CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.
There she goes, brimful of anger and jealousy. Mercy on the poor man! "JEALOUS WIFE."
The dreadful fish that hath deserved the name Of death. SPENSER.
As the brig moved out of the harbour of Nassau, I moved out of bed; andas she set her royals and made sail, I put on my hat and walked out.The officers of the regiment quartered there, kindly invited me to jointheir mess; and the colonel enhanced the value of the offer by assigningto me good apartments in the barracks. I was instantly removed tocleanly and comfortable lodgings. I soon regained my strength, and wasable to sit at the table, where I found thirty-five young officers,living for the day, careless of the morrow; and, beyond that, neverbestowing a thought. It is a singular fact, that where life is mostprecarious, men are most indifferent about its preservation; and, wheredeath is constantly before our eyes, as in this country, eternity isseldom in our thoughts: but so it is; and the rule extends still furtherin despotic countries. Where the union between the head and shouldersmay be dissolved in a moment by the sword of a tyrant, life is not sovalued, and death loses its terrors; hence the apathy and indifferencewith which men view their executioners in that state of society. Itseems as if existence, like estates, was valuable in proportion to thevalidity of the title-deeds by which they are held.
To digress no more. Although I was far from being commonly virtuous,which is about tantamount to absolute wickedness, I was no longer thethoughtless mortal I had ever been since I left school. The society ofEmily, and her image graven on my heart; the close confinement to thebrig, and the narrow escape from death in the second attempt to save thepoor sailor's life, had altogether contributed their share to a kind oftemporary reformation, if not a disgust at the coarser descriptions ofvice. The lecture I had received from Emily on deceit, and thedetestable conduct of my last captain, had, as I thought, almostcompleted my reformation. Hitherto I felt I had acted wrong, withouthaving the power to act right. I forgot that I had never made theexperiment. The declaration of Captain G---'s atheism was so far fromconverting me, that from that moment I thought more seriously than everof religion. So great was my contempt for his character, that I knewwhatever he said must be wrong, and, like the Spartan drunken slave, hegave me the greatest horror of vice.
Such was my reasoning, and such my sentiments, previous to any relapseinto sin or folly, I knew its heinousness. I transgressed and repented;habit was all-powerful in me; and the only firm support I could havelooked to for assistance was, unfortunately, very superficially attendedto. Religion, for any good purposes, was scarcely in my thoughts. Mysystem was a sort of Socratic heathen philosophy--a moral codecalculated to take a man tolerably safe through a quiet world, but notto extricate him from a labyrinth of long-practised iniquity.
The thoughtless and vicious conduct of my companions became to me asource of serious reflection. Far from following their example, I feltmyself some degrees better than they were; and, in the pride of myheart, thanked God I was not like these publicans. My pharisaicalarrogance concealed from me the mortifying fact that I was much worse,and with very slight hopes of amendment. Humility had not yet enteredmy mind; but it was the only basis on which any religious improvementcould be created--the only chance of being saved. I rather becamerefined in vice, without quitting it. Gross and sensual gratification,so easily obtained in the West Indies, was, disgusting to me; yet Iscrupled not to attempt the seduction of innocence, rather moregratified in the pursuit than in the enjoyment, which soon palled, anddrove me after other objects.
I had, however, little occasion to exert my tact in this are in theBahama Islands, where, as in all the other islands of the West Indies,there is a class of women, born of white fathers and mustee or mulattowomen, nearly approaching in complexion to the European; many of themare brunettes, with long black hair, very pretty, good eyes, and oftenelegant figures. These ladies are too proud of the European blood intheir veins to form an alliance with any male who has suspicion of blackin his genealogical table; consequently they seldom are married unlessfrom interested motives, when, having acquired large property by will,they are sought in wedlock by the white settlers.
So circumstanced, these girls prefer an intercourse with the object oftheir choice to a legal marriage with a person of inferior birth; and,having once made their selection, an act of infidelity is of rareoccurrence among them. Their affection and constancy will stand thetest of time and of long separation; generous to prodigality, butjealous, and irritable in their jealousy, even to the use of the daggerand poison.
One of these young ladies found sufficient allurement in my personalcharms to surrender at discretion, and we lived in that sort of familiarintercourse which, in the West Indies, is looked upon as a matter ofnecessity between the parties, and of indifference by every one else. Ilived on in this Epicurean style for some months; until, mostunfortunately, my _chere amie_ found a rival, in the daughter of anofficer high in rank on the island. Smitten with my person, this fairone had not the prudence to conceal her partiality: my vanity was toomuch flattered not to take advantage of her sentiments in my favour;and, as usual, flirtation and philandering occupied most of my mornings,and sometimes my evenings, in the company of this fair American.
