betray them, and we are conse 
 quently their confidants par force. The most amus 
 ing part of the thing is, that they are masters of 
 each other's secrets, in part at least, and feel a de 
 lightful awkwardness in a hundred instances. For 
 my own part I pity neither, but think each is fairly 
 enough punished. They will be fortunate if their ser 
 vants do not betray them before w r e reach New 
 York." 
 
 " No fear of that, ma'am, for they are discreet, 
 cautious men, and if disposed to blab, Mr. Dodge 
 has given both good opportunities already, as I be 
 lieve he has put to them as many questions as there 
 are speeches in the catechism." 
 
 " Mr. Dodge is a vulgar man." 
 
 " So we all say, ma'am, in the servants' cabin, and 
 everybody is so set against him there, that there is 
 little chance of his learning much. I hope, Miss 
 Eve, mamerzelle does not distrust either of the gen 
 tlemen ?" 
 
 " Surely you cannot suspect Mademoiselle Vief- 
 ville of indiscretion, Nanny ; a better spirit, or a bet 
 ter tone than hers, does not exist." 
 
 "No, ma'am, 'tis not that: but I should like to 
 have one more secret with you, all to myself. I ho 
 nour and respect mamerzelle, who has done a thou 
 sand times more for you than a poor ignorant wo 
 man like me could have done, with all my zeal ; but 
 I do believe, Miss Eve, I love your shoe tie better 
 than she loves your pure and beautiful spirit." 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 193 
 
 "^Mademoiselle Vicfville is an excellent woman, 
 and I believe is sincerely attached to me." 
 
 " She would be a wretch else. I do not deny her 
 attachment, but I only say it is nothing, it ought to 
 be nothing, it can be nothing, it shall be nothing, 
 compared to that of the one who first held you in her 
 arms, and who has always held you in her heart. Ma- 
 merzelle can sleep such a night as this, which I 'm 
 sure she could not do were she as much concerned 
 for you as I am." 
 
 Eve knew that jealousy of Mademoiselle V'iefville 
 was Nanny's greatest weakness, and drawing the old 
 woman to her, she entwined her arms around her 
 neck and complained of drowsiness. Accustomed 
 to watching, and really unable to sleep, the nurse 
 now passed a perfectly happy hour in holding her 
 child, who literally dropped asleep on her bosom ; 
 after which Nanny slid into the berth beneath, in her 
 clothes, and finally lost the sense of her apprehen 
 sions in perturbed slumbers. 
 
 A cry on deck awoke all in the cabins early on 
 the succeeding morning. It was scarcely light, but 
 a common excitement seized on every passenger, 
 and ten minutes had not elapsed when Eve and her 
 governess appeared in the hurricane-house, the last 
 of those who came from below. Few questions 
 had been asked, but all hurried on deck with their 
 apprehensions awakened by the gale, increased to 
 the sense of some positive and impending danger. 
 
 Nothing, however, was immediately apparent to 
 justify all this sudden clamour. The gale continued, 
 if anything, with increased power; the ocean was 
 rolling over its cataracts of combing seas, with 
 which the ship was still racing, driven under the 
 strain of a reefed forecourse, the only canvass that 
 was set. Even with this little sail the hull was glan 
 cing through the raging seas, or rather in their com 
 pany, at a rate a little short often miles in the hour. 
 VOL, i. 17 
 
194 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 Captain' Truck was in the mizen-rigging, bare 
 headed, every lock of hair he had blowing out like a 
 pendant. Occasionally he signed to the man at the 
 wheel which way to put the helm ; for instead of 
 sleeping, as many had supposed, he had been con 
 ning the ship for hours in the same situation. As 
 Eve appeared, he was directing the attention of sev 
 eral of the gentlemen to some object astern, but a 
 very few moments put all on deck in possession of 
 ihe facts. 
 
 About a cable's length, on one of the quarters 
 of the Montauk, was a ship careering before the 
 gale like themselves, though carrying more can 
 vass, and consequently driving faster through the 
 water. The sudden appearance of this vessel in 
 the sombre light of the morning, when objects 
 were seen distinctly but without the glare of day ; 
 the dark hull, relieved by a single narrow line 
 of white paint, dotted with ports ; the glossy ham 
 mock-cloths, and all those other coverings of dark 
 glistening canvass which give to a cruiser an air of 
 finish and comfort, like that of a travelling carriage; 
 the symmetry of the spars, and the gracefulness of 
 nil the lines, whether of the hull or hamper, told all 
 who knew anything of such subjects, that the stran 
 ger was a vessel of war. To this information Cap 
 tain Truck added that it was their old pursuer the 
 Foam. 
 
 "She is corvette-built," said the master of the 
 Montauk, " and is obliged to carry more canvass 
 than we, in order to keep out of the way of the seas; 
 for, if one of these big fellows should overtake her, 
 and throw its crest into her waist, she would become 
 like a man who has taken too much Saturday-night, 
 and with whom a second dose might settle the pur 
 ser's books for ever." 
 
 Such in fact was the history of the sudden ap 
 pearance of this ship. She had Lain-to as long as 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 105 
 
 possible, and on being driven to scud, carried a 
 close-reefed maintop-sail, a show of canvass that 
 urged her through the water about two knots to the 
 hour faster than the rate of the packet. Neces 
 sarily following the same course, she overtook the 
 latter just as the day began to dawn. The cry had 
 arisen on her sudden discovery, and the moment had 
 now arrived when she was about to come up, quite 
 abreast of her late chase. The passage of the 
 Foam, under such circumstances, was a grand but 
 thrilling thing. Her captain, too, was seen in the 
 mizen-rigging of his ship, rocked by the gigantic bil 
 lows over which the fabric was careering. He held 
 a speaking-trumpet in his hand, as if still bent on his 
 duty, in the midst of that awful warring of the ele 
 ments. Captain Truck called for a trumpet in his 
 turn, and fearful of consequences he waved it to the 
 other to keep more aloof. The injunction was either 
 misunderstood, the man-of-war's man was too much 
 bent on his object, or the ocean was too uncontrollable 
 for such a purpose, the corvette driving up on a sea 
 quite abeam of the packet, and in fearful proximity. 
 The Englishman applied the trumpet, and words were 
 heard amid the roaring of the winds. At that time 
 the white field of old Albion, with the St. George's 
 cross, rose over the bulwarks, and by the time it had 
 reached the gall-end, the bunting was whipping in 
 ribbons. 
 
 " Show 'em the gridiron !" growled Captain Truck 
 through his trumpet, with its mouth turned in board. 
 
 As everything was ready this order was instantly 
 obeyed, and the stripes of America were soon seen 
 fluttering nearly in separate pieces. The two ships 
 now ran a short distance in parallel lines, rolling 
 from each other so heavily that the bright copper of 
 the corvette was seen nearly to her keel. The Eng 
 lishman, who seemed a portion of his ship, again tried 
 his trumpet ; the detached words of " lie-by," " or- 
 
196 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 ders," "communicate," were caught by one or two, 
 but the howling of the gale rendered all connexion in 
 the meaning impossible. The Englishman ceased 
 his efforts to make himself heard, for the two ships 
 were now rolling-to, and it appeared as if their spars 
 would interlock. There was an instant when Mr. 
 Leach had his hand on the main-brace to let it 
 go ; but the Foam started away on a sea, like a horse 
 that feels the spur, and disobeying her helm, shot for 
 ward, as if about to cross the Montauk's forefoot. 
 
 A breathless instant followed, for all on board the 
 two ships thought they must now inevitably come 
 foul of each other, and this the more so, because the 
 Mohtauk took the impulse of the sea just as it was 
 lost to the Foam, and seemed on the point of plung 
 ing directly into the stern of the latter. Even the 
 seamen clenched the ropes around them convul 
 sively, and the boldest held their breaths for a time. 
 The " p-o-r-t, hard a port, and be d d to you !" of 
 Captain Truck ; and the " S-t-a-r-b-o-a-r-d, starboard 
 hard!" of the Englishman, were both distinctly audi 
 ble to all in the two ships ; for this was a moment in 
 \vhich seamen can speak louder than the tempest. 
 The affrighted vessels seemed to recede together, 
 and then they shot asunder in diverging lines, the 
 Foam leading. All further attempts at a communi 
 cation were instantly useless ; the corvette being half 
 a mile ajiead in a quarter of an hour, rolling her 
 yard-arms nearly to the water. 
 
 Captain Truck said little to his passengers concern 
 ing this adventure ; but when he had lighted a cigar, 
 and was discussing the matter with his chief-mate, 
 he told the latter there was "just one minute when 
 lie would not have given a ship's biscuit for both 
 vessels, nor much more for their cargoes. A man 
 must have a small regard for human souls, when he 
 puts them, and their bodies too, in so much jeopardy 
 for a little tobacco." 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 197 
 
 Throughout the day it blew furiously, for the ship 
 was running into the gale, u phenomenon that we 
 shall explain, as most ol' our readers may not com 
 prehend it. All gales of wind commence to leeward ; 
 ; or,?in other words, the wind is first felt at some par 
 ticular point, and later, as we recede from that point, 
 proceeding in the direction from which the wind 
 blows. It is always severest near the point where if: 
 commences, appearing to diminish in violence as it 
 recedes. This, therefore, is an additional motive for 
 mariners to lie-to, instead of scudding, since the lat 
 ter not only carries them far from their true course, 
 but it carries them also nearer to the scene of the 
 fury of the elements. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Good boatswain, have care. 
 
 Tempest 
 
 AT sunsat, the speck presented by the reefed top 
 sail of the corvette had sunk beneath the horizon, in 
 the southern board, and that ship was seen no longer. 
 Several islands had been passed, looking tranquil and 
 smiling amid the fury of the tempest ; but it was im 
 possible to haul up for any one among them. The 
 most that could be done was to keep the ship dead 
 before it, to prevent her broaching-to, and to have a 
 care that she kept clear of those rocks and of that 
 bottom, for which Nanny Sidley had so much pined. 
 Familiarity with the scene began to lessen the appre 
 hensions of the passengers, and as scudding is an easy 
 process for those who are liable to sea-sickness, ere ano 
 ther night shut in, the principal concern was connected 
 with the course the ship was compelled to steer. The 
 wind had so far hauled to the westward as to render 
 
 I "* 
 
199 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 it certain that the coast of Africa would lie in their 
 way, if obliged to scud many hours longer ; for Cap 
 tain Truck's observations actually placed him to the 
 southward and eastward of the Canary Islands. This 
 was a long distance out of his course, but the rate of 
 sailing rendered the fact sufficiently clear. 
 
 This, too, was the precise time when the Montauk 
 felt the weight of the tempest, or rather, when she 
 experienced the heaviest portion of that which it 
 was her fate to feel. Lucky was it for the good ship 
 that she had not been in this latitude a few hours 
 earlier, when it had blown something very like a hur 
 ricane. The responsibility and danger of his situa 
 tion now began seriously to disturb Captain Truck, 
 although he kept his apprehensions to himself, like a 
 prudent officer. All his calculations were gone over 
 again with the utmost care, the rate of sailing was 
 cautiously estimated, and the result showed, that ten 
 or fifteen hours more would inevitably produce ship 
 wreck of another sort, unless the wind moderated. 
 
 Fortunately, the gale began to break about mid 
 night. The wind still blew tremendously, but it was 
 less steadily, and there were intervals of half-an-hour 
 at a time when the ship might have carried much 
 more canvass, even on a bow-line : of course her 
 speed abated in proportion, and, after the day had 
 dawned, a long and anxious survey from aloft show 
 ed no land to the eastward. When perfectly assured 
 of this important fact, Captain Truck rubbed his 
 hands with delight, ordered a coal for his cigar, and 
 began to abuse Saunders about the quality of the cof 
 fee during the blow. 
 
 "Let there be something creditable, this morning, 
 sir," added the captain, after a sharp rebuke; "and 
 remember we are down here in the neighbourhood 
 of the country of your forcluthers, where a man 
 ought, in reason, to be. on his good behaviour. If J 
 hear any more of your washy compounds, I '11 put 
 
 H 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 199 
 
 you ashore, and let you run naked a summer or two 
 with the monkeys and ourang-outangs." 
 
 "I endeavour, on all proper occasions, to render 
 myself agreeable to you, Captain Truck, and to all 
 those with whom I have the happiness to sail," re 
 turned the steward ; " but the coffee, sir, cannot be 
 very good, sir, in such weather, sir. I do diwine 
 that the wind must blow away its flavour, for I am 
 ready to confess it has not been as odorous as it 
 usually is, when I have had the honour to prepare it. 
 As for Africa, sir, I flatter myself, Captain Truck, 
 that you esteem me too highly to believe I am suited 
 to consort or resort with the ill-formed and inedicated 
 men who inhabit that wild country. I misremember 
 whether my ancestors came from this part of the 
 world or not ; but if they did, sir, my habits and pro 
 fession entirely unqualify me for their company, I 
 hope. I know I am only a poor steward, sir, but 
 you'll please to recollect that your great Mr. Vattel 
 was nothing but a cook." 
 
 " D n the fellow, Leach; I believe it is this con 
 ceit that has spoiled the coffee the last day or two ! 
 Do you suppose it can be true that a great writer 
 like this man could really be no better than a cook, 
 or was that Englishman roasting me, byway of show 
 ing how cooking is done ashore? If it were not for 
 the testimony of the ladies, I might believe it ; but 
 they would not share in such an indecent trick. 
 What are you lying-by for, sir; go to your pantry, 
 and remember that the gale is broken, and we shall 
 all sit down to table this morning, as keen-set as a 
 party of your brethren ashore here, who had a broil 
 ed baby for breakfast." 
 
 'Saundcrs, who ex-officio might be said to be trained 
 in similar lectures, went pouting to his work, taking 
 care to expend a proper part of his spleen on Mr. 
 Toast, who, quite as a matter of course, suffered in 
 proportion as his superior was made to feel, in his 
 
200 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 own person, the weight of Captain Truck's autho 
 rity. It is perhaps fortunate that nature points out 
 this easy and self-evident mode of relief, else would 
 ihe rude habits of a ship sometimes render the rela 
 tions between him who orders and him whose duty it 
 is to obey, too nearly approaching to the intolerable. 
 
 The captain's squalls, however, were of short du 
 ration, and on the present occasion he was soon in 
 even a better humour than common, as every minute 
 <jjave the cheering assurance that the tempest was 
 last drawing to a close. He had finished his third 
 cigar, and was actually issuing his orders to turn the 
 reef out of the foresail, and to set the main-top-sail 
 close-reefed, when most of the passengers appeared 
 <>n deck, for the first time that morning. 
 
 " Here we are, gentlemen !" cried Captain Truck, 
 in the way of salutation, " nearer to. Guinea, than I 
 could wish, with every prospect, now, of soon work 
 ing our way across the Atlantic, and possibly of ma 
 king a thirty or thirty-five days' passage of it yet. 
 We have this sea to quiet; and then I hope to show 
 you what the Montauk has in her, besides her pas 
 sengers and cargo. 1 think we have now got rid of 
 the Foam, as well as of the gale. I did believe, at 
 one time, her people might be walking and wading 
 on the coast of Cornwall; but I now believe they are 
 more likely to try the sands of the great Desert of 
 Sahara." 
 
 "It is to be hoped they have escaped ihe latter 
 calamity, as fortunately as they escaped the first!" 
 observed Mr. Effingharn. 
 
 "It maybe so; but the wind has got round to 
 nor'-wcst, and has not been sighing these last twelve 
 hours. Cape Blanco is not a hundred leagues from 
 us, and, at the rate he was travelling, that gentleman 
 with the speaking-trumpet may now be philosophi- 
 xing-ovcr the fragments of his ship, unless he had the 
 good sense to haul off more to the westward than he 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 201 
 
 was steering when last seen. His ship should have 
 been christened the ' Scud,' instead of the ' Foam.' " 
 
 Every one expressed the hope that the ship, to 
 which their own situation was fairly enough to be 
 ascribed, might escape this calamity ; and all faces 
 regained their cheerfulness as they saw the canvass 
 fall, in sign that their own danger was past. So ra 
 pidly, indeed, did the gale now abate, that the topsails 
 were hardly hoisted before the order was given to 
 shake out another reef, and within an hour all the 
 heavier canvass that was proper to carry before the 
 wind was set, solely with a view to keep the ship 
 steady. The sea was still fearful, and Captain Truck 
 found himself obliged to keep off from his course, in 
 order to avoid the danger of having his decks swept. 
 
 The racing with the crest of the waves, however, 
 was quite done, for the seas soon cease to comb and 
 break, after the force of the wind is expended. 
 
 At no lime is the motion of the vessel more un 
 pleasant, or, indeed, more dangerous, than in the in 
 terval that occurs between the ceasing of a violent 
 gale, and the springing up of a new wind. The ship 
 is unmanageable, and falling into the troughs of the 
 sea, the waves break in upon her decks, often doing 
 serious injury, while the spars and rigging are put to 
 the severest trial by the sudden and violent surges 
 which they have to withstand. Of ail this Captain 
 Truck was fully aware, and when he was summoned 
 to breakfast he gave many cautions to Mr. Leach 
 before quitting the deck. 
 
 " I do not like the new shrouds we got up in Lon 
 don," he said, " for the rope has stretched in this 
 gale in a way to throw too much strain on the old 
 rigging ; so see all ready for taking a fresh drag on 
 them, as soon as the people have breakfasted. Mind 
 and keep her out of the trough, sir, and watch every 
 roller that you find comes tumbling upon us." 
 
202 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 After repeating these injunctions in different ways, 
 looking to windward some time, and aloft five or six 
 minutes, Captain Truck finally went below, to pass 
 judgment on Mr, Saunders' coffee. Once in his 
 throne, at the head of the long table, the worthy 
 master, after a proper attention to his passengers, set 
 about the duty of restoration, as the steward affect 
 edly called eating, with a zeal that never failed him 
 on such occasions. He had just swallowed a cup of 
 the coffee, about which he had lectured Saunders, 
 when a heavy flap of the sails announced the sudden 
 failure of the wind. 
 
 " That is bad news," said Captain Truck, listening 
 to the fluttering blows of the canvass against the 
 masts, "I never like to hear a ship shaking its wings 
 while there is a heavy sea on ; but this is better than 
 the Desert of Sahara, arid so, my dear young lady, 
 let me recommend to you a cup of this coffee, which 
 is flavoured this morning by a dread of ourang-ou- 
 tangs, as Mr. Saunders will have the honour to in 
 form you " 
 
 A jerk of the whole ship was followed by a report 
 like that made by a musket. Captain Truck rose, 
 and stood leaning on one hand in a bent attitude, ex 
 pectation and distrust intensely portrayed in every 
 feature. Another helpless roll of the ship succeeded, 
 and three or four similar reports were immediately 
 heard, as if large ropes had parted in quick succes 
 sion. A rending of wood followed, and then came M 
 chaotic crash, in which the impending heavens ap 
 peared to fall on the devoted ship. Most of the pas 
 sengers shut their eyes, and when they were opened 
 again, or a moment afterwards, Mr. Truck had van 
 ished. 
 
