Part 7

"Optima unclasped her arms, and took one of my hands in hers. Then came the overwhelming crush of the great ship--a shout--a scream--and her keel passed over us. The shock came so unexpected that none had time to think of the danger, and we were gasping and struggling in the water before we were aware of the accident. I made a snatch at what I thought was the sinking form of Optima, but soon I found out the dreadful mistake. It was a strong man, who being no swimmer caught hold of my limbs with a desperate grasp that nothing but death could relax. In vain I strove to shake him off--I struggled--I fought--I kicked in vain. He held me as a serpent holds its prey. The thought of my beloved sinking into the bowels of the great deep, deserted by him whose happiness she had ever striven to secure, nerved my arms with a giant's strength, and catching the drowning wretch by the throat, I squeezed the breath out of his miserable body, hurled him from me as if he had been a loathsome reptile, and then struck out into the sea, swimming in various directions, shouting her name in every tone of agony--plunging, diving, and beating the waters with the fierce energy of a madman. My heart sunk within me--my strength was exhausted. I felt the terrible conviction, that for me there was no hope--and resigned myself to the cold embraces of the relentless wave. Of what afterwards occurred I know not, till I found myself on board the Albatross, recovered from the jaws of death by the kind and unceasing attention of her friendly crew. But do not think me ungrateful, when, reflecting upon the dreadful loss I have endured, and the wretched fate to which I have been left, I express a regret that my life has been spared."

"Scrunch me, if I ar'nt springing a leak as no pump can stop!" exclaimed Climberkin, as soon as the stranger had concluded his narrative, as he wiped with his knuckles the big tears out of the corners of his eyes;--an example which was followed by many of his shipmates.

"May I go to sea in a cockle shell, if ever I heard o' any thin' so cruel molloncholy," said Boggle; "my eyes are like sieves catching a thunder shower. But a fellow who can listen to such a tarnation heart-twister as this here without runnin' out like a water spout, must have the soul o' a nigger."

"Soul ob a nigger!" exclaimed the fat cook, furiously, while the drops that ran down his black cheeks evinced his sympathy for the sufferings he had heard.

"Soul ob a nigger!--What da debble you mean, you fellar! Tink a nigger no heart--tink him hab no sensebillity, you fellar?" Then turning to the stranger, he said, as well as his sobs would allow, "Roly Poly berry much feel for you Sar, oo, oo!--Hard ting to lose him missee, Sar, oo, oo!--Roly Poly in lub himself once, Sar.--Lubly cretur too, oo, oo!--She had de dropsy, Sar.--Doctor nebber make her no better, so she turn her nose against de wall and die like a lamb, oo, oo, oo!" And away the poor fellow went, sobbing as if his heart would break.

"Well, whip me into eel skins, if I sees the fun o' givin' a fellow the miserables!" exclaimed Scrumpydike, gulping down a deep draught of the liquor before him; "I seed many a sight worser nor what you've been telling on us, mister,--and ar'nt a thought it worth while to say nothin' to nobody about it. There ar'nt no sort o' life as produces so many wonderfuls as that o' a free mariner. Once upon a time I was taken prisoner with some other chaps, and kept aboard one o' them darin' crafts what goes bang at any thin' as comes in their track--and I seed sich jollifications--sich junkettings--sich cargoes o' grog--and sich chests o' money, as I never had afore a wink o' a notion on. There they were, dancin' and singin', and rollin' in riches--caring for nobody--doing whatever they had a mind--every one o' the crew a cap'ain, and the cap'ain a prince; and whenever they had a brush, which was as often as they fell in with anythin' worth havin', at it they went, harem scarem--carryin' every thin' afore 'em--cuttin' down and blowin' up, and sinkin' or seizin' the richest ships as sailed in them seas. Scrunch me, if they did'nt seem as happy as periwinkles on a rock."

