Cooper_The_Pilot.txt topic ['13', '324', '378', '393']
of
along the same hazardous path but a few months previously.
the mean while the , steering more to the west drew in
swiftly towards the shores of ; and about an hour before the
setting of the sun had approached so nigh as to be once more hove into
the wind, in obedience to the mandate of . small, light boat
was lowered into the sea, when the young sailor, and the , who had
found his way into the cutter unheeded, and almost unseen, ascended from
the small cabin together. stranger glanced his eyes along the range
of coast, as if he would ascertain the exact position of the vessel, and
then turned them on the sea and the western horizon to scan the weather.
nothing in the appearance of the latter to induce him to change
his determination, he offered his hand frankly to , and said:
" we part. our acquaintance has not led to all we wished, let it
be your task, sir, to forget we ever met."
bowed respectfully, but in silence, when the other continued,
shaking his hand contemptuously towards the land:
" but a moiety of the navy of that degenerate republic, the
proudest among those haughty islanders should tremble in his castle, and
be made to feel there is no security against a foe that trusts his own
strength and knows the weakness of his enemy! ," he muttered in a
lower and more hurried voice, "this has been like , and--
--and , and fifty more! is past, sir; let it be
forgotten."
heeding the wondering crew, who were collected as curious
spectators of his departure, the stranger bowed hastily to ,
and, springing into the boat, he spread her light sails with the
readiness of one who had nothing to learn even in the smallest matters
of his daring profession. more, as the boat moved briskly away from
the cutter, he waved his hand in adieu; and fancied that even
through the distance he could trace a smile of bitter resignation
lighting his calm features with a momentary gleam. a long time the
young man stood an abstracted gazer at his solitary progress, watching
the small boat as it glided towards the open ocean, nor did he remember
to order the head-sheets of the drawn, in order to put the
vessel again in motion, until the dark speck was lost in the strong
glare that fell obliquely across the water from the setting sun.
wild and extraordinary conjectures were tittered among the crew of
the cutter, as she slowly drew in towards her friendly haven, on the
appearance of the mysterious , during their late hazardous visit to
the coast of , and on his still more extraordinary disappearance,
as it were, amid the stormy wastes of the . himself
was not observed to smile, nor to manifest any evidence of his being a
listener to their rude discourse, until it was loudly announced that a
small boat was pressing for their own harbor, across the forefoot of the
cutter, under a single lug-sail. , indeed, the sudden and cheerful
lighting of his troubled eye betrayed the vast relief that was imparted
to his feelings by the interesting discovery.
", all you kindred chieftains of the deep,
mighty phalanx round your brother bend;
every murmur that invades his sleep--
guard the laurels that o'ershade your friend."
_ on _.
, perhaps, it would be wise to suffer the curtain of our imperfect
drama to fall before the reader, trusting that the imagination of every
individual can readily supply the due proportions of health, wealth, and
happiness, that the rigid rules of poetic justice would award to the
different characters of the legend. as we are not disposed to part
so coldly from those with whom we have long held amicable intercourse,
and as there is no portion of that in reservation which is not quite as
true as all that has been already related, we see no unanswerable reason
for dismissing the dramatis personae so abruptly. shall, therefore,
proceed to state briefly the outlines of that which befell them in
after-life, regretting, at the same time, that the legitimate limits of
a modern tale will not admit of such dilatation of many a merry or
striking scene as might create the pleasing hope of beholding hereafter
some more of our rude sketches quickened into life by the spirited
pencil of .
the course of the frigate, then, towards those shores from
which, perhaps, we should never have suffered our truant pen to have
wandered, we shall commence the brief task with , and his
laughing, weeping, gay, but affectionate bride--the black-eyed
. ship fought her way gallantly, through swarms of the
enemy's cruisers, to the port of , where was rewarded
for his services by promotion, and a more regular authority to command
his vessel.
the remainder of the war, he continued to fill that station with
ability and zeal; nor did he return to the dwelling of his fathers,
which he soon inherited by regular descent, until after peace had
established not only the independence of his country, but his own
reputation as a brave and successful sea-officer. the
laid the foundation of its present navy,
was once more tempted by the offer of a new commission to desert his
home; and for many years he was employed among that band of gallant
seamen who served their country so faithfully in times of trial and high
daring. , however, he was enabled to accomplish a great deal of
the more peaceful part of his service accompanied by , who,
having no children, eagerly profited by his consent to share his
privations and hardships on the ocean. this manner they passed
merrily, and we trust happily down the vale of life together,
entirely discrediting the ironical prediction of her former guardian, by
making, everything considered, a very obedient, and certainly, so far as
attachment was concerned, a most devoted wife.