 It is scarcely necessary to describe the confusion 
 that followed. Eve was frightened, but she behaved 
 well, though Mademoiselle Viefville trembled so 
 much as to require the assistance of Mr. Effingham. 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 203 
 
 " We have lost our masts," John Effingham coolly 
 remarked ; " an accident that will not be likely to 
 be very dangerous, though by prolonging the pas 
 sage a month or two, it may have the merit of mak 
 ing this good company more intimately acquainted 
 with each other, a pleasure for which we cannot ex 
 press too much gratitude." 
 
 Eve implored his forbearance by a glance, for she 
 saw his eye. was unconsciously directed towards Mr. 
 Monday and Mr. Dodge, for both of whom she knew 
 her kinsman entertained an incurable dislike. His 
 words, however, explained the catastrophe, and most 
 of the men hastened on deck to assure themselves of 
 the fact. 
 
 John EfFingharn was right. The new rigging 
 which had stretched so much during the gale, had 
 permitted too much of the strain, in the tremendous 
 roll of the ship, to fall upon the other ropes. The 
 shroud most exposed had parted first ; three or four 
 more had followed in succession, and before there 
 was time to secure anything, the remainder had gone 
 together, and the mainmast had broken at a place 
 where a defect was now seen in its heart. Falling 
 over the side, the latter had brought down with it the 
 mizen-mast and all its hamper, and as much of the 
 fore-mast as stood above the top. In short, of all the 
 complicated tracery of ropes, the proud display of 
 spars, and the broad folds of canvass that had so 
 lately overshadowed the deck of the Montauk, the 
 mutilated fore-mast, the fore-yard and sail, and the 
 fallen head-gear alone remained. All the rest either 
 cumbered the deck, or was beating against the side 
 of the ship, in the water. 
 
 The hard, red, weather-beaten face of Captain 
 Truck was expressive of mortification and concern, 
 for a single instant, when his eye glanced over the 
 ruin we have just described. His mind then seemed 
 made up to the calamity, and he ordered Toast to 
 
204 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 bring him a coal of fire, with which he quietly light 
 ed a cigar. 
 
 " Here is a category, and be d d to it, Mr. 
 Leach," he said, after taking a single whiff. " You 
 are doing quite right, sir ; cut away the wreck and 
 force the ship free of it, or we shall have some of 
 those sticks poking themselves through the planks. I 
 always thought the chandler in London, into whose 
 
 hands the agent has fallen, was a .rogue, and 
 
 now I know it well enough to swear to it. Cut away, 
 carpenter, and get us rid of all this thumping as soon 
 as possible. A very capital vessel, Mr. Monday, or 
 she would have rolled the pumps out of her, and cap 
 sized the galley." 
 
 No attempt being made to save anything, the 
 wreck was floating astern in five minutes, and the 
 ship was fortunately extricated from this new hazard. 
 Mr. Truck, in spite of his acquired coolness, looked 
 piteously at all that gallant hamper, in which he had 
 so lately rejoiced, as yard-arm, cross-trees, tressel- 
 trees, and tops rose on the summits of swells or set 
 tled in the troughs, like whales playing their gam 
 bols. But habit is a seaman's philosophy, and in no 
 one feature is his character more respectable than 
 in that manliness which disinclines him to mourn 
 over a misfortune that is inevitable. 
 
 The Montauk now resembled a tree stripped of its 
 branches, or a courser crippled in his sinews ; her 
 glory had, in a great degree, departed. The fore 
 mast alone remained, and of this even the head was 
 gone, a circumstance of which Captain Truck com 
 plained more than of any other, as, to use his own ex 
 pressions, "it destroyed the symmetry of the spar, 
 which had proved itself to be a good stick." What, 
 however, was of more real importance, it rendered it 
 difficult, if not impossible, to get up a spare top-mast 
 forward. As both the main and mizen-mast had gone 
 quite near the deck, this was almost the only tolerably 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 205 
 
 easy expedient that remained ; and, within an hour 
 of the accident, Mr. Truck announced his intentions 
 to stand as far south as he could to strike the trades, 
 and then to make a fair wind of it across the Atlan 
 tic, unless, indeed, he might be able to fetch into the 
 Cape de Verde Islands, where it would be possible, 
 perhaps, to get something like a new outfit. 
 
 " All I now ask, my dear young lady," he said to 
 Eve, who ventured on deck to look at the desolation, 
 as soon as the wreck was cut adrift, "all I now ask, 
 my dear young lady, is an end to westerly winds for 
 two or three weeks, and I will promise to place you 
 all in America yet, in time to eat your Christmas din 
 ner. I do not think Sir George will shoot many 
 white bears among the Rocky Mountains this year, 
 but then there will be so many more left for another 
 season. The ship is in a category, and he will be an 
 impudent scoundrel who denies it ; but worse cate 
 gories than this have been reasoned out of counte 
 nance. All head-sail is not a convenient show of cloth 
 to claw off a lee-shore with ; but I still hope to escape 
 the misfortune of laying eyes on the coast of Africa." 
 
 "Are we far from it?" asked Eve, who sufficient 
 ly understood the danger of being on an uninhabit 
 able shore in their present situation ; one in which it 
 was vain to seek for a port. " I would rather be in 
 the neighbourhood of any other land, I think, than 
 that of Africa." 
 
 " Especially Africa between the Canaries and 
 Cape Blanco," returned Captain Truck, with an ex 
 pressive shrug. " More hospitable regions exist, 
 certainly; for, if accounts are to be credited, the 
 honest people along-shore never get a Christian that 
 they do not mount him on a camel, and trot him 
 through the sands a thousand miles or so, under a 
 hot sun, with a sort of haggis for food, that would go 
 nigh to take away even a Scotchman's appetite." 
 
 " And you do not tell us how far we are from this 
 
 VOL. i. 18 
 
 
20G HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 frightful land, Mons. le Capilaine ?" inquired Made 
 moiselle Viefville. 
 
 " In ten minutes you shall know, ladies, for I am 
 about to observe for the longitude. It is a little late, 
 but it may yet be done." 
 
 "And we may rely on the fidelity of your infor 
 mation ?" 
 
 " On the honour of a sailor and a man." 
 
 " The ladies were silent, while Mr. Truck pro 
 ceeded to get the time and the sun. As soon as he 
 had run through his calculations, he came to them 
 with a face in which the eye was roving, though it 
 was still good-humoured and smiling. 
 
 " And the result ?" said Eve. 
 
 " Is not quite as flattering as I could wish. We 
 are materially within a degree of the coast; but, as 
 the wind is gone, or nearly so, we may hope to find 
 a shift that will shove us farther from the land. And 
 now I have dealt frankly with you, let me beg you 
 will keep the secret, for my people will be dreaming 
 of Turks, instead of working, if they knew the fact." 
 
 It required no great observation to discover that 
 Captain Truck was far from satisfied with the posi 
 tion of his ship. Without any after-sail, and almost 
 without the means of making any, it was idle to think 
 of hauling off' from the land, more especially against 
 the heavy sea that was still rolling in from the north 
 west; and his present object was to make the Cape 
 de Verdes, before reaching which he would be cer 
 tain to meet the trades, and where, of course, there 
 would be some chance of repairing damages. His 
 apprehensions would have been much less were the 
 snip a degree or two further south, or even a degree 
 further west, as the prevailing winds in this part of 
 the ocean are from the northward arid eastward; 
 but it was no easy matter to force a ship that distance 
 under a fore-sail, the only regular sail that now re 
 mained in its place. It is true, he had some of the 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 207 
 
 usual expedients of seamen at his command, and the 
 people were immediately set about them ; but, in 
 consequence of the principal spars having gone so 
 near the decks, it became exceedingly difficult to rig 
 jury-masts. 
 
 Something must be attempted, however, and the 
 spare spars were got out, and all the necessary pre 
 parations were commenced, in order that they might 
 be put into their places and rigged, as well as cir 
 cumstances would allow. As soon as the sea went 
 down, and the steadiness of the ship would permit, 
 Mr. Leach succeeded in getting up an awkward 
 lower studding-sail, and a sort of a stay-sail forward, 
 and with these additions to their canvass, the ship 
 was brought to head south, with the wind light at the 
 westward. The sea was greatly diminished about 
 noon ; but a mile an hour, for those who had so long 
 a road before them, and who were so near a coast 
 that was known to be fearfully inhospitable, was a 
 cheerless progress, and the cry of "sail, ho !" early 
 in the afternoon, diffused a general joy in the Mon- 
 tauk. 
 
 The stranger was made to the southward and east 
 ward, and was standing on a course that must bring her 
 quite near to their own track, as the Montauk then 
 headed. The wind was so light, however, that Captain 
 Truck gave it as his opinion they could not speak until 
 night had set in. 
 
 " Unless the coast has brought him up, yonder 
 flaunting gentleman, who seems to have had better 
 luck with his light canvass than ourselves, must be 
 the Foam," he said. " Tobacco, or no tobacco, 
 bride or bridegroom, the fellow has us at last, and all 
 the consolation that is left is, that we shall be much 
 obliged to him, now, if he will carry us to Ports 
 mouth, or into any other Christian haven. We have 
 shown him what a kettle-bottom can do before the 
 wind, and now let him give us a tow to windward 
 
208 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 like a generous antagonist. That is what I call Yat- 
 tel, my dear young lady." 
 
 " If he do this, he will indeed prove himself a gene 
 rous adversary," said Eve, " and we shall be certain 
 to speak well of his humanity, whatever we may 
 think of his obstinacy." 
 
 " Are you quite sure the ship in sight is the cor 
 vette?" asked Paul Blunt. 
 
 "Who else can it be? Two vessels are quite 
 sufficient to be jammed down here on the coast of 
 Africa, and we know that the Englishman must be 
 somewhere to leeward of us ; though, I will confess, 
 I had believed him much farther, if not plump up 
 among the Mohammedans, beginning to reduce to a 
 feather-weight, like Captain Riley, who came out 
 with just his skin and bones, after a journey across 
 the desert." 
 
 " I do not think those top-gallant-sails have the 
 symmetry of the canvass of a ship-of-war." 
 
 Captain Truck looked steadily at the young man 
 an instant, as one regards a sound criticism, and then 
 he turned his eye towards the object of which they 
 were speaking. 
 
 " You are right, sir," he rejoined, after a moment 
 of examination ; " and I have had a lesson in my 
 own trade from one young enough to be my son. 
 The stranger is clearly no cruiser, and as there is no 
 port in-shore of us anywhere near this latitude, he is 
 probably some trader who has been driven down 
 here, like ourselves." 
 
 " And I'm very sure, captain," put in Sir George 
 Templemore, " we ought to rejoice sincerely that, 
 like ourselves, he has escaped shipwreck. For my 
 part, I pity the poor wretches on board the Foam 
 most sincerely, and could almost wish myself a 
 Catholic, that one might yet offer up sacrifices in 
 their behalf." 
 
 "You have shown yourself a Christian throughout 
 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 209 
 
 all'that [affair, Sir George, and I shall not forget 
 your handsome offers to befriend the ship, rather 
 than let us fall into the jaws of the Philistines. We 
 were in a category more than once, with that nimble- 
 looted racer in our wake, and you were the man, 
 Sir George, who manifested the most hearty desire 
 to get us out." 
 
 "I ever feel an interest in the ship in which I em 
 bark," returned the gratified baronet, who was not 
 displeased at hearing his liberality so openly com 
 mended ; " and I would cheerfully have given a 
 thousand pounds in preference to being taken. I 
 rather think, now, that is the true spirit for a sports 
 man !" * 
 
 " Or for an admiral, my good sir. To be frank 
 with you, Sir George, when I first had the honour of 
 your acquaintance, I did not think you had so much 
 in you. There was a sort of English attention to 
 small wares, a species of knee-buckleism about your 
 debult, as Mr. Dodge calls it, that made me distrust 
 your being the whole-souled and one-idea'd man 1 
 find you really arc." 
 
 " Oh ! I do like my comforts," said Sir George, 
 laughing. 
 
 " That you do, and I am only surprised you don't 
 smoke. Now, Mr. Dodge, your room-mate, there, 
 tells me you have six-and-thirty pair of breeches !" 
 
 " I have yes, indeed, I have. One would wish to 
 go abroad decently clad." 
 
 " Well ! if it should be our luck to travel in the 
 deserts, your wardrobe would rig out a whole harem." 
 
 " I wish, captain, you would do me the favour to 
 step into our state-room, some morning ; 1 have 
 many curious things I should like to show you. A 
 setof" razors, in particular,-r-and a dressing-case and 
 a pair of patent pistols and that life-preserver that 
 you admire so much, Mr. Dodge. Mr. Dodge has 
 seen most of my curiosities, I believe, and will 
 18* 
 
 
210 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 tell you some of them are really worth a moment's 
 examination." 
 
 " Yes, captain, I must say," observed Mr. Dodge, 
 tor this conversation was held apart between the 
 three, the mate keeping an eye the while on the duty 
 of the ship, for habit had given Mr. Truck the faculty 
 of driving his people while he entertained his pas 
 sengers " Yes, captain, I must say I have met no 
 gentleman who is better supplied with necessaries, 
 than my friend, Sir George. But English gentlemen 
 are curious in such things, and I admit that I admire 
 their ingenuity." 
 
 "Particularly in breeches, Mr. Dodge. Have you 
 coats to match, Sir George ?" ^ 
 
 " Certainly, sir. One would be a little absurd in 
 his shirt sleeves. I wish, captain, we could make 
 Mr. Dodge a little less of a republican. I find him a 
 most agreeable room-mate, but rather annoying on 
 the subject of kings and princes." 
 
 " You stick up for the people, Mr. Dodge, or to the 
 old category?" 
 
 " On that subject, Sir George and I shall never 
 agree, for he is obstinately monarchial ; but I tell 
 him we shall treat him none the worse for that, when 
 he gets among us. He has promised me a visit in 
 our part of the country, and I have pledged myself 
 to his being unqualifiedly well received ; and I think 
 1 know the whole meaning of a pledge." 
 
 " I understand Mr. Dodge," pursued the baronet, 
 " that he is the editor of a public journal, in which 
 he entertains his readers with an account of his ad 
 ventures and observations during his travels. ' The 
 Active Inquirer,' is it not, Mr. Dodge ?" 
 
 " That is the name, Sir George. The Active In 
 quirer' is the present name, though when we sup 
 ported Mr. Adams it was called ' The Active En 
 quirer,' with an E." 
 
 "A distinction without a difference; I like that," 
 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 211 
 
 interrupted Captain Truck. " This is the second 
 time I have had the honour to sail with Mr. Dodge, 
 and a more active inquirer never put foot in a ship, 
 though I did not know the use he put his information 
 to before. It is all in the way of trade, I find." 
 
 " Mr. Dodge claims to belong to a profession, cap 
 tain, and is quite above trade. He tells me many 
 things have occurred on board this ship, since we 
 sailed, that will make very eligible paragraphs." 
 
 " The d he does ! I should like particularly 
 
 well, Mr. Dodge, to know what you will find to say 
 concerning this category in which the Montauk is 
 placed." 
 
 " Oh ! captain, no fear of me, when you are con 
 cerned. You know I am a friend, and you have no 
 cause to apprehend anything ; though I Ml not an 
 swer for everybody else on board ; for there are 
 passengers in this ship to whom I have decided an 
 tipathies, and whose deportment meets with 'my un 
 qualified disapprobation." 
 
 " And you intend to paragraph them ?" 
 
 Mr. Dodge was now swelling with the conceit of 
 a vulgar and inflated man, who not only fancies 
 himself in possession of a power that others dread, 
 but who was so far blinded to his own qualities as to 
 think his opinion of importance to those whom he 
 felt, in the minutest fibre of his envious and malig 
 nant system, to be in every essential his superiors. 
 He did riot dare express all his rancour, while he 
 was unequal to suppressing it entirely. 
 
 " These Effinghams, and this Mr. 8harp, and that 
 Mr. Blunt," he muttered, " think themselves every 
 body's betters ; but we shall see ! America is not a 
 country in which people can shut themselves up in 
 rooms, and fancy they are lords and ladies." 
 
 " Bless my soul !" said Captain Truck, with his 
 affected simplicity of manner ; " how did you find 
 
212 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 this out, Mr. Dodge ? What a thing it is, Sir George, 
 to be an active inquirer P' 
 
 4< Oh ! I know when a man is blown up with no 
 tions of his own importance. As for Mr. John Effing- 
 ham, he lias been so long abroad that he has forgot 
 ten that lie is a going home to a country of equal 
 rights !" 
 
 " Very true, Mr. Dodge ; a country in which a 
 man cannot shut himself up in iiis room, whenever 
 the notion seizes him. This is the spirit, Sir George, 
 to make a great nation, and you sec that the daugh 
 ter is likely to prove worthy of the old lady! But, 
 my dear sir, are you quite sure that Mr. John Effing- 
 ham has absolutely so high a sentiment in his own 
 favour. It would be awkward business to make a 
 blunder in such a serious matter, and murder a para 
 graph for nothing. You should remember the mis 
 take of the Irishman !" 
 
 " What was that?" asked the baronet, who was 
 completely mystified by the indomitable gravity of 
 Captain Truck, whose character might be said to be 
 actually formed by the long habit of treating the 
 weaknesses of his fellow-creatures with cool con 
 tempt. " We hear many good things at our club ; 
 but I do not remember the mistake of the Irish 
 man?" 
 
 "He merely mistook the drumming in his own 
 ear, for some unaccountable noise that disturbed his 
 companions." 
 
 Mr. Dodge felt uncomfortable ; but there is no one 
 in \vhom a vulgar-minded man stands so much in 
 awe as an immovable quiz, who has no scruple Jn 
 using his power. He shook his head, therefore, in a 
 menacing manner, and affecting to have something 
 to do he went below, leaving the baronet and captain 
 by themselves. 
 
 " Mr. Dodge is a stubborn friend of liberty," said 
 the former, when his room-mate was out of hearing. 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 213 
 
 " That is he, and you have his own word for it. 
 He has no notion of letting a man do as he has a 
 mind to ! We are full of such active inquirers in 
 America, and I don't care how many you shoot be 
 fore you begin upon the white bears, Sir George." 
 
 "But it would be more gracious in the Effing- 
 hams, you must allow, captain, if they shut them 
 selves up in their cabin less, and admitted us to their 
 society a little oftener. I am quite of Mr. Dodge's 
 way of thinking, that exclusion is excessively odious." 
 