"No doubt," observed Boggle; "and I ar'nt afeard to say, as many a honest naval would become a free mariner, if he had'nt the gumption to reccomember he was consiserable sure o' a sartainty o' being hanged."

"Either hanged or drowned, or spiflicated in some other unnat'ral manner," added Hearty; "and not without desarvin' on 't. None o' sich scum ever died in a honest fashion. Now in the course o' my sperience, I knowed a smartish lot consarnin' the notorious sea-sharks, Cap'ain Death and his Lef'tenant Rifle, and----"

"Did you know 'em?" inquired Scrumpydike, eagerly, fixing a searching look upon the old man.

"No, I did'nt exactly know 'em, but I knowed a good deal _on_ 'em; and if ever I comes upon their tack, with a few other honest chaps as knows how to give and take, if I don't leave my mark on some o' their figure-heads, I ha' lost all notion o' hand-writing;" said Hearty.

"Well, you may chance to come alongside on 'em afore you're aware, and then you'd best look out for squalls, old boy;" observed the other.

"I ar'nt afeard o' that. But as I was a sayin', these here varmint were 'sociated wi' a gang o' similar bloody-minded villains, and in a well armed craft which they'd got hold on, by no partic'lar honesty I'll be bound, they went a robbin' and plund'rin, and burnin' and massacr'in', every ship as they came anigh, till at last flesh and blood couldn't stand any sich howdacity--so two or three smartish vessels, full o' chaps o' the right sort, steered into their haunts, and there they kept cruising about in hopes o' coming to close quarters. But somehow or other they hadn't no sich luck. At last, when they began to calc'late as Cap'ain Death had given them the slip, one o' the ships diskivered a strange sail--and she was narrowly watched, hoping she might prove to contain the 'dentical set o' murd'rin' vagabonds they was arter. Suspicions becoming pretty strong, signals were made to her consorts to take a long sweep, so as to circumvent the villains so reg'larly as they couldn't escape no how. But that 'ere Cap'ain Death was no goslin'. He seed the canouvres they was a going about, hung out ev'ry bit o' canvass he could carry, and cut his precious stick like winkin! Howsomdever, he war'nt awake to the movement till they came rollin' up to him in a manner quite lovely to look on; and then they showed that they was as good hands at followin' as he was at runnin' away. The chase was carried on for a matter o' six hours, in sich a style as made him look behind oftener than he looked afore; and for all he went on this tack, and on t'other tack, and tried all sorts o' games to get out o' the way, they came so near as to be able to give him a pretty considerable taste o' their quality. Well, as night began to set in, there came on one o' the most thund'rin' storms as ever was--the wind blowed away as if it would shiver its own bellows into saw-dust, and the sea came up mountains high, in a manner it was more grand than pleasant to look on. The vessels in chase, finding themselves close upon an ugly sort of a coast, were obligated to keep out at sea as much as possible; but they endeavoured to keep such a look out as would prevent the villains from making themselves scarce afore morning. Well, when the mornin' broke all as clear as if there'd never been no rumpus--our ship--for, mind ye, I volunteered a purpose to have a rap at some on 'em--our ship and her consorts, who'd rode out the gale with nothin' but the loss o' a few spars, approached the shore for the purpose o' making secure o' Cap'ain Death, but the very first thing they clapped their blessed eyes on, was the ship they'd been in chase lyin' a perfect wreck among the breakers, making it a right down positive stark staring fact that every mother's son o' the gallows birds that belonged to her were feeding the crabs and lobsters, and sich like."

"Then they were all drowned!" said Climberkin.

"Nothin's been heard o' any on 'em from that day to this;" replied Hearty.

"But war'nt there a sort o' song which 'twas said the crew of the ship used to sing?" enquired Climberkin.

"To be sure there was," cried Scrumpydike, who had for some time looked more gloomy than usual; "I've heard it many's a time; and if you've a mind to listen, though I ar'nt no great shakes o' a singing bird, I'll give you the only original version as used to be sung by the free mariners."

