CHAPTER II.
There was a laughing devil in his sneer, That raised emotions both of rage and fear; And where his frown of hatred darkly fell, Hope withering fled--and Mercy sigh'd farewell.
_The Corsair, Canto I._
The ling or white fishery is the principal employment of the natives ofZetland, and was formerly that upon which the gentry chiefly dependedfor their income, and the poor for their subsistence. The fishing seasonis therefore, like the harvest of an agricultural country, the busiestand most important, as well as the most animating, period of the year.
The fishermen of each district assemble at particular stations, withtheir boats and crews, and erect upon the shore small huts, composed ofshingle and covered with turf, for their temporary lodging, and skeos,or drying-houses, for the fish; so that the lonely beach at once assumesthe appearance of an Indian town. The banks to which they repair for theHaaf fishing, are often many miles distant from the station where thefish is dried; so that they are always twenty or thirty hours absent,frequently longer; and under unfavourable circumstances of wind andtide, they remain at sea, with a very small stock of provisions, and ina boat of a construction which seems extremely slender, for two or threedays, and are sometimes heard of no more. The departure of the fishers,therefore, on this occupation, has in it a character of danger and ofsuffering, which renders it dignified, and the anxiety of the femaleswho remain on the beach, watching the departure of the lessening boat,or anxiously looking out for its return, gives pathos to the scene.[8]
The scene, therefore, was in busy and anxious animation, when theUdaller and his friends appeared on the beach. The various crews ofabout thirty boats, amounting each to from three to five or six men,were taking leave of their wives and female relatives, and jumping onboard their long Norway skiffs, where their lines and tackle lay readystowed. Magnus was not an idle spectator of the scene; he went from oneplace to another, enquiring into the state of their provisions for thevoyage, and their preparations for the fishing--now and then, with arough Dutch or Norse oath, abusing them for blockheads, for going to seawith their boats indifferently found, but always ending by orderingfrom his own stores a gallon of gin, a lispund of meal, or some similaressential addition to their sea-stores. The hardy sailors, on receivingsuch favours, expressed their thanks in the brief gruff manner whichtheir landlord best approved; but the women were more clamorous in theirgratitude, which Magnus was often obliged to silence by cursing allfemale tongues from Eve's downwards.
At length all were on board and ready, the sails were hoisted, thesignal for departure given, the rowers began to pull, and all startedfrom the shore, in strong emulation to get first to the fishing ground,and to have their lines set before the rest; an exploit to which nolittle consequence was attached by the boat's crew who should be happyenough to perform it.
While they were yet within hearing of the shore, they chanted an ancientNorse ditty, appropriate to the occasion, of which Claud Halcro hadexecuted the following literal translation:--
"Farewell, merry maidens, to song, and to laugh, For the brave lads of Westra are bound to the Haaf; And we must have labour, and hunger, and pain, Ere we dance with the maids of Dunrossness again.
"For now, in our trim boats of Noroway deal, We must dance on the waves, with the porpoise and seal; The breeze it shall pipe, so it pipe not too high, And the gull be our songstress whene'er she flits by.
"Sing on, my brave bird, while we follow, like thee, By bank, shoal, and quicksand, the swarms of the sea; And when twenty-score fishes are straining our line, Sing louder, brave bird, for their spoils shall be thine.
"We'll sing while we bait, and we'll sing when we haul, For the deeps of the Haaf have enough for us all: There is torsk for the gentle, and skate for the carle, And there's wealth for bold Magnus, the son of the earl.
"Huzza! my brave comrades, give way for the Haaf, We shall sooner come back to the dance and the laugh; For life without mirth is a lamp without oil; Then, mirth and long life to the bold Magnus Troil!"
The rude words of the song were soon drowned in the ripple of the waves,but the tune continued long to mingle with the sound of wind and sea,and the boats were like so many black specks on the surface of theocean, diminishing by degrees as they bore far and farther seaward;while the ear could distinguish touches of the human voice, almostdrowned amid that of the elements.