boy , who in due time became a man, clung to and
, so long as it was necessary to hold him in leading-strings;
and when he received his regular promotion, his first command was under
the shadow of his kinsman's broad pennant. proved to be in his
meridian, what his youth had so strongly indicated, a fearless, active,
and reckless sailor; and his years might have extended to this hour, had
he not fallen untimely in a duel with a foreign officer.
first act of , after landing once more on his native
soil, was to make interest to be again restored to the line of the army.
encountered but little difficulty in this attempt, and was soon in
possession of the complete enjoyment of that which his soul had so long
pined after, "a steady drill." was in time to share in all the
splendid successes which terminated the war, and also to participate in
his due proportion of the misery of the army. merits were not
forgotten, however, in the re-organization of the forces, and he
followed both . and his more fortunate successor, , in the
western campaigns. the close of the century, when the made
their tardy relinquishment of the line of posts along the frontiers,
was ordered to take charge, with his company, of a small
stockade on our side of one of those mighty rivers that sets bounds to
the territories of the in the north. flag was
waving over the ramparts of a more regular fortress, that had been
recently built, directly opposite, within the new lines of the .
was not a man to neglect the observances of military etiquette;
and understanding that the neighboring fort was commanded by a field-
officer, he did not fail to wait on that gentleman, in proper time, with
a view to cultivate the sort of acquaintance that their mutual
situations would render not only agreeable, but highly convenient.
martinet, in ascertaining the rank of the other, had not deemed
it at all necessary to ask his name; but when the red-faced, comical-
looking officer with one leg, who met him, was introduced as
, he had not the least difficulty in recalling to
recollection his quondam acquaintance of . . intercourse
between these worthies was renewed with remarkable gusto, and at length
arrived to so regular a pass that a log cabin was erected on one of the
islands in the river, as a sort of neutral territory, where their
feastings and revels might be held without any scandal to the discipline
of their respective garrisons. the qualities of many a saddle of
savory venison were discussed, together with those of sundry pleasant
fowls, as well as of divers strange beasts that inhabit those western
wilds, while, at the same time, the secret places of the broad river
were vexed, that nothing might be wanting that could contribute to the
pleasures of their banquets. most equitable levy was regularly made on
their respective pockets, to sustain the foreign expenses of this
amicable warfare; and a suitable division of labor was also imposed on
the two commandants, in order to procure such articles of comfort as
were only to be obtained from those portions of the globe where the art
of man had made a nearer approach to the bounties of nature than in the
vicinity of their fortifications. liquids in which malt formed an
ingredient, as well as the deep-colored wines of , were suffered
to enter the of . , and were made to find their way,
under the superintendence of , to their destined goal; but
was solely entrusted with the more important duty of providing
the generous liquor of , without any other restriction on his
judgment than an occasional injunction from his coadjutor that it should
not fail to be the product of the "south side"!
was not unusual for the young officers of the two garrisons to allude
to the battle in which had lost his limb--the
ensign invariably whispering to the , on such occasions,
that it occurred during the late contest, in a desperate affair on the
north eastern coast of their island, in which the major commanded, in
behalf of his country,--with great credit and signal success; and for
which service he obtained his present rank "without purchase!" sort of
national courtesy: prevented the two veterans, for by this time both had
earned that honorable title, from participating at all in these delic into another!"
glanced his eye at his wife with a look of sudden ,
and then answered, like one who began to see with the advantages of a
clearer atmosphere:
", your conjecture is surely true! things rushed to my mind
at that one surmise--his acquaintance with that particular spot--his
early life--his expedition--his knowledge of the abbey, all confirm it!
, altogether, was indeed a man of marked character!"
" has he not been among us," asked ; "he appeared devoted to
our cause?"
" devotion to proceeded from desire of distinction, his
ruling passion, and perhaps a little also from resentment at some
injustice which he claimed to have suffered from his own countrymen.
was a man, and not therefore without foibles--among which may have been
reckoned the estimation of his own acts but they were most daring, and
deserving of praise! neither did he at all merit the obloquy that he
received from his enemies. love of liberty may be more questionable;
for if he commenced his deeds in the cause of these free , they
terminated in the service of a despot! is now dead--but had he lived
in times and under circumstances when his consummate knowledge of his
profession, his cool, deliberate, and even desperate courage, could have
been exercised in a regular and well-supported navy, and had the habits
of his youth better qualified him to have borne, meekly, the honors he
acquired in his age, he would have left behind him no name in its lists
that would have descended to the latest posterity of his adopted
countrymen with greater renown!"
", ," exclaimed , in a little surprise, "you are
zealous in his cause! was he?"
" man who held a promise of secrecy while living, which is not at all
released by his death. is enough to know that he was greatly
instrumental in procuring our sudden union, and that our happiness might
have been wrecked in the voyage of life had we not met the unknown
of the ."
her husband to rise, and carefully collect the papers in a
bundle, before he left the room, made no further remark at the
time, nor was the subject ever revived between them.