"I don't want to hear none o' such villainous ditties!" exclaimed Hearty, as he left the circle.

"Who axed you, old Snapdragon?" responded the other, and presently with more animation than music, sung the following words:--

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

"Our black flag proudly floats, Proudly floats, proudly floats, Our black flag proudly floats, Captain Death! And down upon the prey, we boldly bear away, And we quickly make them pay, Captain Death! Captain Death! We quickly make them pay, Captain Death!

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

"Bring out our golden store, Golden store, golden store; Bring out our golden store, Captain Death! And let's send the wine-cup round, to forget the dead and drown'd, And rejoice _we're_ safe and sound, Captain Death! Captain Death! And rejoice _we're_ safe and sound, Captain Death!

"Thus pass our gallant lives, Gallant lives, gallant lives, Thus pass our gallant lives, Captain Death! And while the ocean flows, and the driving tempest blows, We'll live upon our foes, Captain Death! Captain Death! We'll live upon our foes, Captain Death!"

CHAP. VI.

APPEARANCE OF THE AFRICAN COAST.

Zabra had by this time become more familiar to the people of the Albatross, with some of whom his kindness and generosity made him an especial favourite. They had ceased to see any thing supernatural in his large lustrous eyes,--and had forgot that there was any thing mysterious in the dark colour of his complexion. His solitary wanderings about the ship created neither fear nor surprise, and the rich harmonies of his music were listened to with much more admiration than dread. Loop, a boy belonging to the vessel, who was a sister's son of Hearty, had been attacked with fever, and the attentions of Zabra, during his illness, won not only the heart of the old man, but that of every one on board. He procured for him every kind of nourishing food and refreshing beverage, that the Doctor would allow; took care that he should possess every comfort that the vessel contained; sung to him, played to him, and stayed beside his hammock for hours and hours, seeking to while away the tedious moments of indisposition. Oriel Porphyry having desired that he should be treated by every one as if he was his brother, instead of his attendant, Zabra found his slightest request always promptly attended to; and, though his manner was somewhat proud, as he seemed to possess abundant funds for every purpose, and gave liberally whenever he thought it was requisite, scarcely any one in the ship ever hesitated in joining in his praise.

The boy Loop got well, and he was not ungrateful. As for old Hearty, nothing could exceed his devotion to his nephew's benefactor. To every listener he could lay hold of, he narrated at length all that he knew of the youth's history, since he came on board: the people, rescued from the fire-ship, were in due time made familiar with every anecdote concerning him with which the old man was acquainted; and to no one were his details of more interest than to the young Australian, Ardent, who sometimes appeared to forget his own sorrows while attentive to the unpolished eloquence of the honest sailor. From this time Zabra became an object of general interest. Even Captain Compass seemed to look upon him with something like respect; Scrumpydike had ceased to entertain against him any hostile intentions; and Log, the captain's clerk, was heard to acquiesce in the opinion of his shipmates, with an affirmative repeated with the usual supply of adjectives.

But to Oriel Porphyry the admirable qualities of his page became every day more and more apparent. In the frequent conversations that took place between them, he could not but observe the developement of a mind of the highest order. It was not a mind impregnated with the heavy spirit of bookish learning, but an intelligence of a lighter, a more graceful, and a more original nature, replete with a sweet sympathy, and a lofty enthusiasm for all that was noble, good and beautiful; and throwing over the youthful figure and handsome countenance of its possessor, a poetical and romantic character, that was both a wonder and a charm to his companion. Zabra spoke of Eureka as if he had become acquainted with her most hidden thoughts, and had been constituted their interpreter; but of himself he never spoke. When Oriel seemed desirous of learning something of his history, he appeared uneasy, and immediately attempted to turn the conversation into another channel. This was noticed; but the unwillingness of the young Creole to speak of himself, Oriel attributed to the disinclination usually shown by natural children to allude to their own illegitimacy, knowing the unreasonable and cruel prejudices of society: therefore he ceased to desire from him any information on the subject. Still, his youth,--the singular beauty of his countenance, and the strange interest it often expressed, made him imagine that there was some mystery connected with him.