 " There is a poor fellow in the steerage, Sir 
 George, to whom I have given a piece of canvass to 
 repair a damage to his mainsail, who would say the 
 same thing, did he know of your six-and-thirtys. 
 Take a cigar, my dear sir, and smoke away sorrow." 
 
 "Thankee, captain: I never smoke. We never 
 smoke at our club, though some of us go, at times, to 
 the divan to try a chibouk.' 7 
 
 " We can't all have cabins to ourselves, or no one 
 would live forward, Sir George. If the Effinghams 
 like their own apartment, I do honestly believe it is 
 for a reason as simple as that it is the best in the ship. 
 I '11 warrant you, if there were a better, that they 
 would be ready enough to change. I suppose when 
 we get in, Mr. Dodge will honour you with an arti 
 cle in 'The Active Inquirer?" 
 
 " To own the truth, he has intimated some such 
 thing." fc 
 
 "And why not? A very instructive paragraph 
 might be made about the six-and-thirty pair of 
 breeches, and the patent razors, and the dressing- 
 case, to say nothing of the Rocky Mountains, and 
 the white bears." 
 
 Sir George now began to feel uncomfortable, and 
 making a few unmeaning remarks about the late ac 
 cident, he disappeared. 
 
 Captain Truck, who never smiled except at the 
 corner of his left eye, turned away, and began rat- 
 
214 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 tlirig off his people, and throwing in a hint 01 two to 
 Saunders, with as much indifference as if he were a 
 firm believer in the unfailing orthodoxy of a news 
 paper, and entertained a profound respect for the 
 editor of The Active Inquirer,' in particular. 
 
 The prognostic of the master concerning the 
 strange ship proved true, for about nine at night she 
 came within hail, and backed her maintop-sail. This 
 vessel proved to be an American in ballast, bound 
 from Gibraltar to New York ; a return store-ship 
 from the squadron kept in the Mediterranean. She 
 had met the gale to the westward of Madeira, arid 
 after holding on as long as possible, had also been 
 compelled to scud. According to the report of her 
 officers, the Foam had run in much closer to the 
 coast than herself, and it was their opinion she was 
 lost. Their own escape was owing entirely to the 
 winds abating, for they had actually been within 
 sight of the land, though having received no injury, 
 they had been able to haul off in season. 
 
 Luckily, this ship was ballasted with fresh water, 
 and Captain Truck passed the night in negotiating'a 
 transfer of his steerage passengers, under an appre 
 hension that, in the crippled state of his own vessel, 
 his supplies might be exhausted before he could 
 reach America. In the morning, the offer of being 
 put on board the store-ship was made to those who 
 chose to accept it, and all in the steerage, with most 
 from the cabin, profited by the occasion to exchange 
 a dismasted vessel for one that was, at least, full rig 
 ged. Provisions were transferred accordingly, and 
 by noon next day the stranger made sail on a wind, 
 the sea being tolerably smooth, and the breeze still 
 ahead. In three hours she was out of sight to the north 
 ward and westward, the Montauk holding her own 
 dull course to the southward, with the double view of 
 striking the trades, or of reaching one of the Cape 
 de Verdcs. 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 215 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Steph. His forward voice now is to speak well of his friend ; 
 his backward voice is to utter foul speeches, and to detract. 
 
 Tempest. 
 
 THE situation of the Montauk appeared more de 
 solate than ever, after the departure of so many of 
 her passengers. So long as her decks were throng 
 ed there was an air of life about her, that served to 
 lessen disquietude, but now that she was left by all 
 in the steerage, and by so many in the cabins, those 
 who remained began to entertain livelier apprehen 
 sions of the future. When the upper sails of the 
 store-ship sunk as a speck in the ocean, Mr. Effing- 
 ham regretted that he, too, had not. overcome his re 
 luctance to a crowded and inconvenient cabin,* and 
 gone on board her, with his own party. Thirty 
 years before he would have thought himself fortu 
 nate in finding so good a ship, and accommodations 
 so comfortable, for a passage ; but habit and indul 
 gence change all our opinions, and he had now 
 thought it next to impossible to place Eve and Ma 
 demoiselle Viefville in a situation that was so com 
 mon to those who travelled by sea at the com 
 mencement of the century. 
 
 Most of the cabin passengers, as has just been 
 stated, decided differently, none, remaining but the 
 Effinghams and their party ; Mr, Sharp, Mr. Blunt, 
 Sir George Templemore, Mr. Dodge, and Mr. Mon 
 day. Mr. Effingham had been influenced by the su 
 perior comforts of the packet, and his hopes that a 
 speedy arrival at the islands would enable the ship 
 to refit, in time to reach America almost as soon as 
 the dull-sailing vessel which had just left them. Mr. 
 
21 G HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 Sharp and Mr. Blunt had both expressed a determi 
 nation to share his fortunes, which was indirectly 
 saying that they would share the fortunes of his 
 daughter. John Effingham remained as a matter of 
 course, though he had made a proposition to the 
 stranger to tow them into port, an arrangement that 
 failed in consequence of the two captains disagreeing 
 as to the course proper to be steered, as well as to a 
 more serious obstacle in the way of compensation, 
 the stranger throwing out some pretty plain hints 
 about salvage ; and Mr. Monday staying from an in 
 veterate attachment to the steward's stores, more of 
 which, he rightly judged, would now fall to his share 
 than formerly. 
 
 Sir George Templemore had gone on board the 
 store-ship, and had given some very clear demon 
 strations of an intention to transfer himself and the 
 thirty-six pair of breeches to that vessel ; but on ex 
 amining her comforts, and particularly the confined 
 place in which he would be compelled to stow him 
 self and his numerous curiosities, he was unequal to 
 the sacrifice. On the other hand, he knew an entire 
 state-room would now fall to his share, and this self- 
 indulged and feeble-minded young man preferred his 
 immediate comfort, and the gratification of his be 
 setting weakness, to his safety. 
 
 As for Mr. Dodge, he had the American mania of 
 hurry, and was one of the first to propose a general 
 swarming, as soon as it was known the stranger 
 could receive them. During the night, he had been 
 actively employed in fomenting a party to " resolve" 
 that prudence required the Montauk should be alto 
 gether abandoned, and even after this scheme failed, 
 he had dwelt eloquently in corners (Mr. Dodge was 
 too meek, and too purely democratic, ever to speak 
 aloud, unless under the shadow of public opinion,) 
 on the propriety of Captain Truck's yielding his own 
 judgment to that of the majority. He might as well 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 217 
 
 have scolded against the late gale, in the expectation 
 of out-railing the tempest, as to make such an at 
 tempt on the firm-set notions of the old seaman con 
 cerning his duty; for no sooner was the thing inti 
 mated to him than he growled a denial in a tone that 
 he was little accustomed to use to his passengers, 
 and one that effectually silenced remonstrance. When 
 these two plans had failed, Mr. Dodge endeavoured 
 strenuously to show Sir George that his interests and 
 safety were on the side of a removal ; but with all 
 his eloquence, and with the hold that incessant adula 
 tion had actually given him on the mind of the other, 
 he was unable to overcome his love of ease, and 
 chiefly the passion for the enjoyment of the hundred 
 articles of comfort and curiosity in which the baro 
 net so much delighted. The breeches might have 
 been packed in a trunk, it is true, and so might the 
 razors, and the dressing-case, and the pistols, and 
 most of the other things ; but Sir George loved to 
 look at them daily, and as many as possible were 
 constantly paraded before his eyes. 
 
 To the surprise of every one, Mr. Dodge, on find 
 ing it impossible to prevail on Sir George Temple- 
 more to leave the packet, suddenly announced his 
 own intention to remain also. Few stopped to in 
 quire into his motives in the hurry of such a moment. 
 To his room-mate he affirmed that the strong friend 
 ship he had formed for him, could alone induce him 
 to relinquish the hope of reaching home previously to 
 the autumn elections. 
 
 Nor did Mr. Dodge greatly colour the truth in 
 making this statement. He was an American dema 
 gogue precisely in obedience to those feelings and 
 inclinations which would have made him a courtier 
 anywhere else. It is true, he had travelled, or 
 thought he had travelled, in a diligence with a count 
 ess or two, but from these he had been obliged to 
 separate early on account of the force of things; 
 
 VOL. r. 19 
 
218 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 while here he had got a bond-fide English baronet all to 
 himself, in a confined state-room, and his imagination 
 revelled in the glory and gratification of such an ac 
 quaintance. What were the proud and distant Ef- 
 fmghams to Sir George Templemore ! He even as 
 cribed their reserve with the baronet to envy, a pas 
 sion of whose existence he had very lively percep 
 tions, and he found a secret charm in being shut up 
 in so small an apartment with a man who could ex 
 cite envy in an Effingham. Rather than abandon 
 his aristocratical prize, therefore, whom he intended 
 to exhibit to all his democratic friends in his own 
 neighbourhood, Mr. Dodge determined to abandon 
 his beloved hurry, looking for his reward in the fu 
 ture pleasure of talking of Sir George Templemore 
 and his curiosities, and his sayings and his jokes, in 
 the circle at home. Odd, moreover, as it may seem, 
 Mr. Dodge had an itching desire to remain with the 
 Effinghams; for while he was permitting jealousy 
 and a consciousness of inferiority to beget hatred, he 
 was willing at any moment to make peace, provided 
 it could be done by a frank admission into their inti 
 macy. As to the innocent family that was rendered 
 of so much account to the happiness of Mr. Dodge, it 
 seldom thought of that individual at all, little dream 
 ed of its own importance in his estimation, and 
 merely acted in obedience to its own cultivated 
 tastes and high principles in disliking his company. 
 It fancied itself, in this particular, the master of its 
 own acts, and this so much the more, that with the 
 reserve of good-breeding its members seldom indul 
 ged in censorious personal remarks, and never in 
 gossip, 
 
 As a consequence of these contradictory feelings 
 of Mr. Dodge, and of the fastidiousness of Sir George 
 Templemore, the interest her two admirers took in 
 Eve, the devotion of Mr. Monday to sherry and 
 champaigne, and the decision of Mr. Effingham, 
 
KOMEWARD BOUND. 219 
 
 these persons therefore remained the sole occupants 
 of the cabins of the Montauk. Of the oi polloi, who 
 had left them, we have hitherto said nothing, be 
 cause this separation was to remove them entirely 
 from the interest of our incidents. 
 
 If we were to say that Captain Truck did not feel 
 melancholy as the store-ship sunk beneath the hori 
 zon, we should represent that stout-hearted mariner 
 as more stoical than he actually was, In the course 
 of a long and adventurous professional life, he 
 had encountered calamities before, but he had never 
 before been compelled to call in assistance to de 
 liver his passengers at the stipulated port, since he 
 had commanded a packet. He felt the necessity, in 
 the present instance, as a sort of stain upon his cha 
 racter as a seaman, though in fact the accident which 
 had occurred was chiefly to be attributed to a con 
 cealed defect in the mainmast. The honest master 
 sighed often, smoked nearly double the usual number 
 of cigars in the course of the afternoon, and when 
 the sun went down gloriously in the distant west, he 
 stood gazing at the sky in melancholy silence, as long 
 as any of the magnificent glory that accompanies the 
 decline of day lingered afhong the vapours of the 
 horizon. He then summoned Saunders to the quar 
 ter-deck, where the following dialogue took place be 
 tween them. 
 
 " This is a devil of a category to be in, Master 
 Steward !" 
 
 " Well, he might be better, sir. I only wish the 
 good butter may endure until we get in." 
 
 " If it fail, I shall go nigh to see you clapt into the 
 State's prison, or at least into that Gothic cottage on 
 BlackwelPs Island." 
 
 "There is an end to all things, Captain Truck, if 
 you please, sir, even to butter. I presume, sir, Mr. 
 Vattel, if he know anything of cookery, will admit 
 that." 
 
 
220 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 " Harkee, Saunders, if you ever insinuate again 
 that Vattel belonged to the coppers, in my presence, 
 I '11 take the liberty to land you on the coast here, 
 where you may amuse yourself in stewing young 
 monkeys for your own dinner. I saw you aboard 
 the other ship, sir, overhauling her arrangements ; 
 what sort of a time will the gentlemen be likely to 
 have in her ?" 
 
 " Atrocious, sir ! I give you my honour, as a real 
 gentleman, sir. Why, would you believe it, Captain 
 Truck, the steward is a downright nigger, and he 
 wears ear-rings, and a red flannel shirt, without the 
 least edication. As for the cook, sir, he wouldn't 
 pass an examination for Jemmy Ducks aboard here, 
 and there is but one camboose, and one set of cop 
 pers." 
 
 " Well, the steerage-passengers, in that case, will 
 fare as well as the cabin." 
 
 " Yes, sir, and the cabin as bad as the steerage; 
 and for my part, I abomernate liberty and equality." 
 
 " You should converse with Mr. Dodge on that 
 subject, Master Saunders, and let the hardest fend 
 off in the argument. May I inquire, sir, if you hap 
 pen to remember the day of the week?" 
 
 " Beyond controwersy, sir ; to-morrow will be Sun 
 day, Captain Truck, and 1 think it a thousand pities 
 we have not an opportunity to solicit the prayers 
 and praises of the church, sir, in our behalf, sir." 
 
 " If to-morrow will be Sunday, to-day must be Sa 
 turday, Mr. Saunders, unless this last gale has de 
 ranged the calendar." 
 
 "Quite naturally, sir, and werry justly remarked. 
 Every body admits there is no better navigator than 
 Captain Truck, sir." 
 
 " This may be true, my honest fellow," returned 
 the captain moodily, after making three or four heavy 
 puffs at the cigar ; " but I am sadly out of my road 
 down here in the country of your amiabl^^amily, 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 221 
 
 just now. It this be Saturday, there will be a Sa 
 turday night before long, and look to it, that we have 
 our ' sweethearts and wives.' Though I have nei 
 ther myself, I feel the necessity of something cheer 
 ful, to raise my thoughts to the future." 
 
 " Depend on my discretion, sir, and I rejoice to 
 hear you say it ; for I think, sir, a ship is never so 
 respectable and genteel as when she celebrates all the 
 anniversaries. You will be quite a select and agree 
 able party to-night, sir." 
 
 With this remark Mr. Saunders withdrew, to con 
 fer with Toast on the subject, arid Captain Truck 
 proceeded to give his orders for the night to Mr. 
 Leach. The proud ship did indeed present a sight 
 to make a seaman melancholy ; for to the only re 
 gular sail that stood, the foresail, by this time was 
 added a lower studding-sail, imperfectly rigged, and 
 which would not resist a fresh puff, while a very in 
 artificial jury-topmast supported a topgallant-sail, 
 that could only be carried in a free wind. Aft, pre 
 parations were making of a more permanent nature, 
 it is true. The upper part of the mainmast had been 
 cut away, as low as the steerage-deck, where an ar 
 rangement had been made to step a spare topmast. 
 The spar itself was lying on the deck rigged, and a 
 pair of sheers were in readiness to be hoisted, in 
 order to sway it up ; but night approaching, the 
 men had been broken off, to rig the yards, bend the 
 sails, and to fit the other spars it was intended to use, 
 postponing the last act, that of sending all up until 
 morning. 
 
 "We are likely to have a quiet night of it," said 
 the captain, glancing his eyes round at the heavens ; 
 " and at eight o'clock to-morrow let all hands be 
 called, when we will turn-to with a will, and make a 
 brig of the old hussey. This topmast will do to bear 
 the strain of the spare mainyard, unless there come 
 another gale, and by reefing the new mainsail we 
 
222 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 shall be able to make something out of it. The top 
 gallant-mast will fit of course above, and xve may 
 make out, by keeping a little free, to carry the sail : 
 at need, we may possibly coax the contrivance into 
 carrying a studding-sail also. We have sticks for no 
 more, though we '11 endeavour to get up something 
 aft, out of the spare spars obtained from the store- 
 ship. You may knock off at four bells, Mr. Leach, 
 and let the poor fellows have their Saturday's night 
 in peace. It is a misfortune enough to be dismasted, 
 without having one's grog stopped." 
 
 The mate of course obeyed, and the evening shut 
 in beautifully and placid, with all the glory of a mild 
 night, in a latitude as low as that they were in. They 
 who have never seen the ocean under such circum 
 stances, know little of its charms in its moments of 
 rest. The term of sleeping is well applied to its im 
 pressive stillness, for the long sluggish swells on 
 which the ship rose and fell, hardly disturbed its 
 surface. The moon did not rise until midnight, and 
 Eve, accompanied by Mademoiselle Viefville and most 
 of her male companions, walked the deck by the 
 bright starlight, until fatigued with pacing their nar 
 row bounds. 
 
 The song and the laugh rose frequently from the 
 lorecastle, where the crew were occupied with their 
 Saturday-night; and occasionally a rude sentiment 
 in the way of a toast was heard. But weariness 
 soon got the better of merriment forward, and the 
 ( hard-worked mariners, who had the watch below, 
 soon went down to their berths, leaving those whose 
 doty it was to remain to doze away the long hours in 
 such places as they could find on deck. 
 
 " A white squall," said Captain Truck, looking up 
 at the uncouth sails that hardly impelled the vessel a 
 mile in the hour through the water, " would soon furl 
 all our canvass for us, and we are in the very place 
 for such an interlude." 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 223 
 
 " And what would then become of us T 1 asked 
 Mademoiselle Viefville quickly. 
 
 " You had better ask what would become of that 
 apology for a topsail, mam'selle, and yonder stun'- 
 sail, which looks like an American in London with 
 out straps to his pantaloons. The canvass would 
 play kite, and we should be left to renew our inven 
 tions. A ship could scarcely be in better plight than 
 we are at this moment, to meet with one of these 
 African flurries." 
 
 " In which case, captain," observed Mr. Monday, 
 who stood by the skylight watching the preparations 
 below, " we can go to our Saturday-night without 
 fear; for I see the steward has everything ready, 
 and the punch looks very inviting, to say nothing of 
 the champaigne." 
 
 " Gentlemen, \ve will not forget our duty," re 
 turned the captain ; " we are but a small family, and 
 so much the greater need that \ve should prove a jolly 
 one. Mr. Effingham, I hope we are to have the ho 
 nour of your company at * sweethearts and wives.* " 
 
 Mr. Effingham had no wife, and the invitation 
 coming under such peculiar circumstances, produced 
 a pang that Eve, who felt his arm tremble, well un 
 derstood. She mildly intimated her intention to go 
 below however ; the whole party followed, and lucky 
 it was for the captain's entertainment that she quit 
 ted the deck, as few would otherwise have been pre 
 sent at it. By pressing the passengers to favour him 
 with' their company, he succeeded in getting all the 
 gentlemen seated at the cabin-table, with a glass of 
 delicious punch before each man, in the course of a 
 few minutes. 
 
 "Mr. Saunders may not be a conjuror or a mathe 
 matician, gentlemen," cried Captain Truck, as he 
 ladled out the beverage ; " but he understands the 
 philosophy of sweet arid sour, strong and weak ; and 
 I will venture to praise his liquor without tasting it. 
 