The fishermen's wives looked their last after the parting sails, andwere now departing slowly, with downcast and anxious looks, towards thehuts in which they were to make arrangements for preparing and dryingthe fish, with which they hoped to see their husbands and friends returndeeply laden. Here and there an old sibyl displayed the superiorimportance of her experience, by predicting, from the appearance of theatmosphere, that the wind would be fair or foul, while othersrecommended a vow to the Kirk of St. Ninian's for the safety of theirmen and boats, (an ancient Catholic superstition, not yet whollyabolished,) and others, but in a low and timorous tone, regretted totheir companions, that Norna of Fitful-head had been suffered to departin discontent that morning from Burgh-Westra, "and, of all days in theyear, that they suld have contrived to give her displeasure on the firstday of the white fishing!"
The gentry, guests of Magnus Troil, having whiled away as much time ascould be so disposed of, in viewing the little armament set sail, and inconversing with the poor women who had seen their friends embark in it,began now to separate into various groups and parties, which strolled indifferent directions, as fancy led them, to enjoy what may be called theclair-obscure of a Zetland summer day, which, though without thebrilliant sunshine that cheers other countries during the fine season,has a mild and pleasing character of its own, that softens while itsaddens landscapes, which, in their own lonely, bare, and monotonoustone, have something in them stern as well as barren.
In one of the loneliest recesses of the coast, where a deep indenture ofthe rocks gave the tide access to the cavern, or, as it is called, the_Helyer_, of Swartaster, Minna Troil was walking with Captain Cleveland.They had probably chosen that walk, as being little liable tointerruption from others; for, as the force of the tide rendered theplace unfit either for fishing or sailing, so it was not the ordinaryresort of walkers, on account of its being the supposed habitation of aMermaid, a race which Norwegian superstition invests with magical, aswell as mischievous qualities. Here, therefore, Minna wandered with herlover.
A small spot of milk-white sand, that stretched beneath one of theprecipices which walled in the creek on either side, afforded them spacefor a dry, firm, and pleasant walk of about an hundred yards, terminatedat one extremity by a dark stretch of the bay, which, scarce touched bythe wind, seemed almost as smooth as glass, and which was seen frombetween two lofty rocks, the jaws of the creek, or indenture, thatapproached each other above, as if they wished to meet over the darktide that separated them. The other end of their promenade was closed bya lofty and almost unscaleable precipice, the abode of hundreds ofsea-fowl of different kinds, in the bottom of which the huge helyer, orsea-cave, itself yawned, as if for the purpose of swallowing up theadvancing tide, which it seemed to receive into an abyss of immeasurabledepth and extent. The entrance to this dismal cavern consisted not in asingle arch, as usual, but was divided into two, by a huge pillar ofnatural rock, which, rising out of the sea, and extending to the top ofthe cavern, seemed to lend its support to the roof, and thus formed adouble portal to the helyer, on which the fishermen and peasants hadbestowed the rude name of the Devil's Nostrils. In this wild scene,lonely and undisturbed but by the clang of the sea-fowl, Cleveland hadalready met with Minna Troil more than once; for with her it was afavourite walk, as the objects which it presented agreed peculiarly withthe love of the wild, the melancholy, and the wonderful. But now theconversation in which she was earnestly engaged, was such as entirely towithdraw her attention, as well as that of her companion, from thescenery around them.
"You ca
nnot deny it," she said; "you have given way to feelingsrespecting this young man, which indicate prejudice and violence,--theprejudice unmerited, as far as you are concerned at least, and theviolence equally imprudent and unjustifiable."
"I should have thought," replied Cleveland, "that the service I renderedhim yesterday might have freed me from such a charge. I do not talk ofmy own risk, for I have lived in danger, and love it; it is not everyone, however, would have ventured so near the furious animal to save onewith whom they had no connexion."
"It is not every one, indeed, who could have saved him," answeredMinna, gravely; "but every one who has courage and generosity would haveattempted it. The giddy-brained Claud Halcro would have done as much asyou, had his strength been equal to his courage,--my father would havedone as much, though having such just cause of resentment against theyoung man, for his vain and braggart abuse of our hospitality. Do not,therefore, boast of your exploit too much, my good friend, lest youshould make me think that it required too great an effort. I know youlove not Mordaunt Mertoun, though you exposed your own life to savehis."