As he treated Zabra with the utmost confidence, and appreciated the intelligence he evinced, Oriel Porphyry communicated to him the contents of his father's letter.

"Your father is a noble character," he exclaimed with fervour; "and the proudest title of which you ought to boast, is that of being his son. I never could have supposed that it was possible for such nobility to reside in a spirit devoted to the mere money-getting purposes of traffic, but I have been educated in an aristocratic school, and with its lofty principles I have imbibed some of its illiberal prejudices. I would _my_ father had been such a one--I should not have been the fugitive I am."

"Express no regrets, Zabra. Let it be my pleasing task to see that your fortunes are worthy of your merits;" said Oriel Porphyry, affectionately taking in his the hand of his youthful companion. "And although I have not much reason to think well of the proud Philadelphia, for his conduct has not been such as would be likely to inspire me either with affection or respect; when I think of his relationship to her whose genuine worth it is impossible not to appreciate, I cannot regard the unfavourableness of his disposition."

"Eureka is not unmindful of your kind feelings towards her;" observed the other in a more tremulous voice than he had hitherto used. "It is her desire to deserve your affections, that has supported her under many trials. Her father is proud, but not so proud as Eureka. Yet there is an impassable gulf between the pride of the two. He would sacrifice every one around him for the immediate gratification of his own self-love: she would sacrifice all selfish considerations that interfered with the happiness of one she loved."

"And think you I cannot honour such goodness in the manner it deserves?" asked the merchant's son. "Let him be what he will--let his pride be as mean, and his ambition as selfish as it may, for the sake of Eureka I will endeavour to forget his unworthiness. All I hope is, that he will not attempt to force her inclinations to an alliance more pleasing to him."

"He cannot force her inclinations--that he knows;" remarked Zabra. "He has made the attempt for the first and last time; and Eureka is now beyond his reach."

"Indeed!" exclaimed Oriel with astonishment.

"Ay!" he replied. "He thought the more completely to secure your separation from her, to hurry her into a marriage with the wealthy and powerful head of the princely house of Vermont; but the character of such a man, had no other obstacle existed, would have been sufficient to have produced in her feelings a repugnance which nothing could overpower. As it was, she indignantly refused to become a sacrifice to her father's ambition. Her sentiments, however, on the subject, were so little regarded by him, that he made preparations to compel her to the union."

"Ha!" exclaimed master Porphyry, "I could not have imagined such despotism in a parent."

"Closely as she was watched," he continued, "Eureka managed to escape from her confinement; and when she sent me to be the companion of your fortunes, she had secured for herself the asylum she required."

"But where is she? Let me hasten to afford her the protection of which she must be so much in want!" exclaimed the impetuous Oriel; then reproachfully added, "Why, why did you not tell me this before?"

"I have obeyed my instructions;" replied the youth calmly. "It is sufficient for you to know that now she is safe, and that she is in the enjoyment of as much happiness as it is possible for her to obtain under the circumstances. Her retreat can only be made known to you when all the purposes of the present voyage are completed, and you return to Columbus."

"But can I not communicate with her? will she not write to me?" eagerly inquired the other.

"Be satisfied that it is impossible she should forget you, and endeavour to prove to her without the aids of continual correspondence, that in your affection the same durability exists."

"I will! I will!" cried Oriel; "I will do all she would have me. I will follow the plan my father has laid out, even to the minutest details; will try to find patience for its endurance by thinking of the blissful result with which it will be crowned. We are now approaching the southern coast of Africa," he continued after a pause of some duration, which neither had attempted to interrupt; "and my immediate destination Caffreton, the great mart of traffic in this part of the world is the first point of my commercial voyage. My father has written me very full instructions which I have carefully studied, and you will shortly see, Zabra, how well I shall be able to play the merchant."