224 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 Well, gentlemen, there are better-rigged ships on the 
 ocean than this of ours; but there arc few with 
 more comfortable cabins, or stouter hulls, or better 
 company. Please God we can get a few sticks aloft, 
 again, now that we are quit of our troublesome sha 
 dow, I think 1 may flatter myself with a reasonable 
 hope of landing you, that do me the honour to stand 
 by me, in New York, in less time than a common 
 dregger would make the passage, with all his legs 
 nnd arms. Let our first toast be, if you please, ' A 
 happy end to that which has had a disastrous be 
 ginning.' " 
 
 Captain Truck's hard face twitched a little while 
 he \vas making this address, and as he swallowed 
 the punch, his eyes glistened in spite of himself. 
 Mi: Dodge, Sir George, and Mr. Monday repeated 
 the sentiment sonorously, word for word, while the 
 other gentlemen bowed, and drank it in silence. 
 
 The commencement of a regular scene of merri 
 ment is usually dull and formal, and it was some time 
 before Captain Truck could bring any of his com 
 panions up to the point where he wished to see them ; 
 for though a perfectly sober man, he loved a social 
 glass, and particularly at those times and seasons 
 which conformed to the practices of his calling. Al 
 though Eve and her governess had declined taking 
 their seats at the table, they consented to place them 
 selves where they might be seen, and where they 
 might share occasionally in the conversation. 
 
 " Here have I been drinking sweethearts and wives 
 of a Saturday-night, my dear young lady, these forty 
 years and more," said Captain Truck, after the party 
 had sipped their liquor for a minute or two, " without 
 ever falling into luck's latitude, or furnishing myself 
 with either ; but, though so negligent of my own in 
 terests and happiness, I make it an invariable rule to 
 advise all my young friends to got spliced before they 
 are thirty. Many is the man who has come aboard 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 225 
 
 my ship a determined bachelor in his notions, who 
 has left it at the end of the passage ready to marry 
 the first pretty young woman he fell in with." 
 
 As Eve had too much of the self-respect of a lady, 
 and of the true dignity of her sex, to permit jokes 
 concerning matrimony, or a treatise on love, to make 
 a part of her conversation, and all the gentlemen of 
 her party understood her character too well, to say 
 nothing of their own habits, to second this attempt 
 of the captain's, after a vapid remark or two from 
 the others, this rally of the honest mariner produced 
 no suites. 
 
 " Are we not unusually low, Captain Truck," in 
 quired Paul Blunt, with a view to change the dis 
 course, " not to have fallen in with the trades ? I 
 have commonly met with those winds on this coast 
 as high as twenty-six or twenty-seven, and I believe 
 you observed to day, in twenty-four." 
 
 Captain Truck looked hard at the speaker, and 
 when he had done, he nodded his head in approba 
 tion. 
 
 " You have travelled this road before, Mr. Blunt, I 
 perceive. I have suspected you of being a brother 
 chip, from the moment I saw you first put your foot 
 on the side-cleets in getting out of the boat. You 
 did not come aboard parrot-toed, like a country girl 
 waltzing ; but set the ball of the foot firmly on the 
 wood, and swung oft" the length of your arms, like a 
 man who knows how to humour the muscles. Your 
 present remark, too, shows you understand where a 
 ship ought to be, in order to be in her right place. 
 As for the trades, they are a little uncertain, like a 
 lady's mind when she has more than one good offer; 
 for I've known them to blow as high as thirty, and 
 then again, to fail a vessel as low as twenty-three, or 
 even lower. It is my private opinion, gentlemen, and 
 I gladly take this opportunity to make it public, that 
 we are on the edge of the trades, or in those light 
 
226 HOMEWARD BOUA'D. 
 
 baffling winds which prevail along their margin, as 
 eddies play near the track of strong steady currents 
 in the ocean, If we can force the ship fairly out of 
 this trimming region that is the word, I believe, Mr, 
 Dodge we shall do well enough ; for a north-east, 
 or an east wind, would soon send us up with the isl 
 ands, even under the rags we carry. We are very 
 near the coast, certainly much nearer than I could 
 wish ? but when we do get the good breeze, it will be 
 all the better for us, as it will find us well to wind 
 ward." 
 
 " But these trades, Captain Truck 1" asked Eve : 
 *' if they .always blow in the same direction, how is 
 it possible that the late gale should drive a ship into 
 the quarter of the ocean where they prevail?*' 
 
 "Always, means sometimes, my dear young lady. 
 Although light winds prevail near the edge of the 
 trades, gales, and tremendous fellows too, sometimes 
 blow there also, as we have just seen. I think we 
 shall now have settled weather, arid that our chance 
 of a safe arrival, more particularly in some southern 
 American port, is almost certain, though our chance 
 for a speedy arrival be not quite as good. I hope 
 before twenty-four hours are passed, to see our decks 
 while with sand. 
 
 " Is that a phenomenon seen here ?" asked the 
 father. 
 
 " Often, Mr. Eftingham, when ships are close in 
 with Africa, and are fairly in the steady winds. To 
 say the truth, the country abreast of us, some twenty 
 or thirty miles distant, is not the most inviting; and 
 though it may not be easy to say where the gar 
 den of Eden is, it is not hazardous to say it is not 
 there." 
 
 " If we are so very near the coast, why do we not 
 see it?" 
 
 " Perhaps we might from aloft, if we had any 
 aloft just now. We are to the southward of the 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 227 
 
 mountains, however, and off a part of the country 
 where the Great Desert makes from the coast. And 
 now, gentlemen, I perceive Mr. Monday finds all this 
 sand arid, and I ask permission to give you, one and 
 all, ' Sweethearts and wives.' " 
 
 Most of the company drank the usual toast with 
 spirit, though both the Effinghams scarce wetted 
 their lips. Eve stole a timid glance at her father, and 
 her own eyes were filled with tears as she withdrew 
 them for she knew that every allusion of this na 
 ture revived in him mournful recollections. As for 
 her cousin Jack, he was so confirmed a bachelor that 
 she thought nothing of his want of sympathy with 
 such a sentiment. 
 
 " You must have a care for your heart, in Ame 
 rica, Sir George Templemore," cried Mr. Dodge, 
 whose tongue loosened with the liquor he drank. 
 " Our ladies are celebrated for their beauty, and are 
 immensely popular, I can assure you." 
 
 Sir George looked pleased, and it is quite proba 
 ble his thoughts ran on the one particular vestment 
 of the six-and-thirty, in which he ought to make his 
 first appearance in such a society. 
 
 " I allow the American ladies to be handsome," 
 said Mr. Monday ; but I think no Englishman need 
 be in any particular danger of his heart from such 
 a cause, after having been accustomed to the beauty 
 of his own island. Captain Truck, I have the ho= 
 nour to drink your health." 
 
 " Fairly said," cried the captain, bowing to the 
 compliment ; " and I ascribe my own hard fortune to 
 the fact that I have been kept sailing between two 
 countries so much favoured in this particular, that I 
 have never been able to make up my mind which to 
 prefer. I have wished a thousand times there was 
 but one handsome woman in the world, when a man 
 ?rould have nothing to do but fall in love with hen 
 
 
228 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 and make up his mind to get married at once, or to 
 hang himself." 
 
 " That is a cruel wish to us men," returned Sir 
 George, " as we should be certain to quarrel for the 
 beauty." 
 
 " In such a case," resumed Mr. Monday, " we 
 common men would have to give way to the claims 
 of the nobility and gentry, and satisfy ourselves with 
 plainer companions ; though an Englishman loves his 
 independence, and might rebel. I have the honour 
 to drink to your health and happiness, Sir George." 
 
 " I protest against your principle, Mr. Monday," 
 said Mr. Dodge, " w r hich is an invasion on human 
 rights. Perfect freedom of action is to be maintain 
 ed in this matter as in all others. I acknowledge that 
 the English ladies are extremely beautiful, but I shall 
 always maintain the supremacy of the American 
 fair." 
 
 " We will drink their healths, sir. I am far from 
 denying their beauty, Mr. Dodge, but I think you 
 must admit that they fade earlier than our British la 
 dies. God bless them both, however, and I empty 
 this glass to the two entire nations, with all my heart 
 and soul." 
 
 " Perfectly polite, Mr. Monday ; but as to the 
 fading of the ladies, I am not certain that I can 
 yield an unqualified approbation to your sentiment." 
 
 " Nay, sir, your climate, you will allow, is none of 
 the best, and it wears out constitutions almost as fast 
 as your states make them," 
 
 " I hope there is no real danger to be apprehended 
 from the climate," said Sir George: "I particularly 
 detest bad climates ; and for that reason have al 
 ways made it a rule never to go into Lincolnshire." 
 
 " In that case, Sir George, you had better have 
 stayed at home. In the way of climate, a man sel 
 dom betters himself by leaving old England. Now 
 this is the tenth time I 've been in America, allowing 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 229 
 
 that I ever reach there, and although I entertain a 
 profound respect for the country, I find myself grow 
 ing older every time I quit it. Mr. Effingham, I do 
 myself the favour to drink to your health and happi 
 ness." 
 
 "You live too well when among us, Mr. Mon 
 day," said the captain; "there are too many soft 
 crabs, hard clams, and canvass-backs; too much old 
 Madeira, and generous Sherry, for a man of your 
 well-known taste to resist them. Sit less time at 
 table, and go oftener to church this trip, and let us 
 hear your report of the consequences a twelvemonth 
 hence." 
 
 " You quite mistake my habits, Captain Truck, I 
 give you my honour. Although a judicious eater, I 
 seldom take anything that is compounded, being a 
 plain roast and boiled man ; a true old-fashioned 
 Englishman in this respect, satisfying rny appetite 
 with solid beef and mutton, and turkeys and pork, 
 and puddings and potatoes, and turnips and carrots, 
 and similar simple food; and then I never drink. 
 Ladies, I ask the honour to be permitted to wish you 
 a happy return to your native countries. I ascribe 
 all the difficulty, sir, to the climate, which will not 
 permit a man to digest properly." 
 
 " Well, Mr. Monday, 1 subscribe to most of your 
 opinions, and I believe few men cross the ocean toge 
 ther that are more harmonious in sentiment, in ge 
 neral, than has proved to be the case between you 
 and Sir George, and myself," observed Mr, Dodge, 
 glancing obliquely and pointedly at the vest of the 
 party, as if he thought they were in a decided mi 
 nority ; " but in this instance, I feel constrained to 
 record my vote in the negative, I believe America 
 has as good a climate, and as good general digestion 
 as commonly falls to the lot of mortals i more than 
 this I do not claim for the country, and less than this 
 I should be reluctant to maintain, I have travelled 
 
 VOL. i, 20 
 
230 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 a little, gentlemen, not as much, perhaps, as the 
 Messrs. Effinghams ; but then a man can see no more 
 than is to be seen, and I do affirm, Captain Truck, 
 that in my poor judgment, which I know is good 
 for nothing " 
 
 " Why do you use it, then ?" abruptly asked the 
 straight-forward captain; "why not rely on a bet 
 ter?" 
 
 "We must use such as we have, or go without, 
 sir; and I suspect, in my very poor judgment, which 
 is probably poorer than that of most others on board, 
 that America is a very good sort of a country. At 
 all events, after having seen something of other coun 
 tries, and governments, and people, I am of opinion 
 that America, as a country, is quite good enough for 
 me." 
 
 " You never said truer words, Mr. Dodge, and I 
 beg you will join Mr. Monday and myself in a fresh 
 glass of punch, just to help on the digestion. You 
 have seen more of human nature than your modesty 
 allows you to proclaim, and I dare say this company 
 would be gratified if you would overcome all scru 
 ples, and let us know your private opinions of the 
 different people you have visited. Tell us something 
 of that dittur you made on the Rhine." 
 
 " Mr. Dodge intends to publish, it is to be hoped!" 
 observed Mr. Sharp; " and it may not be fair to an 
 ticipate his matter." 
 
 " I beg, gentlemen, you will have no scruples on 
 that score, for my work will be rather philosophical 
 and general, than of the particular nature of private 
 anecdotes. Saunders, hand me the manuscript jour 
 nal you will find on the shelf of our state-room, next 
 to Sir George's patent tooth-pick case. This is the 
 book; and now, gentlemen and ladies, I beg you to 
 remember that these are merely the ideas as they 
 arose, and not my more mature reflections." 
 
 " Take a little punch, sir," interrupted the captain, 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 231 
 
 again, whose hard nor'-west face was set in the most 
 demure attention. "There is nothing like punch to 
 clear the voice, Mr. Dodge ; the acid removes the 
 huskiness, the sugar soften the tones, the water mel 
 lows the tongue, and the Jamaica braces the mus 
 cles. With a plenty of punch, a man soon gets to 
 be another I forget the name of that great orator 
 of antiquity, it wasn't Vattel, however." 
 
 " You mean Demosthenes, sir ; and, gentlemen, I 
 beg you to remark that this orator was a republican: 
 but there can be no question that liberty is favoura 
 ble to the encouragement of all the higher qualities. 
 Would you prefer a few notes on Paris, ladies, or 
 shall I commence with some extracts about the 
 Rhine?" 
 
 " Oh! de gra.ce, Monsieur, be so very kind as not 
 to overlook Paris ?" said Mademoiselle Viefville. 
 
 Mr. Dodge bowed graciously, and turning over 
 the leaves of his private journal, he alighted in the 
 heart of the great city named. After some prelimi 
 nary hemming, he commenced reading in a grave 
 didactic tone, that sufficiently showed the value he 
 attached to his own observations. 
 
 "' DejJLuied at ten, as usual, an hour that I find ex 
 ceedingly unreasonable and improper, and one that 
 would meet with general disapprobation in Ame 
 rica. .1 do not wonder that a people gets to be im 
 moral and depraved in their practices, who keep 
 such improper hours. The mind acquires habits of 
 impurity, and all the sensibilities become blunted, by 
 taking the meals out of the natural seasons. I im 
 pute much of the corruption of France to the periods 
 of the day in which the food is taken. ' " 
 
 " Voila une drole d'ldte!" ejaculated Mademoi 
 selle Viefville. 
 
 " ' In which food is taken,' repeated Mr. Dodge, 
 who fancied the involuntary exclamation was in ap 
 probation of the justice of his sentiments. Indeed 
 
2B2 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 the custom of taking wine at this mea], together with 
 the immorality of the hour, must be chief reasons 
 why the French ladies are so much in the practice 
 of drinking to excess/ " 
 
 " Mais, monsieur !" 
 
 " You perceive, mademoiselle calls in question the 
 accuracy of your facts," observed Mr. Blunt, who, 
 in common with all the listeners, Sir George and 
 Mr. Monday excepted, began to enjoy a scene which 
 at first had promised nothing but ennui and disgust. 
 
 " I have it on the best authority, I give you my 
 honour, or I would not introduce so grave a charge 
 in a work of this contemplated importance. I ob 
 tained my information from an English gentleman 
 who has resided twelve years in Paris ; and he in 
 forms me that a very large portion of the women of 
 fashion in that capital, let them belong to what coun 
 try they will, are dissipated." 
 
 " A la bonne heure, monsieur ! ?nais, to drink, it is 
 very different." 
 
 "Not so much so, mademoiselle, as you imagine," 
 rejoined John Effingham. "Mr. Dodge is a purist in 
 language as well as in morals, and he uses terms dif 
 ferently from us less-instructed prattlers. By dissi 
 pated, he understands a drunkard." 
 
 " Comment /" 
 
 " Certainly; Mr. John Effingham, I presume, will 
 at least give us the credit in America of speaking our 
 language better than any other known people. l After 
 dejjunying, took a phyacrv and rode to the palace, to 
 see the king and royal family leave for Nully. ' " 
 
 " Pour oil ?" 
 
 "Pour Neuilly, mademoiselle" Eve quietly an 
 swered. 
 
 " ' For Nully. His majesty went on horseback, 
 preceding his illustrious family and all the rest of the 
 noble party, dressed in a red coat, laced with white 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 233 
 
 on the seams, wearing blue breeches and a cocked 
 hat.' " 
 
 " ' I made the king a suitable republican reverence 
 as he passed, which he answered with a gracious 
 smile, and a benignant glance of his royal eye, 
 The Hon. Louis Philippe Orleans, the present sove 
 reign of the French, is a gentleman of portly and 
 commanding appearance, and in his state attire, 
 which he wore on this occasion, looks ' every inch a. 
 king.' He rides with grace and dignity, and sets an 
 example of decorum and gravity to his subjects, by 
 (he solemnity of his air, that it is to be hoped will 
 produce a beneficial and benign influence during 
 this reign, on the manners of the nation. His dig 
 nity was altogether worthy of the schoolmaster of 
 Haddonfield.' " 
 
 " Par cxemple /" 
 
 "Yes, marn'sclle, in the way of example, it is thai. 
 1 mean. Although a pure democrat, and every way 
 opposed to exclusion, I was particularly struck with 
 the- royalty of his majesty's demeanour, and the 
 great simplicity of his whole deportment. I stood 
 in the crowd next to a. very accomplished countess, 
 who spoke English, and she did me the honour to in 
 vite me to pay her a visit at her hotel, in the vicinity 
 of the Bourse." 
 
 " Mon Dieu man Dieu mon Dieu /" 
 
 " After promising my fair companion to be punc 
 tual, I walked as far as Notter Dam " 
 
 " I wish Mr. Dodge would be a little more dis 
 tinct in his names," said Mademoiselle Vicfville, who 
 had begun to take an interest in the subject, that 
 even valueless opinions excite in us concerning things 
 that touch the affections. 
 
 " Mr. Dodge is a little profane, mademoiselle," ob 
 served the captain ; " but his journal probably was 
 20* 
 
' 
 
 234 HOMEWARD BOCA'D, 
 
 not intended for the ladies, and you must overlook it, 
 Well, sir, you went to that naughty place " 
 
 " To Notter Dam, Captain Truck, if you please, 
 and I flatter myself that is pretty good French." 
 
 " I think, ladies and gentlemen, \ve have a right to 
 insist on a translation ; for plain roast and boiled 
 men, like Mr. Monday and myself, are sometimes 
 weeping when we ought to laugh, so long as the dis 
 course is in anything but old-fashioned English. Help 
 yourself, Mr. Monday, and remember, you never 
 drink." 
 
 "Notter Dam, I believe, mam'selle, means our Mo 
 ther ; the Church of our Mother. Notter, or Noster, 
 our, Dam, Mother : Notter Dam. * Here T was 
 painfully impressed with the irreligion of the struc 
 ture, and the general absence of piety in the archi 
 tecture. Idolatry abounded and so did holy water. 
 How often have I occasion to bless Providence for 
 having made me one of the descendants of those 
 pious ancestors who cast their fortunes in the wilder- 
 ness in preference to giving up their hold on faith 
 and charity ! The building is much inferior in com 
 fort and true taste to the commoner American 
 churches, and met with my unqualified disapproba 
 tion.' " 
 
 '* Est il possible que cela soit vrai, ma chere !" 
 