"Will you allow nothing, then," said Cleveland, "for the long misery Iwas made to endure from the common and prevailing report, that thisbeardless bird-hunter stood betwixt me and what I on earth covetedmost--the affections of Minna Troil?"
He spoke in a tone at once impassioned and insinuating, and his wholelanguage and manner seemed to express a grace and elegance, which formedthe most striking contrast with the speech and gesture of the unpolishedseaman, which he usually affected or exhibited. But his apology wasunsatisfactory to Minna.
"You have known," she said, "perhaps too soon, and too well, how littleyou had to fear,--if you indeed feared,--that Mertoun, or any other, hadinterest with Minna Troil.--Nay, truce to thanks and protestations; Iwould accept it as the best proof of gratitude, that you would bereconciled with this youth, or at least avoid every quarrel with him."
"That we should be friends, Minna, is impossible," replied Cleveland;"even the love I bear you, the most powerful emotion that my heart everknew, cannot work that miracle."
"And why, I pray you?" said Minna; "there have been no evil offencesbetween you, but rather an exchange of mutual services; why can you notbe friends?--I have many reasons to wish it."
"And can you, then, forget the slights which he has cast upon Brenda,and on yourself, and on your father's house?"
"I can forgive them all," said Minna;--"can you not say so much, whohave in truth received no offence?"
Cleveland looked down, and paused for an instant; then raised his head,and replied, "I might easily deceive you, Minna, and promise you what mysoul tells me is an impossibility; but I am forced to use too muchdeceit with others, and with you I will use none. I cannot be friend tothis young man;--there is a natural dislike--an instinctiveaversion--something like a principle of repulsion in our mutual nature,which makes us odious to each other. Ask himself--he will tell you hehas the same antipathy against me. The obligation he conferred on me wasa bridle to my resentment; but I was so galled by the restraint, that Icould have gnawed the curb till my lips were bloody."
"You have worn what you are wont to call your iron mask so long, thatyour features," replied Minna, "retain the impression of its rigidityeven when it is removed."
"You do me injustice, Minna," replied her lover, "and you are angry withme because I deal with you plainly and honestly. Plainly and honestly,however, will I say, that I cannot be Mertoun's friend, but it shall behis own fault, not mine, if I am ever his enemy. I seek not to injurehim; but do not ask me to love him. And of this remain satisfied, thatit would be vain even if I could do so; for as sure as I attempted anyadvances towards his confidence, so sure would I be to awaken hisdisgust and suspicion. Leave us to the exercise of our natural feelings,which, as they will unquestionably keep us as far separate as possible,are most likely to prevent any possible interference with eachother.--Does this satisfy you?"
"It must," said Minna, "since you tell me there is no remedy.--And nowtell me why you looked so grave when you heard of your consort'sarrival,--for that it is her I have no doubt,--in the port of Kirkwall?"
"I fear," replied Cleveland, "the consequences of that vessel's arrivalwith her crew, as comprehending the ruin of my fondest hopes. I had madesome progress in your father's favour, and, with time, might have mademore, when hither come Hawkins and the rest to blight my prospects forever. I told you on what terms we parted. I then commanded a vesselbraver and better found than their own, with a crew who, at my slightestnod, would have faced fiends armed with their own fiery element; but Inow stand alone, a single man, destitute of all means to overawe or torestrain them; and they will soon show so plainly the ungovernablelicense of their habits and dispositions, that ruin to themselves and tome will in all probability be the consequence."
"Do not fear it," said Minna; "my father can never be so unjust as tohold you liable for the offences of others."
"But what will Magnus Troil say to my own demerits, fair Minna?" saidCleveland, smiling.
"My father is a Zetlander, or rather a Norwegian," said Minna, "one ofan oppressed race, who will not care whether you fought against theSpaniards, who are the tyrants of the New World, or against the Dutchand English, who have succeeded to their usurped dominions. His ownancestors supported and exercised the freedom of the seas in thosegallant barks, whose pennons were the dread of all Europe."
"I fear, nevertheless," said Cleveland, "that the descendant of anancient Sea-King will scarce acknowledge a fitting acquaintance in amodern rover. I have not disguised from you that I have reason to dreadthe English laws; and Magnus, though a great enemy to taxes, imposts,scat, wattle, and so forth, has no idea of latitude upon points of amore general character;--he would willingly reeve a rope to the yard-armfor the benefit of an unfortunate buccanier."