Scandal is a goddess who reigns paramount not only in Great Britain butalso in all His Majesty's plantations; and her votaries very soonselected me as the target of their archery. My pretty Carlotta becamejealous; she taxed me with inconstancy. I denied the charge; and, as aproof of my innocence, she obtained from me a promise that I should gono more to the house of her rival; but this promise I took very goodcare to evade, and to break. For a whole fortnight my domestic peacewas interrupted either by tears, or by the most voluble and outrageoussolos, for I never replied after the first day.
A little female slave, one morning, made me a signal to follow her to aretired part of the garden. I had shown this poor little creature someacts of kindness, for which she amply repaid me. Sometimes I hadobtained for her a holiday--sometimes saved her a whipping, and atothers had given her a trifle of money; she therefore became exceedinglyattached to me, and as she saw her mistress's anger daily increase, sheknew what it would probably end in, and watched my safety like a littleguardian sylph.
"No drinkee coffee, massa," said she, "Missy putty obeah stuff in."
As soon as she said this, she disappeared, and I went into the house,where I found Carlotta preparing the breakfast; she had an old womanwith her, who seemed to be doing something which she was not verywilling I should see. I sat down carelessly humming a tune, with myface to a mirror, and my back to Carlotta, so that I was able to watchher motions without her perceiving it. She was standing near thefireplace, the coffee was by her on the table, and the old womancrouched in the chimney-corner, with her bleared eyes fixed on theembers. Carlotta seemed in doubt; she pressed her hands forcibly on herforehead; took up the coffee-pot to pour me out a cup, then set it downagain; the old woman muttered something in their language; Carlottastamped with her little foot, and poured out the coffee. She brought itto me--trembled as she placed it before me--seemed unwilling to let goher hold, and her hand still grasped the cup, as if she would take itaway again. The old woman growled and muttered something, in which Icould only hear the name of her rival mentioned. This was enough: theeyes of Carlotta lighted up like a flame; she quitted her hold of thesalver, retreated to the fireplace, sat herself down, covered her face,and left me, as she supposed, to make my last earthly repast.
"Carlotta," said I, with a sudden and vehement exclamation. She startedup, and the blood rushed to her face and neck in a profusion of blushes,which are perfectly visible through the skin of these mulattos."Carlotta," I repeated, "I had a dream last night; and who do you thinkcame to me? It was Obeah!" She started at the name. "He told me notto drink coffee this morning, but to make the old woman drink it." Atthese words the beldam sprang up. "Come here, you old hag," said I.She approached trembling, for she saw
that escape from me wasimpossible, and that her guilt was detected. I seized a sharp knife,and taking her by her few remaining grey and woolly hairs, said,"Obeah's work must be done: I do not order it, but he commands it; drinkthat coffee instantly."
So powerful was the name of Obeah on the ear of the hag, that shedreaded it more than my brandished knife. She never thought ofimploring mercy, for she supposed it was useless after the discovery,and that her hour was come; she therefore lifted the cup to her witheredlip, and was just going to fulfil her destiny and to drink, when Idashed it out of her hand, and broke it in a thousand pieces on thefloor, darting, at the same time, a fierce look at Carlotta, who threwherself at my feet, which she fervently kissed in an agony ofconflicting passions.
"Kill me! kill me!" ejaculated she; "it was I that did it. Obeah isgreat--he has saved you. Kill me, and I shall die happy, now you aresafe--do kill me!"
I listened to these frantic exclamations with perfect calmness. Whenshe was a little more composed, I desired her to rise. She obeyed, andlooked the image of despair, for she thought I should immediately quither for the arms of her more fortunate rival, and she considered myinnocence as fully established by the appearance of the deity.
"Carlotta," said I, "what would you have done if you had succeeded inkilling me?"
"I will show you," said she; when, going to a closet, she took outanother basin of coffee; and before I could dash it from her lips, as Ihad the former one from the black woman, the infatuated girl hadswallowed a small portion of it.
"What else can I do?" said she; "my happiness is gone for ever."
"No, Carlotta," said I; "I do not wish for your death, though you haveplotted mine. I have been faithful to you, and loved you, until youmade this attempt."