 " Je 1'espere, bien, mademoiselle." 
 
 " You may despair bien, cousin Eve," said John 
 Effirigham, whose fine curvilinear face curled even 
 more than usual with contempt. 
 
 The ladies whispered a few explanations, and Mr. 
 Dodge, who fancied it was only necessary to resolve 
 to be perfect to achieve hi.s end, went on with his 
 comments, with all the self-satisfaction of a provin 
 cial critic. 
 
 "'From Notter Dam I proceeded in a cabrioly to 
 the great national burying-ground, Fere la Chaise, so 
 termed from the circumstance that its distance from 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 235 
 
 the capital renders chaises necessary for the con 
 voys ' " 
 
 t " How's this, how's this !" interrupted Mr. Truck ; 
 "is one obliged to sail under a convoy about the 
 streets of Paris ?" 
 
 " Monsieur Dodge vent dire, 'convoi. Mr. Dodge 
 mean to say, conwi" kindlv interposed Mademoi 
 selle Viefville. 
 
 " Mr. Dodge is a profound republican, and is an 
 advocate for rotation in language, as well as in of 
 fice : I must accuse you of inconstancy, my dear 
 friend, if I die for it. You certainly do not pronounce 
 your words always in the same way, and when 1 
 had the honour of carrying you out this time six 
 months, when you were practising the continentals, 
 as you call them, you gave very different sounds to 
 many of the words I then had the pleasure and gra 
 tification of hearing you use." 
 
 " We all improve by travelling, sir, and I make no 
 question that my knowledge of foreign language is 
 considerably enlarged by practice in the countries in 
 which they are spoken." 
 
 Here the reading of the journal was interrupted 
 by a long digression on language, in which Messrs. 
 Dodge, Monday, Templemore, and Truck were the 
 principal interlocutors, and during which the pitcher 
 of punch was twice renewed. We shall not record 
 much of this learned discussion, which was singu= 
 larly common-place, though a few of the remarks 
 may be given as a specimen of the whole. 
 
 " I must be permitted to say," replied Mr. Mon 
 day to one of Mr. Dodge's sweeping claims to supe 
 riority in favour of his own nation, " that I think it, 
 quite extraordinary an Englishman should be obliged 
 to go out of his own country in order to hear his 
 own language spoken in purity, and as one who has 
 seen your people, Mr. Dodge, I will venture to affirm 
 
236 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 that nowhere is English better spoken than in Lan 
 cashire. Sir George, I drink your health !" 
 
 " More patriotic than just, Mr. Monday ; every 
 body allows that the American of the eastern states 
 speaks the best English in the world, and I think ei 
 ther of these gentlemen will concede that." 
 
 '* Under the penalty of being nobody," cried Cap 
 tain Truck ; " for my own part, I think, if a man 
 wishes to hear the language in perfection, he ought 
 to pass a week or ten days in the river. 1 must say, 
 Mr. Dodge, I object to many of your sounds, par 
 ticularly that of inyon, which I myself heard you call 
 onion, no later than yesterday." 
 
 " Mr. Monday is a little peculiar in fancying that 
 the best English is to be met with in Lancashire," ob 
 served Sir George Templemore ; " for I do assure 
 you that, in town, we have difficulty in understand 
 ing gentlemen from your part of the kingdom." 
 
 This was a hard cut from one in whom Mr. Mon 
 day expected to find an ally, and that gentleman was 
 driven to washing down the discontent it excited, in 
 punch. 
 
 " But all this time we have interrupted the convoi, 
 or convoy, captain," said Mr. Sharp ; " and Mr. 
 Dodge, to say nothing of the mourners, has every 
 right to complain. I beg that gentleman will pro 
 ceed with his entertaining extracts." 
 
 Mr. Dodge hemmed, sipped a little more liquor, 
 blew his nose, and continued : 
 
 "' The celebrated cemetery, is, indeed, worthy of 
 its high reputation. The utmost republican simpli 
 city prevails in the interments, ditches being dug in 
 which the bodies are laid, side by side, without dis 
 tinction of rank, and with regard only to the order 
 in which the convoys arrive.' I think this sentence, 
 gentlemen, will have great success in America, where 
 the idea of any exclusiveness is quite odious to the 
 majority." 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND, 237 
 
 " Well, for my part," said the captain, " I should 
 have no particular objection to being excluded from 
 such a grave : one would be afraid of catching the 
 cholera in so promiscuous a company." 
 
 Mr. Dodge turned over a few leaves, and gave 
 other extracts. 
 
 " * The last six hours have been devoted to a pro 
 found investigation of the fine arts. My first visit 
 was to the gullyteen ; after which I passed an 
 instructive hour or two in the galleries of the 
 Musy.' " 
 
 " Ou, done ?" 
 
 "Le Musde, mademoiselle." 
 
 < < Where I discovered several very extraordi 
 nary things, in the way of sculpture and painting. I 
 was particularly struck with the manner in which a 
 plate was portrayed in the celebrated marriage of 
 Cana, which might very well have been taken for 
 real Delft, and there was one finger on the hand of a 
 lady that seemed actually fitted to receive and to 
 retain the hymeneal ring/ " 
 
 "Did you inquire if she were engaged? Mr, 
 Monday, we will drink her health." 
 
 " ' Saint Michael and the Dragon is a shefdow- 
 try.' " 
 
 " Un quoi 1" 
 
 " Un chef-d'oeuvre, mademoiselle." 
 
 " * The manner in which the angel holds the 
 dragon with his feet, looking exactly like a worm 
 trodden on by the foot of a child, is exquisitely plain 
 tive and interesting. Indeed these touches of nature 
 abound in the works of the old masters, and I saw 
 several fruit-pieces that I could have eaten. One 
 really gets an appetite by looking at many things 
 here, and I no longer wonder that a Raphael, a Ti 
 tian, a Correggio, a Guide-o.' " 
 
 "Un qui?" 
 
 " Un Guido, mademoiselle." 
 
238 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 "Or a Cooley." 
 
 " And pray who may he be '?" asked Mr. Monday. 
 
 " A young genius in Dodgetown, who promises one 
 day to render the name of an American illustrious. 
 He has painted a new sign for the store, that in its 
 way is quite equal to the marriage of Cana. ' I have 
 stood with tears over the despair, of a Niobe,'" con 
 tinuing to read, " ' and witnessed the contortions of 
 the snakes in the Laocoon with a convulsive eager 
 ness to clutch them, that has made me fancy 1 
 could hear them hiss.' That sentence, I think, will 
 be likely to be noticed even in the New-Old-New- 
 Yorker, one of the very best reviews of our days, 
 gentlemen." 
 
 " Take a little more punch, Mr. Dodge," put in the 
 attentive captain ; " this grows affecting, and needs 
 alleviation, as Saunders would say. Mr. Monday, 
 you will get a bad name for being too sober, if you 
 never ernptv your glass. Proceed, in the name of 
 Heaven ! Mr. Dodge." 
 
 " ' In the evening I went to the Grand Opery.' " 
 
 " Ou, done ?" 
 
 " Au grand Hoppery, mademoiselle," replied John 
 Effingham. 
 
 " * To the Grand Opery J " resumed Mr. Dodge, 
 with emphasis, his eyes beginning to glisten by this 
 time, for he had often applied to the punch for in 
 spiration, " ' where I listened to music that is altoge 
 ther inferior to that which we enjoy in America, es 
 pecially at the general trainings, and on the Sabbath. 
 The want of science was conspicuous ; and if this 
 be music, then do I know nothing about it!'" 
 
 "A judicious remark!" exclaimed the captain. 
 " Mr. Dodge has great merit as a writer, for he loses 
 no occasion to illustrate his opinions by the most un 
 answerable facts. He has acquired a taste for Zip 
 Coon and Long Tail Bine, and it is no wonder he 
 feels a contempt for your inferior artists," 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 239 
 
 " ' As for the dancing,' " continued the editor of 
 the Active Inquirer, " ' it is my decided impression 
 that nothing can be worse. The movement was more 
 suited to a funeral than the ball-room, and I affirm, 
 without fear of contradiction, that there is not an 
 assembly in all America in which a cotillion would 
 not be danced in one-half the time that one was 
 danced in the bally to-night.' " 
 
 " Dans le quoi ?" 
 
 " I believe I have not given the real Parisian pro 
 nunciation to this word^which the French call bal- 
 lay" continued the reader with great candour. 
 
 " Belay, or make all fast, as we say on ship-board. 
 Mr. Dodge, as master of this vessel, I beg to return 
 you the united, or as Saunders would say, the con 
 densed thanks of the passengers, for this informa 
 tion ; and next Saturday we look for a renewal of 
 the pleasure. The ladies are getting to be sleepy, I 
 perceive, and as Mr. Monday never drinks and the 
 other gentlemen have finished their punch, we may 
 as well retire, to get ready for a hard day's work to 
 morrow."' 
 
 Captain Truck made this proposal, because he saw 
 that one or two of the party were plenum punch, 
 and that Eve and her companion were becoming 
 aware of the propriety of retiring. It was also true 
 that he foresaw the necessity of rest, in order to be 
 ready for the exertions of the morning. 
 
 After the party had broken up, which it did very 
 contrary to the wishes of Messrs. Dodge and Mon 
 day, Mademoiselle Viefville passed an hour in the 
 state-room of Miss Effingham, during which time 
 she made several very supererogatory complaints of 
 the manner in which the editor of the Active In 
 quirer had viewed things in Paris, besides asking a 
 good many curious questions concerning his occupa 
 tion and character. 
 
 " I am not quite certain, my dear mademoiselle, 
 
240 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 that I can give you a very learned description of the 
 animal you think worthy of all these questions, but, 
 by the aid of Mr. John Effingham's information, and 
 a few words that have fallen from Mr. Blunt, I be 
 lieve it ought to be something as follows : America 
 once produced a very distinguished philosopher, nam 
 ed Franklin" 
 
 "Comment, ma chere ! Tout le monde le con- 
 nait !" 
 
 " This Monsieur Franklin commenced life as a 
 printer ; but living to a great age, and rising to high 
 employments, he became a philosopher in morals, as 
 his studies had made him one in physics. Now, 
 America is full of printers, and most of them fancy 
 themselves Franklins, until time and failures teach 
 them discretion." 
 
 " Mais the world has not seen but un seul Frank 
 lin /" 
 
 " Nor is it likely to see another very soon. In 
 America the young men are taught, justly enough, 
 that by merit they may rise to the highest situations; 
 and, always according to Mr. John Effingham, too 
 many of them fancy that because they are at liberty 
 to turn any high qualities they may happen to have 
 to account, that they are actually fit for anything. 
 Even he allows that this peculiarity of the country 
 does much good, but he maintains that it also does 
 much harm, by causing pretenders to start up in all 
 directions. Of this class he describes Mr. Dodge to 
 be. This person, instead of working at the mecha 
 nical part of a press, to which he was educated, has 
 the ambition to control its intellectual, and thus edits 
 the Active Inquirer." 
 
 " It must be a very useful journal !" 
 
 " It answers his purposes, most probably. He is 
 full .of provincial ignorance, and provincial preju- 
 dice|^you perceive; and, I dare say, he makes his 
 paper the circulator of all these, in addition to the 
 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 241 
 
 personal rancour, envy, and uncharitableness, that 
 usually distinguish a pretension that mistakes itself 
 for ambition. My Cousin Jack affirms that America 
 is filled with such as he." 
 
 "And, Monsieur Effingham?" 
 
 " Oh ! my dear father is all mildness and chanty, 
 you know, mademoiselle, and he only looks at the 
 bright side of the picture, for he maintains that a 
 great deal of good results from the activity and elas= 
 ticity of such a state of things. While he confesses 
 to a great deal of downright ignorance that is pa 
 raded as knowledge; to much narrow intolerance 
 that is offensively prominent in the disguise of prin 
 ciple, and a love of liberty ; and to vulgarity and 
 personalities that wound all taste, and every senti 
 ment of right, he insists on it that the main result is 
 good." 
 
 " In such a case there is need of an umpire. You 
 mentioned the opinion of Mr. Blunt. Comme ce 
 jeune homme parle bien Francais !" 
 
 Eve hesitated, and she changed colour slightly, be 
 fore she answered. 
 
 " I am not certain that the opinion of Mr. Blunt 
 ought to be mentioned in opposition to those of my 
 father and Cousin Jack, on such a subject," she said, 
 " He is very young, and it is, now, quite questionable 
 whether he is even an American at all." 
 
 " Tant mieux, ma chere. He has been much in 
 the country, and it is not the native that makes the 
 best judge, when the stranger has many opportuni= 
 ties of seeing." 
 
 " On this principle, mademoiselle, you are, then, to 
 give up your own judgment about France, on all 
 those points in which I have the misfortune to differ 
 from you," said Eve laughing. 
 
 " Pas tout a fait" returned the governess, good- 
 humouredly. " Age and experience must pass pour 
 quelque chose, Et Monsieur Blunt ? " 
 
 VOL. i, 21 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND, - 
 
 "Monsieur Blunt leans nearer to the side of Cousin 
 Jack, I fear, than to that of my dear, dear father. 
 He says men of Mr. Dodge's character, propensi 
 ties, malignancy, intolerance, ignorance, vulgarity, 
 and peculiar vices abound in and about the Ameri 
 can press. He even insists that they do an incalcu 
 lable amount of harm, by influencing those who 
 have no better sources of information ; by setting up 
 low jealousies and envy in the place of principles 
 and the right ; by substituting, I USQ his own words, 
 mademoiselle," said Eve, blushing with the con 
 sciousness of the fidelity of her memory " by sub 
 stituting uninstructed provincial notions for true taste 
 and liberality ; by confounding the real principles of 
 liberty with personal envies, and the jealousies of 
 station ; and by losing sight entirely of their duties 
 to the public, in the effort to advance their own inte 
 rests. He says that the government is in truth a 
 press-ocmcy, and a press-ocracy, too, that has not 
 -the redeeming merit of either principles, tastes, ta 
 lents or knowledge." 
 
 " Ce Monsieur Blunt has been very explicit, and 
 suffisamment eloquent" returned Mademoiselle Vief- 
 ville, gravely ; for the prudent governess did not fail 
 to observe that Eve used language so very different 
 from that which was habitual to her, as to make her 
 suspect she quoted literally. For the first time the 
 suspicion was painfully awakened, that it was her 
 duty to be more vigilant in relation to the intercourse 
 between her charge and the two agreeable young 
 men whom accident had given them as fellow-pas 
 sengers. After a short but musing pause, she again 
 adverted to the subject of their previous conversa 
 tion. 
 
 " Ce Monsieur Dodge, est. il ridicule !" 
 
 " On that point at least, my dear mademoiselle, 
 
 ere can be no mistake. And vet Cousin Jack in- 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 243 
 
 sists that this stuff will be given to his readers, as 
 views of Europe worthy of their attention. 
 " Ce conte du roi ! mais, c'est trop fort !" 
 " With the coat laced at the seams, and the cock 
 ed hat !" 
 
 " Et Thonorable Louis Philippe d'Orteans !" 
 " Orleans, mademoiselle ; d'Orleans would be anti- 
 republican." 
 
 Then the two ladies sat looking at each other a 
 few moments in silence, when both, although of a 
 proper retenue of manner in general, burst into a 
 hearty and long-continued fit of laughter. Indeed, 
 so long did Eve, in the buoyancy of her young spi 
 rits, and her keen perception of the ludicrous, indulge 
 herself, that her fair hair fell about her rosy cheeks, 
 and her bright eyes fairly danced with delight. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 And there he went ashore without delay, 
 Having 1 no custom-house or quarantine, 
 To ask him awkward questions on the way 
 About the time and place where he had been. 
 
 Brnox. 
 
 CAPTAIN TRUCK was in a sound sleep as soon as 
 his head touched the pillow. With the exception of 
 the ladies, the others soon followed his example; and 
 as the people were excessively wearied, and the night 
 was so tranquil, ere long only a single pair of eyes 
 were open on deck : those of the man at the wheel. 
 The wind died away, and even this worthy was not 
 innocent of nodding at his post. 
 
 Under such circumstances, it will occasion no 
 great surprise that the cabin was aroused next morn- 
 
 
 
244 HOMEWARD LOU A I,. 
 
 ing with th6 sudden and startling information that 
 the land was close aboard the ship, Every one hur 
 ried on deck, where, sure enough, the dreaded coast 
 of Africa was seen, with a palpable distinctness, 
 within two miles of the vessel. It presented a long 
 broken line of sand-hills, unrelieved by a tree, or by 
 so few as almost to merit this description, and with 
 a hazy back-ground of remote mountains to the north 
 east. The margin of the actual coast nearest to the 
 ship was indented with bays; and even rocks ap 
 peared in places ; but the general character of the 
 scene was that of a fierce and burning sterility. On 
 this picture of desolation all stood gazing in awe 
 and admiration for some minutes, as the day gra 
 dually brightened, until a cry arose from forward, of 
 "a ship!" 
 
 " Whereaway ?" sternly demanded Captain Truck; 
 for the sudden and unexpected appearance of this 
 dangerous coast had awakened all that was forbid 
 ding and severe in the temperament of the old mas 
 ter; " whereaway, sir?" 
 
 " On the larboard quarter, sir, and at anchor." 
 
 "She is ashore!" exclaimed. half-a-dozen voices at 
 the same instant, just as the words came from the last 
 speaker. The glass soon settled this important point. 
 At the distance of about a league astern of them 
 were, indeed, to be seen the spars of a ship, with the 
 hull looming on the sands, in a way to leave no 
 doubt of her being a wreck. It was the first impres 
 sion of all, that this, at last, was the Foam ; but Cap 
 tain Truck soon announced the contrary. 
 
 " It is a Swede, or a Dane," he said,* " by his rig 
 and his model. A stout, solid, compact sea-boat, 
 that is high and dry on the sands, looking as if he 
 had been built there. He does not appear even to 
 have bilged, and most of his sails, and all of his 
 yards, are in their places. Not a living soul is -to be 
 seen about her! Ha! there are signs of tents made 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 245 
 
 of sails on shore, and broken bales of goods ! Her 
 people have been seized and carried into the desert, 
 as usual, and this is a fearful hint that we must keep 
 the Montauk off the bottom. Turn-to the people, 
 Mr. Leach, and get tip your sheers that we may step 
 our jury-masts at once ; the smallest breeze on the 
 land would drive us ashore, without any after-sail." 
 