"Do not suppose so," said Minna; "he himself suffers too much oppressionfrom the tyrannical laws of our proud neighbours of Scotland. I trust hewill soon be able to rise in resistance against them. The enemy--such Iwill call them--are now divided amongst themselves, and every vesselfrom their coast brings intelligence of fresh commotions--the Highlandsagainst the Lowlands--the Williamites against the Jacobites--the Whigsagainst the Tories, and, to sum the whole, the kingdom of Englandagainst that of Scotland. What is there, as Claud Halcro well hinted, toprevent our availing ourselves of the quarrels of these robbers, toassert the independence of which we are deprived?"
"To hoist the raven standard on the Castle of Scalloway," saidCleveland, in imitation of her tone and manner, "and proclaim yourfather Earl Magnus the First!"
"Earl Magnus the Seventh, if it please you," answered Minna; "for six ofhis ancestors have worn, or were entitled to wear, the coronet beforehim.--You laugh at my ardour,--but what _is_ there to prevent all this?"
"Nothing _will_ prevent it," replied Cleveland, "because it will neverbe attempted--Any thing _might_ prevent it, that is equal in strength tothe long-boat of a British man-of-war."
"You treat us with scorn, sir," said Minna; "yet yourself should knowwhat a few resolved men may perform."
"But they must be armed, Minna," replied Cleveland, "and willing toplace their lives upon each desperate adventure.--Think not of suchvisions. Denmark has been cut down into a second-rate kingdom, incapableof exchanging a single broadside with England; Norway is a starvingwilderness; and, in these islands, the love of independence has beensuppressed by a long term of subjection, or shows itself but in a fewmuttered growls over the bowl and bottle. And, were your men as willingwarriors as their ancestors, what could the unarmed crews of a fewfishing-boats do against the British navy?--Think no more of it, sweetMinna--it is a dream, and I must term it so, though it makes your eye sobright, and your step so noble."
"It is indeed a dream!" said Minna, looking down, "and it ill becomes adaughter of Hialtland to look or to move like a freewoman--Our eyeshould be on the ground, and our step slow and reluctant, as that of onewho obeys a taskmas
ter."
"There are lands," said Cleveland, "in which the eye may look brightupon groves of the palm and the cocoa, and where the foot may movelight as a galley under sail, over fields carpeted with flowers, andsavannahs surrounded by aromatic thickets, and where subjection isunknown, except that of the brave to the bravest, and of all to the mostbeautiful."
Minna paused a moment ere she spoke, and then answered, "No, Cleveland.My own rude country has charms for me, even desolate as you think it,and depressed as it surely is, which no other land on earth can offer tome. I endeavour in vain to represent to myself those visions of trees,and of groves, which my eye never saw; but my imagination can conceiveno sight in nature more sublime than these waves, when agitated by astorm, or more beautiful, than when they come, as they now do, rollingin calm tranquillity to the shore. Not the fairest scene in a foreignland,--not the brightest sunbeam that ever shone upon the richestlandscape, would win my thoughts for a moment from that lofty rock,misty hill, and wide-rolling ocean. Hialtland is the land of my deceasedancestors, and of my living father; and in Hialtland will I live anddie."
"Then in Hialtland," answered Cleveland, "will I too live and die. Iwill not go to Kirkwall,--I will not make my existence known to mycomrades, from whom it were else hard for me to escape. Your fatherloves me, Minna; who knows whether long attention, anxious care, mightnot bring him to receive me into his family? Who would regard the lengthof a voyage that was certain to terminate in happiness?"
"Dream not of such an issue," said Minna; "it is impossible. While youlive in my father's house,--while you receive his assistance, and sharehis table, you will find him the generous friend, and the hearty host;but touch him on what concerns his name and family, and thefrank-hearted Udaller will start up before you the haughty and prouddescendant of a Norwegian Jarl. See you,--a moment's suspicion hasfallen on Mordaunt Mertoun, and he has banished from his favour theyouth whom he so lately loved as a son. No one must ally with his housethat is not of untainted northern descent."
"And mine may be so, for aught that is known to me upon the subject,"said Cleveland.