"Will you forgive me before I die?" said she; "for die I must, now thatI know you will quit me!" Uttering these words, she threw herself onthe floor with violence, and her head coming into contact with thebroken fragments of the basin, she cut herself, and bled so copiouslythat she fainted. The old woman had fled, and I was left alone withher, for poor little Sophy was frightened, and had hidden herself.
I lifted Carlotta from the floor, and placing her in a chair, I washedher face with cold water; and having stanched the blood, I laid her onher bed, when she began to breathe and to sob convulsively. I satmyself by her side; and as I contemplated her pale face, and witnessedher grief, I fell into a train of melancholy retrospection on mynumerous acts of vice and folly.
"How many warnings," said I, "how many lessons am I to receive before Ishall reform? How narrowly have I escaped being sent to my account`unaneled' and unprepared! What must have been my situation if I had atthis moment been called into the presence of my offended Creator? Thispoor girl is pure and innocent, compared with me, taking intoconsideration the advantages of education on my side, and the want of iton hers. What has produced all this misery and the dreadfulconsequences which might have ensued, but my folly in trifling with thefeelings of an innocent girl, and winning her affections merely togratify my own vanity; at the same time that I have formed a connectionwith this unhappy creature, the breaking of which will never cause meone hour's regret, while it will leave her in misery, and will, in allprobability, embitter all her future existence? What shall I do?Forgive, as I hope to be forgiven: the fault was more mine than hers."
I then knelt down and most fervently repeated the Lord's Prayer, addingsome words of thanksgiving, for my undeserved escape from death. I roseup and kissed her cold, damp fore head; she was sensible of my kindness,and her poor head found relief in a flood of tears. Her eyes againgazed on me, sparkling with gratitude and love, after all she had gonethrough. I endeavoured to compose her; the loss of blood had producedthe best effects; and, having succeeded in calming her conflictingpassions, she fell into a sound sleep.
The reader who knows the West Indies, or knows human nature, will not besurprised that I should have continued this connection as long as Iremained on the island. From the artless manner in which Carlotta hadconducted her plot; from her gestures and her agitation, I was quitesure that she was a novice in this sort of crime, and that should sheever relapse into her paroxysm of jealousy, I should be able to detectany further attempt on my life. Of this, however, I had no fears,having by degrees discontinued my visits to the young lady who had beenthe cause of our _fracas_; and I never afterwards, while on the island,gave Carlotta the slightest reason to suspect my constancy. I was muchcensured for my conduct to the young lady, as the attentions I had shownher, and her marked preference for me, had driven away suitors whoreally were in earnest, and they never returned to her again.
In these islands, the naturalist would find a vast store to rewardinvestigation; they abound with a variety of plants, birds, fish,shells, and minerals. It was here that Columbus made his first landing,but in which of the islands I am not exactly certain; though I am verysure he did not find them quite so agreeable as I did, for he very soonquitted them, and steered away for St. Domingo.
It is not, perhaps, generally known that New Providence was the islandselected for his residence by Blackbeard, the famous pirate; the citadelthat stands on the hill above the town of Nassau is built on the site ofthe fortress which contained the treasure of that famous freebooter. Acurious circumstance occurred during my stay on this island, and which,beyond all doubt, was connected with the adventures of thoseextraordinary people known by the appellation of Buccaneers. Someworkmen were digging near the foot of the hill under the fort, when theydiscovered some quicksilver, and, on inspection, a very considerablequantity was found; it had evidently been a part of the plunder of thepirates, buried in casks, or skins, and these having decayed, the liquidore naturally escaped down the hill.
Though not indifferent to the pleasures of the table, I was far fromresigning myself to the Circean life led by the generality of youngmilitary men in the Bahamas.
The education which I had received, and which placed me far above thecommon run of society in the colonies, induced me to seek for acompanion whose mind had received equal cultivation; and such a one Ifound in Charles, a young lieutenant in the --- regiment, quartered atNassau. Our intimacy became the closer, in proportion as we discoveredthe sottish habits and ignorance of those around us. We usually spentour mornings in reading the classic authors, with which we were bothfamiliar; we spouted our Latin verses; we fenced; and we amusedourselves occasionally with a game of billiards, but never ventured ourfriendship on a stake for money. When the heat of the day had passedoff, we strolled out, paid a few visits, or rambled over the island;keeping as much aloof from the barracks as possible, where the manner ofliving was so very uncongenial to our notions. The officers began theirday about noon, when they sat down to breakfast; after that, theyseparated to their different quarters, to read the novels with which thepresses of England and France inundated these islands, to the greatdeterioration of morals. These books, which they read lounging on theirbacks, or laid beside them and fell asleep over, occupied the hottestpart of the day; the remainder, till the hour of dinner arrived, wasconsumed in visiting and gossiping, or in riding to procure an appetitefor dinner. Till four in the morning, their time was wholly devoted tosmoking and drinking; their beds received them in a state ofintoxication, more or less; parade, at nine o'clock, forced them outwith a burning brain and parched tongue; they rushed into, the sea, andfound some refreshment in the cool water, which enabled them to standupright in front of their men; the formal duty over, they retired againto their beds, where they lay till noon, and then to breakfast.