 While the mates and the crew set about complet 
 ing the work they had prepared the previous day, 
 Captain Truck and his passengers passed the time in 
 ascertaining all they could concerning the wreck, 
 and the reasons of their being themselves in a posi 
 tion so very different from what they had previously 
 believed. 
 
 As respects the first, little more could be ascer 
 tained; she lay absolutely high and dry on a hard 
 sandy beach, where she had probably been cast dur 
 ing the late gale, and sufficient signs were made out 
 by the captain, to prove to him that she had been 
 partly plundered. More than this could not be dis 
 covered at that distance, and the work of the Mon 
 tauk was too urgent to send a boat manned with her 
 own people to examine. Mr. Blunt, Mr. Sharp, 
 Mr. Monday, and the servants of the two former, 
 however, volunteering to pull the cutter, it was finally 
 decided to look more closely into the facts, Captain 
 Truck himself taking charge of the expedition. 
 While the latter is getting ready, a word of explana 
 tion will suffice to tell the reader the reason why the 
 Montauk had fallen so much to leeward. 
 
 The ship being so near the coast, it became now 
 very obvious she was driven by a current that set 
 along the land, but which, it was probable, had set 
 towards it more in the offing. The imperceptible 
 drift between the observation of the previous day 
 and the discovery of the coast, had sufficed to carry 
 the vessel a great distance ; and to this simple cause, 
 coupled perhaps with some neglect in the steerage 
 21* 
 
246 'HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 during the past night, was her present situation to be 
 solely attributed. Just at this moment, the little air 
 there was came from the land, and by keeping her 
 head off shore, Captain Truck entertained no doubt 
 of his being able to escape the calamity that had be 
 fallen the other ship in the fury of the gale. A wreck 
 is always a matter of so much interest with mari 
 ners, therefore, that taking all these things into 
 view, he had come to the determination \ve have 
 mentioned, of examining into the history of the onu 
 in sight, so far as circumstances permitted. 
 
 The Montauk carried three boats: the launch, a 
 large? safe, and well-constructed craft, which stood 
 in the usual chucks between the foremast and main 
 mast ; a jolly-boat, and a cutter. It was next to im 
 possible to get the first into the water, deprived at; 
 the ship was of its mainmast, but the others hanging 
 at davits, one on each quarter, were easily lowered. 
 The packets seldom carry any arms, beyond a light 
 gun to fire signals with, the pistols of the master, 
 and perhaps a fowling-piece or two. Luckily the 
 passengers were better provided : all the gentlemen 
 had pistols, Mr. Monday and Mr. Dodge excepted, 
 if indeed they properly belonged to this category, as 
 Captain Truck would say, and most of them had 
 also fowling pieces. Although a careful examina 
 tion of the coast with the glasses offered no signs of 
 the presence of any danger from enemies, these 
 arms were all carefully collected, loaded, and depo 
 sited in the boats, in order to be prepared for the 
 worst. Provisions and water were also provided, 
 and the party were about to proceed. 
 
 Captain Truck and one or two of the adventurers 
 were still on the deck, when Eve, with that strange 
 love of excitement and adventure that often visits 
 the most delicate spirits, expressed an idle regret 
 that she could not make one in the expedition. 
 
 " There is some thing so strange and wild in land- 
 
HOMEWARD EGUiVD. 247 
 
 ing on an African desert," she said ; " and I think a 
 near view of the wreck would repay us, mademoi 
 selle, for the hazard." 
 
 The young men hesitated between their desire to 
 have such a companion, and their doubts of the pru^ 
 dence of the step ; but Captain Truck declared there 
 could be no risk, and Mr. Effingham consenting, the 
 whole plan was altered so as to include the ladies ; 
 for there was so much pleasure in varying the mo 
 notony of a calm, and escaping the confinement of 
 ship, that everybody entered into the new arrange 
 ment with zeal and spirit. 
 
 A single whip was rigged on the fore-yard, a chair 
 was slung, and in ten minutes both ladies were float 
 ing on the ocean in the cutter. This boat pulled six 
 oars, which were manned by the servants of the two 
 Messrs. Effinghams, Mr. Blunt and Mr. Sharp, toge 
 ther with the two latter gentlemen in person, Mr, 
 Effingham steered. Captain Truck had the jolly- 
 boat, of which he pulled an oar himself, aided by 
 Saunders, Mr. Monday, and Sir George Temple- 
 more ; the mates and the regular crew being actively 
 engaged in rigging their jury-mast. Mr. Dodge de 
 clined being of the party, feeding himself with the 
 hope that the present would be a favourable occa 
 sion to peep into the state-rooms, to run his eye over 
 forgotten letters and papers, and otherwise to in 
 crease the general stock of information of the Qdi- 
 tor of the Active Inquirer. 
 
 " Look to your chains, and see all clear for a run 
 of the anchors, Mr. Leach, should you drift within 
 a mile of the shore," called out the captain, as they 
 pulled off from the vessel's side. " The ship is drift 
 ing along the land, but the wind you have will hardly 
 do more than meet the send of the sea, which is on 
 shore : should any thing go wrong, show an ensign 
 at the head of the" jury-stick forward." 
 
 The mate waved his hand, and the adventurers 
 
248 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 passed away without the sound of the voice. It was 
 a strange sensation to most of those in the boats, to 
 find themselves in their present situation. Eve and 
 Mademoiselle Viefville, in particular, could scarcely 
 credit their senses, when they found the egg-shells 
 that held them heaving and setting like bubbles on 
 those long sluggish swells, which had seemed of so 
 little consequence while in the ship, but which now 
 resembled the heavy respirations of a leviathan. 
 The boats, indeed, though always gliding onward, 
 impelled by the oars, appeared at moments to be 
 sent helplessly back and forth, like playthings of the 
 mighty deep, and it was some minutes before either 
 obtained a sufficient sense of security to enjoy her 
 situation. As they receded fast from the Montauk, 
 too, their situation seemed still more critical; and 
 with all her sex's love of excitement, Eve heartily re 
 pented of her undertaking before they had gone a 
 mile. The gentlemen, however, were all in good 
 spirits, and as the boats kept near each other, Cap 
 tain Truck enlivening their way with his peculiar 
 wit, and Mr. Effingham, who was influenced by a 
 motive of humanity in consenting to come, being 
 earnest and interested, Eve soon began to entertain 
 other ideas. 
 
 As they drew near the end of their little expedi 
 tion, entirely new feelings got the mastery over the 
 whole party. The solitary and gloomy grandeur of 
 the coasts, the sublime sterility, for even naked 
 sands may become sublime by their vastness, the 
 heavy moanings of the ocean on the beach, and the 
 entire spectacle of the solitude, blended as it was 
 with the associations of Africa, time, and the changes 
 of history, united to produce sensations of a pleas 
 ing melancholy. The spectacle of the ship, bring 
 ing with it the images of European civilization, as it 
 lay helpless and deserted on the sands, too, heighten 
 ed the effect of all. 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 249 
 
 This vessel, beyond all question^ had been driven 
 up on a sea during the late gale, at a point where the 
 water was of sufficient depth to float her, until with 
 in a few yards of the very spot where she now lay; 
 Captain Truck giving the following probable history 
 of the affair, 
 
 " On all sandy coasts; 57 he said, " the return waves 
 that are cast on the beach form a bar, by washing 
 back with them a portion of the particles. This bar 
 is usually within thirty or forty fathoms of the shore, 
 and there is frequently sufficient water within it to 
 float a ship. As this bar, however, prevents the re 
 turn of all the water, on what is called the under 
 tow, narrow channels make from point to point, 
 through which this excess of the element escapes, 
 These channels are known by the appearance of the 
 water over them, the seas breaking less at those par 
 ticular places than in the spots where the bottom lies 
 nearer to the surface, and all experienced mariners 
 are aware of the fact. No doubt, the unfortunate 
 master of this ship, finding himself reduced to the 
 necessity of running ashore to save the lives of his 
 crew, has chosen such a place, and has consequently 
 forced his vessel up to a spot where she has remain 
 ed dry as soon as the sea fell. So worthy a fellow 
 deserved a better fate; for this wreck is not three 
 days old, and yet no signs are to be seen of any who 
 were in that stout ship." 
 
 These remarks were made as the crew of the two 
 boats lay on their oars, at a short distance without 
 the line on the water, where the breaking of the sea 
 pointed out the position of the bar. The channel, 
 also, was plainly visible directly astern of the ship, 
 the sea merely rising and falling in it without comb 
 ing. A short distance to the southward a few bold 
 black rocks thrust themselves forward, and formed a 
 sort of bay, in which it was practicable to land with 
 out risk ; for they had come on the coast in a region 
 
250 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 where the monotony of the sands, as it appeared 
 when close in, was little relieved by the presence of 
 anything else. 
 
 " If you will keep the cutter just without the break 
 ers, Mr. Effingham," Captain Truck continued, after 
 standing up awhile and examining the shore, " I will 
 pull into the channel, and land in yonder bay. If you 
 feel disposed to follow, you may do so by giving the 
 tiller to Mr. Blunt, on receiving a signal to that ef 
 fect from me. Be steady, gentlemen, at your oars, 
 and look well to the arms on landing, for we are in a 
 knavish part of the world. Should any of the mon 
 keys or ourang-ou tangs claim kindred with Mi'. 
 Saunders, we may find it no easy matter to persuade 
 them to leave us the pleasure of his society." 
 
 The captain made a sign, and the jolly boat enter 
 ed the channel. Inclining south, it was seen rising 
 and falling just within the breakers, and then it was 
 hid by the rocks. In another minute, Mr. Truck, 
 followed by all but Mr. Monday, who stood sentinel 
 at the boat, was on the rocks, making his way to 
 wards the wreck. On reaching the latter, he as 
 cended swiftly even to the main cross-trees. Here a 
 long examination of the plain, beyond the bank that 
 hid it from the view of all beneath, succeeded, and 
 then the signal to come on was made to those who 
 were still in the boat. 
 
 " Shall we venture ?" cried Paul Blunt, soliciting 
 an assent by the very manner in which he put the 
 question. 
 
 "What say you, dear father?" 
 
 " I hope we may not yet be too late to succour 
 some Christian in distress, my child. Take the til 
 ler, Mr. Blunt, and in Heaven's good name, and for 
 humanity's sake, let us proceed!" 
 
 The boat advanced, Paul Blunt standing erect to 
 steer, his ardour to proceed corrected by apprehen 
 sions on account of her precious freight. There was 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 251 
 
 an instant when the ladies trembled, for it seemed as 
 if the light boat was about to be cast upon the shore, 
 like the froth of the sea that shot past them ; but the 
 steady hand of him who steered averted the danger, 
 and in another minute they were floating at the side 
 of the jolly-boat. The ladies got ashore without 
 much difficulty, and stood on the summit of the 
 rocks. 
 
 " Nous voici done, en Afrique," exclaimed Made 
 moiselle Viefville, with that sensation of singularity 
 that comes over all when they first find themselves 
 in situations of extraordinary novelty. 
 
 " The wreck the wreck," murmured Eve ; " let 
 us go to the wreck. There may be a hope of yet 
 saving some wretched sufferer/' 
 
 Toward the wreck they all proceeded, after leav 
 ing two of the servants to relieve Mr. Monday on 
 his watch. 
 
 It was an impressive thing to stand at the side of 
 a ship on the sands of Africa, 'a scene in which the 
 desolation of an abandoned vessel was heightened 
 by the desolation of a desert. The position of the 
 vessel, which stood nearly erect, imbedded in the 
 sands, rendered it less difficult than might be suppos 
 ed for the ladies to ascend to, and to walk her decks, 
 a rude staging having been made already to facili 
 tate the passage. Here the scene became thrice ex 
 citing, for it was the very type of a hastily deserted 
 and cherished dwelling. 
 
 Before Eve and Mademoiselle Viefville gained the 
 deck, the other party had ascertained that no living 
 soul remained. The trunks, chests, furniture, and 
 other appliances of the cabin, had been rummaged, 
 and many boxes had been raised from the hold, and 
 plundered, a part of their contents still lying scatter 
 ed on the decks. The ship, however, had been lightly 
 freighted, and the bulk of her cargo, which was salt, 
 was apparently untouched. A Danish ensign was 
 
252 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 found bent to the halyards, a proof that Captain 
 Truck's original conjecture concerning the charac 
 ter of the vessel was accurate. Her name, too, was 
 ascertained to be the Carrier, as translated into 
 English, and she belonged to Copenhagen. More 
 than this it was not easy to ascertain. No papers 
 were found, and her cargo, or as much of it as re 
 mained, was so mixed, and miscellaneous, as Saun- 
 ders called it, that no plausible guess could be given 
 as to the port where it had been taken in, if indeed 
 it had all been received on board at the same place. 
 
 Several of the light sails had evidently been car 
 ried off, but all the heavy canvass was left on the 
 yards which remained in their places. The vessel 
 was large, exceedingly strong, as was proved by the 
 fact that she had not bilged in beaching, and appar 
 ently well found. Nothing was wanting to launch 
 her into the ocean but machinery and force, and a 
 crew to sail her, when she might have proceeded on 
 her voyage as if nothing unusual had occurred. But 
 such a restoration was hopeless, and this admirable 
 machine, like a man cut off in his youth and vigour, 
 had been cast upon the shores of this inhospitable re- 
 gion, to moulder where it lay, unless broken up for 
 the wood and iron by the wanderers of the desert. 
 
 There was no object more likely to awaken me 
 lancholy ideas in a mind resembling that of Captain 
 Truck's than a spectacle of this nature. A fine ship, 
 complete in nearly all her parts, virtually uninjured, 
 and, yet beyond the chance of further usefulness, in 
 his eyes was a picture of the most cruel loss. He 
 cared less for the money it had cost than for the qua* 
 lities and properties that were thus destroyed. 
 
 He examined the bottom, which he pronounced 
 capital for stowing, and excellent as that of a sea- 
 boat ; he admired the fastenings ; applied his knife 
 to try the quality of the wood, and pronounced the 
 Norway pine of the spars to be almost equal to any- 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND, 253 
 
 thing that could be found in our own southernwoods, 
 The rigging, too, he regarded as one loves to linger 
 over the regretted qualities of a deceased friend. 
 
 The tracks of camels and horses were abundant 
 on the sands around the ship, and especially at the 
 bottom of the rude staging by which the party had 
 ascended, and which had evidently been hastily 
 made in order to carry articles from the vessel to 
 the backs of the animals that were to bear them 
 into the desert. The foot-prints of men were also 
 to be seen, and there was a startling and mournful 
 certainty in distinguishing the marks of shoes as well 
 as those of the naked foot. 
 
 Judging from all these signs, Captain Truck was 
 of opinion the wreck must have taken place but two 
 or three days before, and that the plunderers had 
 not left the spot many hours. 
 
 " They probably went off with what they could 
 carry at sunset last evening, and there can be no 
 doubt that before many days, they, or others in their 
 places, will be back again. God protect the poor 
 fellows who have fallen into this miserable bondage ! 
 What an occasion would there now be to rescue 
 one of them, should he happen to be hid near this 
 spot!" 
 
 The idea seized the whole party at once, and all 
 eagerly turned to examine the high bank, which rose 
 nearly to the summit of the masts, in the hope of 
 discovering some concealed fugitive. The gentle 
 men went below again, and Mr. Sharp and Mr. Blunt 
 called out in German, and English, and French, to 
 invite any one who might be secreted to come forth, 
 No sound answered these friendly calls, Again Cap 
 tain Truck went aloft to look into the interior, but 
 he beheld nothing more than the broad and unpeo 
 pled desert, 
 
 A place where the camels had descended to the 
 beach was at no great distance, and thither most of 
 
 VOL. i. 22 
 
25i HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 the party proceeded, mounting to the level of the 
 plain beyond. In this little expedition, Paul Blunt 
 led the advance, and as he rose over the brow of the 
 bank, he cocked both barrels of his fowling-piece, 
 uncertain what might be encountered. They found, 
 however, a silent waste, almost without vegetation, 
 and nearly as trackless as the ocean that lay behind 
 them. At the distance of a hundred rods an object 
 was just discernible, lying on the plain half-buried in 
 sand, and thither the young men expressed a wish to 
 go, first calling to those in the ship to send a man 
 aloft to give the alarm, in the event of any party of 
 the Mussulmans being seen. Mr. Effingham, too, on 
 being told their intention, had the precaution to cause 
 Eve and Mademoiselle Viefville to get into the cut 
 ter, which he manned, and caused to pull out over 
 the bar, where she lay waiting the issue. 
 
 A camel's path, of which the tracks were nearly 
 obliterated by the sands, led to the object, and after 
 toiling along it, the adventurers soon reached the de 
 sired spot. It proved to be the body of a man who 
 had died by violence. His dress and person denot 
 ed that of a passenger rather than that of a sea 
 man, and he had evidently been dead but a very few 
 hours, probably not twelve. The cut of a sabre had 
 cleft his skull. Agreeing not to acquaint the ladies 
 with this horrible discovery, the body was hastily 
 covered with the sand, the pockets of the dead man 
 having been first examined ; for, contrary to usage, 
 his person had not been stripped. A letter was found, 
 written by a wife to her husband, and nothing more. 
 It was in German, and its expressions and contents, 
 though simple, were endearing and natural. It spoke 
 of the traveller's return ; for she who wrote it little 
 thought of the miserable fate that awaited her be 
 loved in this remote desert. 
 
 As nothing else was visible, the party returned 
 hastily to the beach, where they found that Captain 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 255 
 
 Truck had ended his investigations, and was impa 
 tient to return. In the interest of the scene the Mon- 
 tauk had disappeared behind a headland, towards 
 which she had been drifting when they left her. Her 
 absence created a general sense of loneliness, and 
 the whole party hastened into the jolly-boat, as if 
 fearful of being left. When without the bar again, 
 the cutter took in her proper crew, and the boats 
 pulled away, leaving the Dane standing on the beach 
 in his solitary desolation a monument of his own 
 disaster. 
 
 As they got further from the land the Montauk 
 came in sight again, and Captain Truck announced 
 the agreeable intelligence that the jury mainmast was 
 up, and that the ship had after-sail set, diminutive 
 and defective as it might be. Instead of heading to 
 the southward, however, as heretofore, Mr. Leach 
 was apparently endeavouring to get back again to 
 the northward of the headland that had shut in the 
 ship, or was trying to retrace his steps. Mr. Truck 
 rightly judged that this was proof his mate disliked 
 the appearance of the coast astern of him, and that 
 he was anxious to get an offing. The captain in con 
 sequence urged his men to row, and in little more 
 than an hour the whole party were on the deck of 
 the Montauk again, and the boats were hanging at 
 the davits. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 I boarded the king's ship; now on the beak, 
 Now in the waist, the deck, in every cabin, 
 I flam'd amazement. 
 
 Tempest. 
 