"How!" said Minna; "have you any reason to believe yourself of Norsedescent?"
"I have told you before," replied Cleveland, "that my family is totallyunknown to me. I spent my earliest days upon a solitary plantation inthe little island of Tortuga, under the charge of my father, then adifferent person from what he afterwards became. We were plundered bythe Spaniards, and reduced to such extremity of poverty, that my father,in desperation, and in thirst of revenge, took up arms, and havingbecome chief of a little band, who were in the same circumstances,became a buccanier, as it is called, and cruized against Spain, withvarious vicissitudes of good and bad fortune, until, while he interferedto check some violence of his companions, he fell by their hands--nouncommon fate among the captains of these rovers. But whence my fathercame, or what was the place of his birth, I know not, fair Minna, norhave I ever had a curious thought on the subject."
"He was a Briton, at least, your unfortunate father?" said Minna.
"I have no doubt of it," said Cleveland; "his name, which I haverendered too formidable to be openly spoken, is an English one; and hisacquaintance with the English language, and even with Englishliterature, together with the pains which he took, in better days, toteach me both, plainly spoke him to be an Englishman. If the rudebearing which I display towards others is not the genuine character ofmy mind and manners, it is to my father, Minna, that I owe any share ofbetter thoughts and principles, which may render me worthy, in somesmall degree, of your notice and approbation. And yet it sometimes seemsto me, that I have two different characters; for I cannot bring myselfto believe, that I, who now walk this lone beach with the lovely MinnaTroil, and am permitted to speak to her of the passion which I havecherished, have ever been the daring leader of the bold band whose namewas as terrible as a tornado."
"You had not been permitted," said Minna, "to use that bold languagetowards the daughter of Magnus Troil, had you _not_ been the brave andundaunted leader, who, with so small means, has made his name soformidable. My heart is like that of a maiden of the ancient days, andis to be won, not by fair words, but by gallant deeds."
"Alas! that heart," said Cleveland; "and what is it that I may do--whatis it that man can do, to win in it the interest which I desire?"
"Rejoin your friends--pursue your fortunes--leave the rest to destiny,"said Minna. "Should you return, the leader of a gallant fleet, who cantell what may befall?"
"And what shall assure me, that, when I return--if return I evershall--I may not find Minna Troil a bride or a spouse?--No, Minna, Iwill not trust to destiny the only object worth attaining, which mystormy voyage in life has yet offered me."
"Hear me," said Minna. "I will bind myself to you, if you dare acceptsuch an engagement, by the promise of Odin,[9] the most sacred of ournorthern rites which are yet practised among us, that I will neverfavour another, until you resign the pretensions which I have given toyou.--Will that satisfy you?--for more I cannot--more I will not give."
"Then with that," said Cleveland, after a moment's pause, "I mustperforce be satisfied;--but remember, it is yourself that throw me backupon a mode of life which the laws of Britain denounce as criminal, andwhich the violent passions of the daring men by whom it is pursued, haverendered infamous."
"But I," said Minna, "am superior to such prejudices. In warring withEngland, I see their laws in no other light than as if you were engagedwith an enemy, who, in fulness of pride and power, has declared he willgive his antagonist no quarter. A brave man will not fight the worse forthis;--and, for the manners of your comrades, so that they do not infectyour own, why should their evil report attach to you?"
Cleveland gazed at her as she spoke, with a degree of wonderingadmiration, in which, at the same time, there lurked a smile at hersimplicity.
"I could not," he said, "have believed, that such high courage couldhave been found united with such ignorance of the world, as the world isnow wielded. For my manners, they who best know me will readily allow,that I have done my best, at the risk of my popularity, and of my lifeitself, to mitigate the ferocity of my mates; but how can you teachhumanity to men burning with vengeance against the world by whom theyare proscribed, or teach them temperance and moderation in enjoying thepleasures which chance throws in their way, to vary a life which wouldbe otherwise one constant scene of peril and hardship?--But thispromise, Minna--this promise, which is all I am to receive in guerdonfor my faithful attachment--let me at least lose no time in claimingthat."
