The First of the English: A Novel

,, II.—The Lady of the Barge, 16 ,, III.—The Six Drunkards of Brussels, 35 ,, IV.—The Patriot Painter, 48 ,, V.—“The Lion’s Jaws Gape for Me!” 59 ,, VI.—The Drinking Bout at the...

Powder!” 112 ,, X.—The Secret of the Statue, 123 ,, XI.—Major Guido Amati has a Spree, 131 ,, XII.—“Get Your Daughter Out of Antwerp,” 143 ,, XIII.—“Good Heavens! What an Introd...

,, XIX.—The Daughter’s Dower, 220 ,, XX.—“Papa’s Coming! I’ll—I’ll Do It,” 228 ,, XXI.—“My Lord of Alva,” 235 ,, XXII.—“Oho! The Fox at Last!” 249 ,, XXIII.—“It is an Affair of...

This being done, the young skipper, for he is hardly twenty-five, shaking the spray and sea water out of his tarpaulin, gropes his way to the binnacle, the lantern of which is s...

No tones have ever thrilled Guy Chester so before, though in the almost impenetrable gloom of the night its witchery has no assistance from graceful figure, fascinating face, no...

A moment after, as Chester presses the ring upon his little finger, a young Spaniard, almost a boy, with dark fiery eyes and ornamented by an incipient mustache that he attempts...

The sun is well up in the heavens when Guy opens his eyes. In contrast to the night before, the gale has died away and the sun is shining brightly as if to mock the farmers and...

“I’ll make her love me,” exclaims Chester, looking at the ruby ring upon his finger that seems to him not the red light of danger, but the beacon of Cupid.

“How? Why, it is the usage at these drinking bouts when the banquet is at its height for friends of the combatants, for the honor of Bacchus, to send huge drinking beakers full...

“Yes, just in time,” whispers the Englishman, drawing a long breath also. Then he takes a hasty look at the tall Dutch clock ticking lazily away in the wine room.

And Guy, from the curtains of Bodé Volcker’s house, sees the man of the death’s face, before whom the crowd cower and tremble, bow to his saddle-bow before the coach of his daug...

Arriving at the capital, he learns that his sovereign and her court are at Hampton, and to his joy discovers from popular tongue that the Queen is enjoying the best of health. H...

This matter of ammunition delays Guy in England several days. But the fleet little Dover Lass soon makes the trip to the Netherlands, carrying every inch of canvas she can show,...

Chester is not the man to long for Alva’s treasure without desperate and immediate efforts to get them. He is soon on board the Dover Lass, and, locking himself in his cabin, ma...

Chester goes down to the quay very early, fearing, perhaps, some indiscretion of his seamen, who are not much accustomed to mercantile ways, and warping his vessel up to the doc...

“The Spin-House! Lieve Hemel! An honorable confinement there might do the minx good,” says the old man severely. “She has been headstrong and willful lately. Has she made some c...

Finding that the Dover Lass has not returned from Ireland, after some little trouble with the authorities, who would make a prize of the Esperanza, did not Chester prove himself...

Oliver comes down excitedly from the masthead and whispers: “I can see the spire of the great church at Haarlem. We’re only twenty miles away from—the woman I love—hurry.”

In the course of time Chester recovers from Spanish bullet wound, though not very rapidly, the surgery of that day being crude, unscientific and quite often deadly. When he rega...

But explaining their business and delivering over their three sacks of flour they are shortly afterward taken into the town by the Schalkwyker gate. Here Guy needs no word of mo...

From his interview with his daughter Bodé Volcker comes out a great sadness in his Flemish eyes, and finding Guy waiting for him, breaks forth: “This painter Oliver! What right...

To make preparations for this Chester’s time is desperately short. He must advance as rapidly as possible his action as to Alva’s treasure; besides this he wishes to guard most...

“It is fully ten o’clock—but better late than never,” thinks Guy—as he springs on the landing, flies up the stairway, and traverses with hasty feet the little path at Sandvliet....

Unknowing Doña de Alva’s plans for his welfare, her sweetheart, like prudent man, goes about getting together the little fortune with which he intends to begin housekeeping; and...

All this day during which his sweetheart has been obtaining papa’s consent, Chester has worked like a beaver laying in winter store. The seamen under Bodé Volcker’s direction ha...

Then pandemonium breaks forth in the girl, and she laughs in awful jeer: “My father offers me gewgaws for my lover’s life. Perhaps he’ll toss the gold for my affianced’s head in...