 IF Captain Truck distrusted the situation of his 
 own ship when he saw that the mate had changed 
 
256 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 her course, he liked it still less after he was on board, 
 and had an opportunity to form a more correct judg 
 ment. The current had set the vessel not only to 
 the southward, but in-shore, and the send of the 
 ground-swell was gradually, but inevitably, heaving 
 her in towards the land. At this point the coast was 
 more broken than at the spot where the Dane had 
 been wrecked, some signs of trees appearing, and 
 rocks running off in irregular reefs into the sea. 
 More to the south, these rocks were seen without the 
 ship, while directly astern they were not half a mile 
 distant. Still the wind was favourable, though light 
 and baffling, and Mr. Leach had got up every stitch 
 of canvass that circumstances would at all allow ; 
 the lead, too, had been tried, and the bottom was 
 found to be a hard sand mixed with rocks, and the 
 depth of the water such as to admit of anchoring. 
 It was a sign that Captain Truck did not absolutely 
 despair after ascertaining all these facts, that he 
 caused Mr. Saunders to be summoned ; for as yet, 
 none of those who had been in the boats had break 
 fasted. 
 
 " Step this way, Mr. Steward," said the captain; 
 '* and report the state of the coppers. You were 
 rummaging, as usual, among the lockers of yonder 
 unhappy Dane, and I desire to know what discove 
 ries you have made! You will please to recollect, 
 that on all public expeditions of this nature, there 
 must be no peculation or private journal kept. Did 
 you see any stock-fish ?' 
 
 " Sir, I should deem this ship disgraced by the ad 
 mission into her pantry of such an article, sir. We 
 have tongues and sounds in plenty, Captain Truck, 
 and no gentleman that has such diet, need ambition 
 a stock-fish ?' 
 
 " I am quite of your way of thinking ; but the 
 earth is not made of stock-fish. Did you happen to 
 fall in with any butter ?" 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 257 
 
 " Some, sir, that is scarcely fit to slush a mast 
 with, and I do think, one of the most atrocious 
 cheeses, sir, it was ever my bad fortune to meet 
 with. I do not wonder the Africans left the wreck." 
 
 " You followed their example, of course, Mr. 
 Saunders, and left the cheese." 
 
 "I followed my own judgment, sir, for I would 
 not stay in a ship with such a cheese, Captain Truck, 
 sir, even to have the honour of serving under so 
 great a commander as yourself. I think it no won 
 der that vessel was wrecked! Even the sharks 
 would abandon her. The very thoughts of her im 
 purities, sir, makes me feel unsettled in the sto 
 mach." 
 
 The captain nodded his head in approbation of 
 this sentiment, called for a coal, and then ordered 
 breakfast. The meal was silent, thoughtful, and even 
 sad ; every one was thinking of the poor Danes and 
 their sad fate, while they who had been on the plain 
 had the additional subject of the murdered man for 
 their contemplation. 
 
 " Is it possible to do nothing to redeem these poor 
 people, father, from captivity?" Eve at length de 
 manded. 
 
 " I have been thinking of this, my child ; but I see 
 no other method than to acquaint their government 
 of their situation." 
 
 " Might we not contribute something from our 
 own means to that effect? Money, I fancy, is the 
 chief thing necessary." 
 
 The gentlemen looked at each other in approba 
 tion, though a reluctance to be the first to speak kept 
 most of them silent. 
 
 " If a hundred pounds, Miss Effingham, will be 
 useful," Sir George Templemore said, after the pause 
 had continued an awkward minute, laying a bank 
 note of that amount on the table, " and you will ho- 
 22* 
 
258 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 nour us by becoming the keeper of the redemption 
 money, I have great pleasure in making the offer.'* 
 
 This was handsomely said, and as Captain Truck 
 afterwards declared, handsomely done, too, though it 
 was a little abrupt, and caused Eve to hesitate and 
 redden. 
 
 " I shall accept your gift, sir," she said ; " and with 
 your permission will transfer it to Mr. Effingharn, 
 who will better know what use to put it to, in order 
 to effect our benevolent purpose. I think I can an 
 swer for as much more from himself." 
 
 " You may, with certainty, my dear, and twice 
 ns much, if necessary. John, this'is a proper occa 
 sion for your interference." 
 
 " Put me down at what you please," said John 
 Effingham, whose charities in a pecuniary sense were 
 as unlimited, as in feeling they were apparently re 
 strained. "One hundred or one thousand, to rescue 
 that poor crew !" 
 
 " 1 believe, sir, \ve must all follow so good an ex 
 ample," Mr. Sharp observed ; " and I sincerely hope 
 that this scheme will not prove useless. I think it 
 may be effected by means of some of the public 
 agents at Mogadore." 
 
 Mr. Dodge raised many objections, for it really 
 exceeded his means to give so largely, and his cha 
 racter was formed in a school too envious and jea 
 lous to confess an inferiority on a point even as 
 worthless as that of money. Indeed, he had so long 
 been accustomed to maintain that " one man was as 
 good as another," in opposition to his senses, that, 
 like most of those who belong to this impracticable 
 school, he had tacitly admitted in his own mind, the 
 general and vulgar ascendancy of mere wealth; and, 
 quite as a matter of course, he was averse to con 
 fessing his own inferiority on a point that he had 
 made to be all in all, while loudest in declaiming 
 against any inferiority whatever. He walked out 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 259 
 
 of the cabin, therefore, with strong heart-burnings 
 and jealousies, because others had presumed to give 
 that which it was not really in his power to bestow. 
 
 On the other hand, both Mademoiselle Viefville 
 and Mr. Monday manifested the superiority of the 
 opinions in which they had been trained. The first 
 quietly handed a Napoleon to Mr. Effingham, who 
 took it with as much attention and politeness as he 
 received any of the larger contributions; while the 
 latter produced a five-pound note, with a hearty good 
 will that redeemed the sin of many a glass of punch 
 in the eyes of his companions. 
 
 Eve did not dare to look towards Paul Blunt, while 
 this collection was making ; but she felt regret that 
 he dfd not join in it. He was silent and thoughtful, 
 and even seemed pained, and she wondered if it were 
 possible that one, who certainly lived in a style to 
 prove that his income was large, could be so thought 
 less as to have deprived himself of the means of 
 doing that which he so evidently desired to do. But 
 most of the company was too well-bred to permit the 
 matter to become the subject of conversation, and 
 they soon rose from table in a body. The mind of 
 Eve, however, was greatly relieved when her father 
 told her that the young man had put a hundred so 
 vereigns in gold into his hands as soon as possible, 
 and that he had seconded this offering with another, 
 of embarking for Mogadore in person, should they 
 get into the Cape de Verdes, or the Canaries, with a 
 view of carrying out the charitable plan with the 
 least delay. 
 
 " He is a noble-hearted young man," said the 
 pleased father, as he communicated this fact to his 
 daughter and cousin; " and I shall not object to the 
 plan." 
 
 " If he offer to quit this ship one minute sooner 
 than is necessary, he does, indeed, deserve a statue 
 of gold," said John Effingham ; ** for it has all that 
 
260 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 can attract a young man like him, and all too that 
 can awaken his jealousy." 
 
 " Cousin Jack !" exclaimed Eve reproachfully, 
 quite thrown off her guard by the abruptness and 
 plainness of this language. 
 
 The quiet smile of Mr. Effingham proved that he 
 understood both, but he made no remark. Eve in- 
 stantly recovered her spirits, and angry at herself for 
 the girlish exclamation that had escaped her, she 
 turned on her assailant. " I do not know that I 
 ought to be seen in an aside with Mr. John Effing- 
 ham," she said, "even when it is sanctioned with the 
 presence of my own father." 
 
 " And may I ask why so much sudden reserve, 
 my offended beauty 1" 
 
 " Merely that the report is already active, con 
 cerning the delicate relation in which we stand to 
 wards each other." 
 
 John Effingham looked surprised, but he suppress 
 ed his curiosity from a long habit of affecting an 
 indifference he did not always feel. The father was 
 less dignified, for he quietly demanded an explana 
 tion. 
 
 " It would seem," returned Eve, assuming a so 
 lemnity suited to a matter of interest, " that our se 
 cret is discovered. While we were indulging our 
 curiosity about this unfortunate ship, Mr. Dodge was 
 gratifying the laudable industry of the Active In 
 quirer, by prying into our state-rooms." 
 
 "This meanness is impossible!" exclaimed Mr. 
 Effingham. 
 
 "Nay," said John, " no meanness is impossible to 
 a demagogue, a pretender to things of which he 
 has even no just conception, a man who lives to 
 envy and traduce; in a word, a quasi gentleman. 
 Let'us hear what Eve has to say." 
 
 " My information is from Ann Sidley, who saw 
 him in the act. Now the kind letter vou wrote mv 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND, 261 
 
 father, Cousin Jack, just before we left London, and 
 which you wrote because you would not trust that 
 honest tongue of yours to speak the feelings of that 
 honest heart, is the subject of my daily study ; not 
 on account of its promises, you will believe me, but 
 on account of the strong affection it displays to a 
 
 firl who is not worthy of one half you feel and do 
 >r her." 
 
 " Pshaw !" 
 
 " Well, let it then be pshaw ! I had read that let 
 ter this very morning, and carelessly left it on my 
 table. This letter Mr. Dodge, in his undying desire 
 to lay everything before the public, as becomes his 
 high vocation, arid as in duty bound, has read ; and 
 misconstruing some of the phrases, as will some 
 times happen to a zealous circulator of news, he has 
 drawn the conclusion that I am to be made a happy 
 woman as soon as we reach America, by being con 
 verted from Miss Eve Effingham into Mrs. John 
 Effingham." 
 
 " Impossible ! No man can be such a fool, or quite 
 so great a miscreant !" 
 
 " I should rather think, my child," added the mild 
 er father, " that injustice has been done Mr. Dodge. 
 No person, in the least approximating to the station 
 of a gentleman, could even think of an act so base 
 as this you mention." 
 
 " Oh'! if this be all your objection to the tale," 
 observed the cousin, " I am ready to swear to its 
 truth. But Eve has caught a little of Captain Truck's 
 spirit of mystifying, and is determined to make a. 
 character by a bold stroke in the beginning. She is 
 clever, and in time may rise to be a quiz." 
 
 " Thank you for the compliment, Cousin Jack, 
 which, however, I am forced to disclaim, as I never 
 was more serious in my life. That the letter was 
 read, Nanny, who is truth itself, affirms she saw. 
 That Mr. Dodge has since been industriously circu- 
 
262 HOMEWARD BOUiYD. 
 
 Jating the report of my great good fortune, she has 
 heard from the mate, who had it from the highest 
 source of information direct, and that such a man 
 would be likely to come to such a conclusion, you 
 have only to recall the terms of the letter yourself, to 
 believe." 
 
 " There is nothing in my letter to justify any no 
 tion so silly." 
 
 "An Active Inquirer might make discoveries you 
 little dream of, dear Cousin Jack. You speak of its 
 being time to cease roving, of settling yourself at 
 last, of never parting, and, prodigal as you are, of 
 making Eve the future mistress of your fortune. 
 Now to all this, recreant, confess, or I shall never 
 again put faith in man." 
 
 John Effingham made no answer, but the father 
 warmly expressed his indignation, that any man of 
 the smallest pretensions to be admitted among gen 
 tlemen, should be guilty of an act so base. 
 
 "We can hardly tolerate his presence, John, and 
 it is almost a matter of conscience to send him to 
 Coventry." 
 
 "If you entertain such notions of decorum, your 
 wisest way, Edward, will be to return to the place 
 whence you have come ; for, trust me, you will find 
 scores of such gentlemen where you are going !" 
 
 " I shall not allow you to persuade me I know my 
 own country so little. Conduct like this will stamp 
 a man with disgrace in America as well as else 
 where." 
 
 " Conduct like this would, but it will no longer. 
 The pell-mell that rnges has brought honourable men 
 into a sad minority, and even Mr. Dodge will tell 
 you the majority must rule. Were he to publish my 
 letter, a large portion of his readers would fancy he 
 was merely asserting the liberty of the press. Hea 
 vens save us ! You have been dreaming abroad, Ned 
 Effingham, while your country has retrograded, in 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 all that is respectable and good, a century in a dozen 
 years !" 
 
 As this was the usual language of John Effingham, 
 neither of his listeners thought much of it, though 
 Mr. Effingham more decidedly expressed an inten 
 tion to cut off even the slightest communication with 
 the offender, he had permitted himself to keep up, 
 since they had been on board. 
 
 " Think better of it, dear father," said Eve ; " for 
 such a man is scarcely worthy of even your resent 
 ment. He is too much your inferior in principles, 
 manners, character, station, and everything else, to 
 render him of so much account ; and then, were we 
 to clear up this masquerade into which the chances 
 of a ship have thrown us, we might have our scru 
 ples concerning others, as well as concerning this 
 wolf in sheep's clothing." 
 
 "Say rather an ass, shaved and painted to resem 
 ble a zebra," muttered John. " The fellow has no 
 property as respectable as the basest virtue of a 
 wolf." ' 
 
 " He has at least rapacily." 
 
 " And can howl in a pack. This much, then, I 
 will concede to you: but I agree with Eve, we must 
 either punish him affirmatively, by pulling his ears, 
 or treat him with contempt, which is always nega 
 tive or silent. I wish he had entered the state-room 
 of that fine young fellow, Paul Blunt, who is of an 
 age and a spirit to give him a lesson that might 
 make a paragraph for his Active Inquirer, if not a 
 scissors' extract of himself." 
 
 Eve knew that the offender had been there too, 
 but she had too much prudence to betray him. 
 
 " This will only so much the more oblige him," 
 she said, laughingly; "for Mr. Blunt, in speaking of 
 the editor of the Active Inquirer, said that he had 
 the failing to believe that this earth, and all it con- 
 
264 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 tained, was created merely to furnish materials for 
 newspaper paragraphs." 
 
 The gentlemen laughed with the amused Eve, and 
 Mr. Eflingham remarked, that " there did seem to be 
 men so perfectly selfish, so much devoted to their own 
 interests, and so little sensible of the rights and feel 
 ings of others, as to manifest a desire to render the 
 press superior to all other power ; not," he conclud 
 ed, " in the way of argument, or as an agent of rea 
 son, but as a master, coarse, corrupt, tyrannical and 
 vile; the instrument of selfishness, instead of the 
 right, and when not employed as the promoter of 
 persona] interest, to be employed as the tool of per 
 sonal passions." 
 
 " Your father will become a convert to my opi 
 nions, Miss Effingham," said John, " and he will not 
 be home a twelvemonth before he will make the dis 
 covery that the government is a press-ocracy, and 
 its ministers, self-chosen and usurpers, composed of 
 those who have the least at stake, even to charac 
 ter." 
 
 Mr. Effingham shook his head in dissent, but the 
 conversation changed in consequence of a stir in the 
 ship. The air from the land had freshened, and even 
 the heavy canvass on which the Montauk was now 
 compelled principally to rely, had been asleep, as 
 mariners term it, or had blown out from the mast, 
 where it stood inflated and steady, a proof at sea, 
 where the water is always in motion, that the breeze 
 is getting to be fresh. Aided by this power, the ship 
 had overcome the united action'of the heavy ground- 
 swell and of the current, and was stealing" out from 
 under the land, when the air murmured for an in 
 stant, as if about to blow still fresher, and then all 
 the sails flapped. The wind had passed away like a 
 bird, and a dark line to seaward, denoted the approach 
 of the breeze from the ocean. The stir in the vessel 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 265 
 
 was occasioned by the preparations to meet this 
 change. 
 
 The new wind brought little with it beyond the 
 general danger of blowing on shore. The breeze 
 was light, and not more than sufficient to force the 
 vessel through the water, in her present condition, a 
 mile and a half in the hour, and this too in a line 
 nearly parallel with the coast. Captain Truck saw 
 therefore at a glance, that he should be compelled to 
 anchor. Previously, however, to doing this, he had 
 a long talk with his mates, and a boat was lowered. 
 
 The lead was cast, and the bottom was found to 
 be still good, though a hard sand, which is not the 
 best holding ground. 
 
 *' A heavy sea would cause the ship to drag," Cap 
 tain Truck remarked, "should it come onto blow, 
 and the lines of dark rocks astern of them would 
 make chips of the Pennsylvania in an hour, were that 
 great ship to lie on it." 
 
 He entered the boat, and pulled along the reefs to 
 examine an inlet that Mr. Leach reported to have 
 been seen, before he got the ship's head to the north 
 ward. Could an entrance be found at this point, the 
 vessel might possibly be carried within the reef, and 
 a favourite scheme of the captain's could be put in 
 force, one to which he now attached the highest im 
 portance. A mile brought the boat up to the inlet, 
 where Mr. Truck found the following appearances. 
 The general formation of the coast in sight was that, 
 of a slight curvature, within which the ship had so far 
 drifted as to be materially within a line drawn from 
 headland to headland. There was, consequently, 
 little hope of urging a vessel, crippled like the Mon- 
 tauk, against wind, sea and current, out again into 
 the ocean. For about a league abreast of the ship 
 the coast was rocky, though low, the rocks running 
 off from the shore quite a mile in places, and every 
 where fully half that distance. The formation was 
 irregular/ but it had the general character of a reef 
 
 VOL. i. 23 
 
2GG HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 the position of which was marked by breakers, as 
 well as by the black heads of rocks that here and 
 there showed themselves above the water. The inlet 
 was narrow, crooked, and so far environed by rocks 
 as to render it questionable whether there was a pas 
 sage at all, though the smoothness of the water had 
 raised hopes to that effect in Mr. Leach. 
 
 As soon as Captain Truck arrived at the mouth of 
 this passage, he felt so much encouraged by the ap 
 pearances of things that he gave the concerted signal 
 for the ship to veer round and to stand to the south 
 ward. This was losing ground in the way of offing, 
 but tack the Montnuk could not w r ith so little wind, 
 even if she could now tack with any wind, and the 
 captain saw by the drift she had made since he left 
 her, that promptitude was necessary. The ship might, 
 anchor off the inlet, as well as anywhere else, if re 
 duced to anchoring outside at all, and then there was 
 always the chance of entering. 
 
 As soon as the ship's head w r as again to the south 
 ward, and Captain Truck felt certain that she was 
 lying along the reef at a reasonable safe distance, 
 and in as good a direction as he could hope for, he 
 commenced his examination. Like a discreet seaman 
 he pulled off from the rocks to a suitable distance, for 
 should an obstacle occur outside, he well knew any 
 depth of water further in would be useless. The day 
 was so fine, and in the absence <Jf rivers, the ocean 
 so limpid in that low latitude, that it was easy to see 
 the bottom at a considerable dept'h. But to this 
 sense, of course, the captain did not trust, for he kept 
 the lead going constantly, although all eyes were 
 also employed in searching for rocks. 
 