"It must not be rendered here, but in Kirkwall.--We must invoke, towitness the engagement, the Spirit which presides over the ancientCircle of Stennis. But perhaps you fear to name the ancient Father ofthe Slain too, the Severe, the Terrible?"
Cleveland smiled.
"Do me the justice to think, lovely Minna, that I am little subject tofear real causes of terror; and for those which are visionary, I have nosympathy whatever."
"You believe not in them, then?" said Minna, "and are so far bettersuited to be Brenda's lover than mine."
"I will believe," replied Cleveland, "in whatever you believe. The wholeinhabitants of that Valhalla, about which you converse so much with thatfiddling, rhyming fool, Claud Halcro--all these shall become living andexisting things to my credulity. But, Minna, do not ask me to fear anyof them."
"Fear! no--not to _fear_ them, surely," replied the maiden; "for, notbefore Thor or Odin, when they approached in the fulness of theirterrors, did the heroes of my dauntless race yield one foot in retreat.Nor do I own them as Deities--a better faith prevents so foul an error.But, in our own conception, they are powerful spirits for good or evil.And when you boast not to fear them, bethink you that you defy an enemyof a kind you have never yet encountered."
"Not in these northern latitudes," said the lover, with a smile, "wherehitherto I have seen but angels; but I have faced, in my time, thedemons of the Equinoctial Line, which we rovers suppose to be
aspowerful, and as malignant, as those of the North."
"Have you, then, witnessed those wonders that are beyond the visibleworld?" said Minna, with some degree of awe.
Cleveland composed his countenance, and replied,--"A short while beforemy father's death, I came, though then very young, into the command of asloop, manned with thirty as desperate fellows as ever handled a musket.We cruized for a long while with bad success, taking nothing butwretched small-craft, which were destined to catch turtle, or otherwiseloaded with coarse and worthless trumpery. I had much ado to prevent mycomrades from avenging upon the crews of those baubling shallops thedisappointment which they had occasioned to us. At length, we grewdesperate, and made a descent on a village, where we were told we shouldintercept the mules of a certain Spanish governor, laden with treasure.We succeeded in carrying the place; but while I endeavoured to save theinhabitants from the fury of my followers, the muleteers, with theirprecious cargo, escaped into the neighbouring woods. This filled up themeasure of my unpopularity. My people, who had been long discontented,became openly mutinous. I was deposed from my command in solemn council,and condemned, as having too little luck and too much humanity for theprofession I had undertaken, to be marooned,[10] as the phrase goes, onone of those little sandy, bushy islets, which are called, in the WestIndies, keys, and which are frequented only by turtle and by sea-fowl.Many of them are supposed to be haunted(_b_)--some by the demonsworshipped by the old inhabitants--some by Caciques and others, whom theSpaniards had put to death by torture, to compel them to discover theirhidden treasures, and others by the various spectres in which sailors ofall nations have implicit faith.[11] My place of banishment, calledCoffin-key, about two leagues and a half to the south-east of Bermudas,was so infamous as the resort of these supernatural inhabitants, that Ibelieve the wealth of Mexico would not have persuaded the bravest of thescoundrels who put me ashore there, to have spent an hour on the isletalone, even in broad daylight; and when they rowed off, they pulled forthe sloop like men that dared not cast their eyes behind them. And therethey left me, to subsist as I might, on a speck of unproductive sand,surrounded by the boundless Atlantic, and haunted, as they supposed, bymalignant demons."
"And what was the consequence?" said Minna, eagerly.
"I supported life," said the adventurer, "at the expense of suchsea-fowl, aptly called boobies, as were silly enough to let me approachso near as to knock them down with a stick; and by means of turtle-eggs,when these complaisant birds became better acquainted with themischievous disposition of the human species, and more shy of course ofmy advances."
"And the demons of whom you spoke?"--continued Minna.
"I had my secret apprehensions upon their account," said Cleveland: "Inopen daylight, or in absolute darkness, I did not greatly apprehendtheir approach; but in the misty dawn of the morning, or when eveningwas about to fall, I saw, for the first week of my abode on the key,many a dim and undefined spectre, now resembling a Spaniard, with hiscapa wrapped around him, and his huge sombrero, as large as an umbrella,upon his head,--now a Dutch sailor, with his rough cap andtrunk-hose,--and now an Indian Cacique, with his feathery crown and longlance of cane."