They had been standing together on the deck gazing upon the world of waters before them during the preceding dialogue, and were now silently observing the progress of some distant vessels, when they were joined by the learned Professor Fortyfolios. Addressing Oriel, he said--

"That portion of land you observe yonder, rising out of the sea, is an important Cape, well known in the annals of navigation, and was called by the ancients the Cape of Good Hope. It used to be celebrated for producing an inferior wine, called Cape Wine, which being cheap, as it was worthless, was brought in considerable quantities for the purpose either of adulterating wines of a higher value, or was palmed upon the ignorant as the produce of a different vintage. The English, a people with whose history you are doubtless familiar, though not wine growers, were the greatest wine consumers of that period, and it was the immense demand for this necessary of life among that people, which the wines of Spain, Portugal, Sicily, Italy, France, Germany, and other countries, could not sufficiently supply, that brought this Cape into notice. The African wines are now remarkable for their admirable qualities. That it was the search after new liquors that sent the English into this part of the world chroniclers are not agreed, and that there were other wines produced in the same locality much superior in flavour, I think is more than probable, because I have found in the course of my reading, eloquent commendation of an African wine, called Constantia, and I have good reason for imagining that the deserts which the first voyagers of that nation met with on some portions of the coast, when they ascertained that a superior liquor was here procurable, originated the English proverb 'Good wine needs no bush.' However, there can be no doubt that the English planted a colony at this very Cape; gradually drove the natives from their land as they increased in power and numbers, till the whole continent from the Cape of Good Hope to Alexandria, and from Abyssinia to Senegambia, acknowledged their sway, and, in a great measure, spoke their language."

"Truly, those English were a great people!" remarked Oriel.

"They were so," said the Professor; "when we consider what they did, and the means they had to do it, we must acknowledge that they deserve the epithet, 'great.' At an early period of the world's history, England was utterly unknown. In the times of Assyrian greatness, in the eras of Babylon, of Jerusalem, and of Troy--and in the more brilliant ages of the Greeks, the Romans, and the Carthaginians, such an island had never been heard of--scarcely two thousand years had elapsed before this speck upon the waters became the most powerful kingdom upon the earth. She had possessions in every quarter of the globe; her conquering armies had penetrated into the remotest regions, and her gallant navies had triumphed in every sea. She had given a new people and a new language to the vast continent of America; she had founded a new division of the world in Australia; she had been acknowledged the mistress of the mighty Indies; she had forced a path through deserts of perpetual ice, and found a home in the scorching heat of the torrid zone. And by this time what had become of the nations of a more remote antiquity? Of some, the localities were not to be traced; others remained a heap of stones. The Carthaginians were extinct--the free and noble Greeks had become slaves or pirates--and the daring Romans, who boasted having conquered the world, were an ignoble emasculated race, confined to a single city and its suburbs, and governed by a despotic old woman in the shape of a priest."

"The form of government under which the people of this continent exists, is republican, I believe;" observed Master Porphyry.

"The whole is divided into a multitude of republics, some of which are always at war with one another," replied his tutor; "and they show their idea of liberty, of which they make the most preposterous boast, by keeping up a system of slavery the most tyrannical and revolting that can be imagined."

"Ay, ay," exclaimed Captain Compass, coming up and joining in the conversation; "it's the way of the world. Hear your most famous spouter about the blessings of freedom and all that sort of thing, and ten to one if you don't find him ready to domineer over every body beneath him. When I hear a fellow mighty fine in his notions of universal liberty, I always feel pretty certain that he only wants the power to trample on the independence of all who might stand in the way of his particular enjoyments. But this is all natural enough; the feeble are monstrously indignant at the exercise of power in the hands of their rulers; but when by any accident they become powerful, they all at once see the advantages of keeping down those who are down, and in a very short time become just as despotic as those of whom they complained."