 The first cast of the lead was in five fathom?, and 
 these soundings were held nearly up to the inlet, 
 where the lead struck a rock in three fathoms and a 
 half. At this point, then, a more careful examination 
 was made, but three and a half was the shallowest 
 cast. As the Montauk drew nearly a fathom less 
 than this, the cautious old master proceeded closer 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 267 
 
 in. Directly in the mouth of the inlet was a large 
 flat rock, that rose nearly to the surface of the sea, 
 and which, when the tide was low, was probably 
 bare. This rock Captain Truck at first believed 
 would defeat his hopes of success, which by this 
 time were strong; but a closer examination showed 
 him that on one side of it was a narrow passage, just 
 wide enough to admit a ship. 
 
 From this spot the channel became crooked, but. 
 it was sufficiently marked by the ripple on the reef; 
 and after a careful investigation, he found it was 
 possible to carry three fathoms quite within the reef, 
 where a large space existed that was gradually filling 
 up with sand, but which was nearly all covered with 
 water when the tide was in as was now the case, and 
 which had channels, as usual, between the banks. 
 Following one of these channels a quarter of a mile, 
 he found a basin of four fathoms of water, large 
 enough to take a ship in, and, fortunately, it was in 
 close proximity to a portion of the reef that was 
 nearly always bare, when a heavy sea was not 
 beating over it. Here he dropped a buoy, for he had 
 come provided with several fragments of spars for 
 this purpose; and, on his return, the channel was 
 similarly marked ofT, at all the critical points. On 
 the flat rock, in the inlet, one of the men was left, 
 standing'up to his waist in the water, it being certain 
 that the tide was falling. 
 
 The boat now returned to the ship, which it met 
 at the distance of half a mile from the inlet. The 
 current setting southwardly, her progress had been 
 more rapid than when heading north, and her drift 
 had been less towards the land. Still there was so 
 little wind, so steady a ground-swell, and it was pos 
 sible to carry so little after-sail, that great doubts 
 were entertained of being able to weather the rocks 
 sufficiently to turn into the inlet. Twenty times in 
 the next half hour was the order to let go the anchor, 
 on the point of being given, as the wind baffled, and 
 as often was it counter manded, to take advantage of 
 
268 HOMEWARD BOUND, 
 
 its reviving. These were feverish moments, for the 
 ship was now so neer the reef as to render her situa 
 tion very insecure in the event of the wind's rising, 
 or of a sea's getting up, as the sand of the bottom 
 was too hard to make good holding-ground. Still, as 
 there was a possibility, in the present state of the 
 weather, of kedging the ship off a mile into the offing, 
 if necessary, Captain Truck stood on with a boldness 
 he might not otherwise have felt. The anchor hung 
 suspended by a single turn of the stopper, ready to 
 drop at a signal, and Mr. Truck stood between the 
 knight-heads, watching the slow progress of the 
 vessel, and accurately noticing every foot of leeward 
 set she made, as compared with the rocks. 
 
 All this time the poor fellow stood in the water, 
 awaiting the arrival of his friends, who, in their turn, 
 were anxiously watching his features, as they gradu 
 ally grew more distinct. 
 
 " I see his eyes," cried the captain cheerily; "take 
 a drag at the bowlines, and let her head up as much 
 as she will, Mr. Leach, and never mind those sham 
 topsails. Take them in at once, sir; they do us, now, 
 more harm than good." 
 
 The clewline blocks rattled, and the top-gallant 
 sails, which were made to do the duty of top-sails, 
 but which would hardly spread to the lower yards, 
 so as to set on a wind, came rapidly in. Five 
 minutes of intense doubt followed, when the captain 
 gave the animating order to 
 
 " Man the main-clew garnets, boys, arid stand by 
 to make a run of it!" 
 
 This was understood to be a sign that the ship was 
 far enough to windward, and the command to " in 
 main-sail," which soon succeeded, was received with 
 a shout. 
 
 " Hard up with the helm, and stand by to lay the 
 fore-yard square," cried Captain Truck, rubbing his 
 hands. "Look that both bowers are clear for a run; 
 and you, Toast, bring me the brightest coal in the 
 galley." 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 269 
 
 The movements of the Montauk were necessarily 
 slow ; but she obeyed her helm, and fell off until her 
 bows pointed in towards the sailor in the water. 
 This fine fellow, the moment he saw the ship ap 
 proaching, waded to the verge of the rock, where it 
 went off perpendicularly to the bottom, and waved to 
 them to come on without fear. 
 
 " Come within ten feet of me," he shouted. " There 
 is nothing to spare on the other side." 
 
 As the captain was prepared for this, the ship was 
 steered accordingly, and as she hove slowly past on 
 the rising and falling water, a rope was thrown to 
 the man, who was hauled on board. 
 
 " Port!" cried the captain, as soon as the rock was 
 passed; "port your helm, sir, and stand for the first 
 buoy." 
 
 In this manner the Montauk drove slowly but 
 steadily on, until she had reached the basin, where 
 one anchor was let go almost as soon as she entered. 
 The chain was paid out until the vessel was forced 
 over to some distance, and then the other bower was 
 dropped. The fore-sail was hauled up and handed, 
 and chain was given the ship, which was pronounced 
 to be securely moored. 
 
 " Now," cried the captain, all his anxiety ceasing 
 with the responsibility, "I expect to be made a mem 
 ber of the New York Philosophical Society at least, 
 which is learned company for a man who has never 
 been at college, for discovering a port on the coast of 
 Africa, which harbour, ladies a.nd gentlemen, without 
 too much vanity, I hope to be permitted to call Port 
 Truck. If Mr. Dodge, however, should think this 
 too anti-republican, we will compromise the matter 
 by calling it Port Truck and Dodge; or the town, 
 that no doubt will sooner or later arise on its banks, 
 may be called Dodgeborough, and I will keep the 
 harbour to myself." 
 
 " Should Mr. Dodge consent to this arrangement, 
 he will render himself liable to the charge of aristo- 
 23* 
 
270 HOMEWARD 13OUND. 
 
 cracy," said Mr. Sharp; for as all felt relieved by 
 rinding themselves in a place of security, so all felt 
 disposed to join in the pleasantry. " I dare say his 
 modesty would prevent his consenting to the plan." 
 
 " Why, gentlemen," returned the subject of these 
 remarks, " I do not know that we are to refuse 
 honours that are fairly imposed on us by the popular 
 voice; and the practice of naming towns and counties 
 after distinguished citizens, is by no means uncommon 
 with us. A few of my own neighbours have been 
 disposed to honour me in this way already, and my 
 paper is issued from a hamlet that certainly does 
 bear my own unworthy name. So, you perceive, 
 there will be no novelty in the appellation." 
 
 " I would have made oath to it," cried the captain, 
 " from your well-established humility. Is the place 
 as large as London?" 
 
 " It can boast of little more than my own office, a 
 tavern, a store, and a blacksmith's shop, captain, as 
 yet; but Rome was not built in a day." 
 
 "Your neighbours, sir, must be people of extraor 
 dinary discernment; but the name?" 
 
 "That is not absolutely decided. At first it was 
 called Dodgetown, but this did not last long, being 
 thought vulgar and common-place. Six or eight 
 weeks afterwards, we " 
 
 "We, Mr. Dodge!" 
 
 " I mean the people, sir, I am so much accus 
 tomed to connect myself with the people, that what 
 ever they do, I think I had a hand in." 
 
 " And very properly, sir," observed John Effing- 
 ham, " as probably without yon, there would have 
 been no people at all." 
 
 " What may be the population of Dodgetown, 
 sir?" asked the persevering captain, on this hint. 
 
 " At the census of January, it was seventeen; but 
 by the census of March, there were eighteen. 1 
 have made a calculation that shows, if we go on at 
 this rate, or by arithmetical progression, it will be a 
 hundred in about ten years, which will be a very 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 271 
 
 respectable population for a country-place. I beg 
 pardon, sir, the people, six or eight weeks afterwards, 
 altered the name to Dodge-borough; but a new 
 family coming in that summer, a party was got up to 
 change it to Dodge-ville, a name that was immensely 
 popular, as ville means city in Latin; but it must be 
 owned the people like change, or rotation in names, 
 as well as in office, and they called the place Butter- 
 field Hollow, for a whole month, after the new in 
 habitant, whose name is Butterfield. He moved 
 away in the fall; and so, after trying Belindy, 
 (Anglice Belinda,) Nineveh, Grand Cairo, and Pump 
 kin Valley, they made me the oiler to restore the 
 ancient name, provided some addendum more noble 
 and proper could be found than town, or ville, or 
 borough; it is not yet determined what it shall be, 
 but I believe we shall finally settle down in Dodge- 
 ople, or Dodgeopolis." 
 
 "For the season; and a very good name it will 
 prove for a short cruise, 1 make no question. The 
 Butterfield Hollow was a little like rotation in office, 
 in truth, sir." 
 
 " I didn't like it, captain, so. I gave Squire Butter- 
 field to understand, privately; for as he had a ma 
 jority with him, I didn't approve of speaking too 
 strongly on the subject. As soon as I got him out of 
 the tavern, however, the current set the other way." 
 
 " You fairly uncorked him !" 
 
 " That I did, and no one ever heard of him, or of 
 his hollow, after his retreat. There are a few dis 
 contented and arrogant innovators, who affect to call 
 the place by its old name of Morton; but these are 
 the mere vassals of a man who once owned the 
 patent, and who has now been dead these forty 
 years. We are not the people to keep his old musty 
 name, or to honour dry bones." 
 
 "Served him right, sir, and like men of spirit! If 
 he wants a place called after himself, let him live, 
 like other people. A dead man has no occasion for 
 a name, and there should be a law passed, that when 
 
272 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 a man slips his cables, he should bequeath his name 
 to some honest fellow who has a worse one. It 
 might be well to compel all great men in particular, 
 to leave their renown to those who cannot get any 
 for themselves." 
 
 " I will venture to suggest an improvement on the 
 name, if Mr. Dodge will permit me," said Mr. Sharp, 
 who had been an amused listener to the short dia 
 logue. "Dodgeople is a little short, and may be 
 offensive by its bnisquerie. By inserting a single 
 letter, it will become Dodge-people; or, there is the 
 alternative of Dodge-adrianople, which will be a truly 
 sonorous and republican title. Adrian was an em 
 peror, and even Mr. Dodge might not disdain the 
 conjunction." 
 
 By this time, the editor of the Active Inquirer 
 began to be extremely elevated for this was assail 
 ing him on his weakest side and he laughed and 
 rubbed his hands as if he thought the joke particularly 
 pleasant. This person had also a peculiarity of judg 
 ment that was singularly in opposition to all his open 
 professions, a peculiarity, however, that belongs 
 rather to his class than to the individual member of 
 it. Ultra as a democrat and an American, Mr. 
 Dodge had a sneaking predilection in favour of 
 foreign opinions. Although practice had made him 
 intimately acquainted with all the frauds, deceptions, 
 and vileness of the ordinary arts of paragraph-ma 
 king, he never failed to believe religiously in the 
 veracity, judgment, good faith, honesty and talents of 
 anything that was imported in the form of types. 
 He had been weekly, for years, accusing his nearest 
 brother of the craft, of lying, and he could not be 
 altogether ignorant of his own propensity in the same 
 way; but, notwithstanding all this experience in the 
 secrets of the trade, whatever reached him from a 
 European journal, he implicitly swallowed whole. 
 One, who knew little of the man, might have supposed 
 he feigned credulity to answer his own purposes; but 
 this would be doing injustice to his faith, which was 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 273 
 
 perfect, being based on that provincial admiration, 
 and provincial ignorance, that caused the country 
 man, who went to London for the first time, to ex 
 press his astonishment at finding the king a man. 
 As was due to his colonial origin, his secret awe and 
 reverence for an Englishman was exactly in propor 
 tion to his protestations of love for the people, and 
 his deference for rank was graduated on a scale 
 suited to the heart burning and jealousies he enter 
 tained for all whom he felt to be his superiors. In 
 deed, one was the cause of the other; for they who 
 really are indifferent to their own social position, are 
 usually equally indifferent to that of others, so long as 
 they are not made to feel the difference by direct 
 assumptions of superiority. 
 
 When Mr. Sharp, whom even Mr. Dodge had dis 
 covered to be a gentleman, and an English gentle 
 man of course, entered into the trifling of the 
 moment, therefore, so far from detecting the mysti 
 fication, the latter was disposed to believe himself a 
 subject of interest with this person, against whose 
 exclusiveness and haughty reserve, notwithstanding, 
 he had been making side-hits ever since the ship had 
 sailed. But the avidity with which the Americans of 
 Mr. Dodge's temperament are apt to swallow the 
 crumbs of flattery that fall from the Englishman's 
 table, is matter of history, and the editor himself was 
 never so happy as when he could lay hold of a para 
 graph to republish, in which a few words of comfort 
 were doled out by the condescending mother to the 
 never-dying faith of the daughter. So far, there 
 fore, from taking umbrage at what had been said, 
 he continued the subject long after the captain had 
 gone to his duty, and with so much perseverance 
 that Paul Blunt, 'as soon as Mr. Sharp escaped, took 
 an occasion to compliment that gentleman on his 
 growing intimacy with the refined and single-minded 
 champion of the people. The other admitted his in 
 discretion; and if the affair had no other consequen 
 ces, it afforded these two fine young men a moment's 
 
274 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 merriment, at a time when anxiety had been fast 
 getting the ascendancy over all their more cheerful 
 feelings. When they endeavoured to make Miss 
 Effingham share in 'the amusement, however, that 
 young lady heard them with gravity; for the mean 
 ness of the act discovered by Nanny Sidley, had in 
 disposed her to treat the subject of their comments 
 with the familiarity of even ridicule. Perceiving 
 this, though unable to account for it, the gentlemen 
 changed the discourse, and all soon became suffi 
 ciently grave by contemplating their own condition. 
 
 The situation of the Montauk was now certainly 
 one to excite uneasiness in those who were little 
 acquainted with the sea, as well as in those who 
 were. It was very much like that for which Miss 
 Effingham's nurse had pined, having many rocks and 
 sands in sight, with the land at no great distance. 
 In order that the reader may understand it more 
 clearly, we shall describe it with greater minuteness. 
 
 To the westward of the ship lay the ocean, broad, 
 smooth, glittering, but, heaving and setting, with its 
 eternal breathings, which always resemble the respi 
 ration of some huge monster. Between the vessel 
 and this waste of water, and within three hundred 
 feet of the first, stretched an irregular line of ripple, 
 dotted here and there with the heads of low naked 
 rocks, marking the presence and direction of the 
 reef. This was all that would interpose between the 
 basin and the raging billows, should another storm 
 occur; but Captain Truck thought this would suffice 
 so far to break the waves as to render the anchorage 
 sufficiently secure. Astern of the. ship, however, a 
 rounded ridge of sand began to appear as the tide 
 fell, within forty fathoms of the vessel, and as the 
 bottom was hard, and difficult to get an anchor into 
 it, there was the risk of dragging on this bank. We 
 say that the bottom was hard, for the reader should 
 know that it is not the weight of the anchor that 
 secures the ship, but the hold its pointed fluke and 
 broad palm get of the ground. The coast itself was 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 275 
 
 distant less than a mile, and the entire basin within 
 the reef was fast presenting spits of sand, as the water 
 fell on the ebb. Still there were many channels, and 
 it would have been possible, for one who knew r their 
 windings, to have sailed a ship several leagues among 
 them, without passing the inlet; these channels form 
 ing a sort of intricate net-work, in every direction 
 from the vessel. 
 
 When Captain Truck had coolly studied all the 
 peculiarities of his position, lie set about the duty of 
 securing his ship, in good earnest. The two light 
 boats were brought under the bows, and the stream 
 anchor was lowered, and fastened to a spar that lay 
 across both. This anchor was carried to the bank 
 astern, and, by dint of sheer strength, it was laid 
 over its summit with a fluke buried to the shank in 
 the hard sand. By means of a hawser, and a pur 
 chase applied to its end, the men on the banks next 
 roused the chain out, and shackled it to the ring. 
 The bight was hove-in, and the ship secured astern, 
 so as to prevent a shift of wind, off the land from 
 forcing her on the reef. As no sea could come from 
 this quarter, the single anchor and chain were deemed 
 sufficient for this purpose. As soon as the boats were 
 at liberty, and before the chain had been got ashore, 
 two kedges were carried to the reef, and lajd among 
 the rocks, in such a way that their flukes and stocks 
 equally got hold of the projections. To these kedges 
 lighter chains were secured; and when all the bights 
 were hove-in, to as equal a strain as possible, Captain 
 Truck pronounced his ship in readiness to ride out 
 any gale that would be likely to blow. So far as the 
 winds and waves might affect her, the Montauk was, 
 in truth, reasonably safe: for on the side where dan 
 ger was most to be apprehended, she had two bowers 
 down, and four parts of smaller chain were attached 
 to the two kedges. Nor had Captain Truck fallen 
 into the common error of supposing he had so much 
 additional strength in his fastenings, by simply run 
 ning the chains through the rings, but he had caused 
 
276 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 each to be separately fastened, both in-board and to 
 the kedges, by which means each length of the chain 
 formed a distinct and independent fastening of itself. 
 
 So absolute is the sovereignty of a ship, that no one 
 had presumed to question the master as to his motives 
 for all this extraordinary precaution, though it w r as 
 the common impression that he intended to remain 
 where they were until the wind became favourable, 
 or at least, until all danger of being thrown upon the 
 coast, from the currents and the ground-swell, should 
 have ceased. Paul Blunt observed, that he fancied 
 it was the intention to take advantage of the smooth 
 water within the reef, to get up a better and a more 
 efficient set of jury-masts. But Captain Truck soon 
 removed all doubts by letting the truth be known. 
 While on board the Danish wreck, he had critically 
 examined her spars, sails, and rigging, and, though 
 adapted for a ship two hundred tons smaller than the 
 Montauk, he was of opinion they might be fitted to 
 the latter vessel, and made to answer all the neces 
 sary purposes for crossing the ocean, provided the 
 Mussulmans and the weather would permit the 
 transfer. 
 
 " We have smooth water and light airs," he said, 
 when concluding his explanation, "and the current 
 sets southwardly along this coast; by means of all 
 our force, hard working, a kind Providence, and our 
 own enterprise, I hope yet to see the Montauk enter 
 the port of New York, with royals set, and ready to 
 carry sail on a wind. The seaman who cannot rig 
 his ship with sticks and ropes and blocks enough, 
 might as well stay ashore, Mr. Dodge, and publish 
 an hebdomadal. And so, my dear young lady, by 
 looking along the land, the day after to-morrow, in 
 the northern board here, you may expect to see a raft 
 booming do\vn upon you that will cheer your heart, 
 and once more raise the hope of a Christmas dinner 
 in New York, in all lovers of good fare." 
 
 EN T D or VOL. i. 
 

v