"Did you not approach and address them?" said Minna.
"I always approached them," replied the seaman; "but,--I grieve todisappoint your expectations, my fair friend,--whenever I drew nearthem, the phantom changed into a bush, or a piece of drift-wood, or awreath of mist, or some such cause of deception, until at last I wastaught by experience to cheat myself no longer with such visions, andcontinued a solitary inhabitant of Coffin-key, as little alarmed byvisionary terrors, as I ever was in the great cabin of a stout vessel,with a score of companions around me."
"You have cheated me into listening to a tale of nothing," said Minna;"but how long did you continue on the island?"
"Four weeks of wretched existence," said Cleveland, "when I was relievedby the crew of a vessel which came thither a-turtling. Yet my miserableseclusion was not entirely useless to me; for on that spot of barrensand I found, or rather forged, the iron mask, which has since been mychief security against treason, or mutiny of my followers. It was thereI formed the resolution to seem no softer hearted, nor betterinstructed--no more humane, and no more scrupulous, than those with whomfortune had leagued me. I thought over my former story, and saw thatseeming more brave, skilful, and enterprising than others, had gained mecommand and respect, and that seeming more gently nurtured, and morecivilized than they, had made them envy and hate me as a being ofanother species. I bargained with myself, then, that since I could notlay aside my superiority of intellect and education, I would do my bestto disguise, and to sink in the rude seaman, all appearance of betterfeeling and better accomplishments. I foresaw then what has sincehappened, that, under the appearance of daring obduracy, I shouldacquire such a habitual command over my followers, that I might use itfor the insurance of discipline, and for relieving the distresses of thewretches who fell under our power. I saw, in short, that to attainauthority, I must assume the external semblance, at least, of those overwhom it was to be exercised. The tidings of my father's fate, while itexcited me to wrath and to revenge, confirmed the resolution I hadadopted. He also had fallen a victim to his superiority of mind, morals,and manners, above those whom he commanded. They were wont to call himthe Gentleman; and, unquestionably, they thought he waited somefavourable opportunity to reconcile himself, perhaps at their expense,to those existing forms of society his habits seemed best to suit with,and, even therefore, they murdered him. Nature and justice alike calledon me for revenge. I was soon at the head of a new body of theadventurers, who are so numerous in those islands. I sought not afterthose by whom I had been myself marooned, but after the wretches who hadbetrayed my father; and on them I took a revenge so severe, that it wasof itself sufficient to stamp me with the character of that inexorableferocity which I was desirous to be thought to possess, and which,perhaps, was gradually creeping on my natural disposition in actualearnest. My manner, speech, and conduct, seemed so totally changed, thatthose who formerly knew me were disposed to ascribe the alteration to myintercourse with the demons who haunted the sands of Coffin-key; nay,there were some superstitious enough to believe, that I had actuallyformed a league with them."
"I tremble to hear the rest!" said Minna; "did you not become themonster of courage and cruelty whose character you assumed?"
"If I have escaped being so, it is to you, Minna," replied Cleveland,"that the wonder must be ascribed. It is true, I have always endeavouredto distinguish myself rather by acts of adventurous valour, than byschemes of revenge or of plunder, and that at length I could save livesby a rude jest, and sometimes, by the excess of the measures which Imyself proposed, could induce those under me to intercede in favour ofprisoners; so that the seeming severity of my character has betterserved the cause of humanity, than had I appeared directly devoted toit."
He ceased, and, as Minna replied not a word, both remained silent for alittle space, when Cleveland again resumed the discourse:--
"You are silent," he said, "Miss Troil, and I have injured myself inyour opinion by the frankness with which I have laid my character beforeyou. I may truly say that my natural disposition has been controlled,but not altered, by the untoward circumstances in which I am placed."
"I am uncertain," said Minna, after a moment's consideration, "whetheryou had been thus candid, had you not known I should soon see yourcomrades, and discover, from their conversation and their manners, whatyou would otherwise gladly have concealed."
"You do me injustice, Minna, cruel injustice. From the instant that youknew me to be a sailor of fortune, an adventurer, a buccanier, or, ifyou will have the broad word, a PIRATE, what had you to expect less thanwhat I have told you?"
"You speak too truly," said Minna--"all this I might have anticipated,and I know not how I should have expected it otherwise. But it seemed tome that a war on the cruel and superstitious Spaniards had in itsomething ennobling--something that
refined the fierce employment towhich you have just now given its true and dreaded name. I thought thatthe independent warriors of the Western Ocean, raised up, as it were, topunish the wrongs of so many murdered and plundered tribes must havehad something of gallant elevation, like that of the Sons of the North,whose long galleys avenged on so many coasts the oppressions ofdegenerate Rome. This I thought, and this I dreamed--I grieve that I amawakened and undeceived. Yet I blame you not for the erring of my ownfancy.--Farewell; we must now part."
"Say at least," said Cleveland, "that you do not hold me in horror forhaving told you the truth."
"I must have time for reflection," said Minna, "time to weigh what youhave said, ere I can fully understand my own feelings. Thus much,however, I can say even now, that he who pursues the wicked purpose ofplunder, by means of blood and cruelty, and who must veil his remains ofnatural remorse under an affectation of superior profligacy, is not, andcannot be, the lover whom Minna Troil expected to find in Cleveland; andif she still love him, it must be as a penitent, and not as a hero."
So saying, she extricated herself from his grasp, (for he stillendeavoured to detain her,) making an imperative sign to him to forbearfrom following her.--"She is gone," said Cleveland, looking after her;"wild and fanciful as she is, I expected not this.--She startled not atthe name of my perilous course of life, yet seems totally unprepared forthe evil which must necessarily attend it; and so all the merit I havegained by my resemblance to a Norse Champion, or King of the Sea, is tobe lost at once, because a gang of pirates do not prove to be a choir ofsaints. I would that Rackam, Hawkins, and the rest, had been at thebottom of the Race of Portland--I would the Pentland Frith had sweptthem to hell rather than to Orkney! I will not, however, quit the chaseof this angel for all that these fiends can do. I will--I must to Orkneybefore the Udaller makes his voyage thither--our meeting might alarmeven his blunt understanding, although, thank Heaven, in this wildcountry, men know the nature of our trade only by hearsay, through ourhonest friends the Dutch, who take care never to speak very ill of thosethey make money by.--Well, if fortune would but stand my friend withthis beautiful enthusiast, I would pursue her wheel no farther at sea,but set myself down amongst these rocks, as happy as if they were somany groves of bananas and palmettoes."
With these, and such thoughts, half rolling in his bosom, half expressedin indistinct hints and murmurs, the pirate Cleveland returned to themansion of Burgh-Westra.
FOOTNOTES:
[8] Dr. Edmonston, the ingenious author of a View of the Ancient andPresent State of the Zetland Islands, has placed this part of thesubject in an interesting light. "It is truly painful to witness theanxiety and distress which the wives of these poor men suffer on theapproach of a storm. Regardless of fatigue, they leave their homes, andfly to the spot where they expect their husbands to land, or ascend thesummit of a rock, to look out for them on the bosom of the deep. Shouldthey get the glimpse of a sail, they watch, with trembling solicitude,its alternate rise and disappearance on the waves; and though oftentranquillized by the safe arrival of the objects of their search, yet itsometimes is their lot 'to hail the bark that never can return.' Subjectto the influence of a variable climate, and engaged on a sea naturallytempestuous, with rapid currents, scarcely a season passes over withoutthe occurrence of some fatal accident or hairbreadth escape."--_View,&c. of the Zetland Islands_, vol. i. p. 238. Many interestingparticulars respecting the fisheries and agriculture of Zetland, as wellas its antiquities, may be found in the work we have quoted.
[9] Note II.--Promise of Odin.
[10] To _maroon_ a seaman, signified to abandon him on a desolate coastor island--a piece of cruelty often practised by Pirates and Buccaniers.
[11] An elder brother, now no more, who was educated in the navy, andhad been a midshipman in Rodney's squadron in the West Indies, used toastonish the author's boyhood with tales of those haunted islets. On oneof them, called, I believe, Coffin-key, the seamen positively refused topass the night, and came off every evening while they were engaged incompleting the watering of the vessel, returning the following sunrise.