Such were their days; can it be wondered at that our islands are fatalto the constitution of Europeans, when this is their manner of life in aclimate always disposed to take advantage of any excess? The men tooreadily followed the example of their officers and died off in the samerapid manner; one of the most regular employments of the morning was todig graves for the victims of the night. Four or five of thesereceptacles were thought a moderate number. S
uch was the fatal apathyin which these officers existed, that the approach, nay, even thecertainty of death, gave them no apparent concern, caused nopreparation, excited no serious reflection. They followed the corpse ofa brother officer to the grave in military procession. These ceremonieswere always conducted in the evening, and often have I seen thesethoughtless young men throwing stones at the lanthorns which werecarried before them to light them to the burying-ground.
I was always an early riser, and believe I owe much of my good health tothis custom. I used to delight in a lovely tropical morning, when, witha cigar in my mouth, I walked into the market. What would Sir WilliamCurtis or Sir Charles Flower have said, could they have seen, as I did,the numbers of luxurious turtle lying on their backs, and displayingtheir rich calapee to the epicurean purchaser? Well, indeed, might theshade of Apicius [Lyttleton's Dialogues of the Dead] lament that Americaand turtle were not discovered in his days. There were the guanas, too,in abundance, with their mouths sewed up to prevent their biting; theseare excellent food, although bearing so near a resemblance to thealligator, and its diminutive European representative, the harmlesslizard; Muscovy ducks, parrots, monkeys, pigeons, and fish. Pine-applesabounded, oranges, pomegranates, limes, Bavarias, plantains,love-apples, Abbogada pears (better known by the name of subaltern'sbutter), and many other fruits, all piled in heaps, were to be had at alow price. Such was the stock of a New Providence market.
Of the human species, buyers and vendors, there were black, brown, andfair; from the fairest skin, with light blue eyes and flaxen hair, tothe jet black "Day and Martin" of Ethiopia; from the loveliest form ofNature's mould, to the disgusting squaw, whose flaccid mammae hang likeinverted bottles to her girdle, or are extended over her shoulder togive nourishment to the little imp perched on her back; and here theurchin sits the live-long day, while the mother performs all thedrudgery of the field, the house, or the market.
The confusion of Babel did not surpass the present gabble of aWest-India market. The loud and everlasting chatter of the black women,old and young (for black ladies _can_ talk as well as white ones); thescreams of children, parrots, and monkeys; black boys and girls, clad _ala Venus_, white teeth, red lips, black skins, and elephant legs, formedaltogether a scene well worth looking at; and now, since the steamershave acquired so much velocity, I should think would not be anunpleasant lounge for the fastidious _ennuye_ of France or England. Thecheerfulness of the slaves, whom our morbid philanthropists wish torender happy by making discontented, would altogether amply repay thetrouble and expense of a voyage to those who have leisure or moneyenough to enable them to visit the tropical islands.
The delightful, and, indeed, indispensable amusement of bathing, isparticularly dangerous in these countries. In the shallows you areliable to be struck by the sting-ray, a species of skate, with a sharpbarb about the middle of its tail; and the effect of the wound is soserious, that I have known a person to be in a state of frenzy from itfor nearly forty-eight hours. In deeper water, the sharks are not onlynumerous but ravenous; and I sometimes gratified their appetites, and myown love of excitement, by purchasing the carcass of a dead cow, orhorse. This I towed off, and anchored with a thick rope and a largestone; then, from my boat, with a harpoon, I amused myself in strikingthese devils as they crowded round for their meal. My readers will, Ifear, think I am much too fond of relating adventures among these marineundertakers; but the following incident will not be found withoutinterest.
In company with Charles, one beautiful afternoon, rambling over therocky cliffs at the back of the island, we came to a spot where thestillness and the clear transparency of the water invited us to bathe.It was not deep. As we stood above, on the promontory, we could see thebottom in every part. Under the little headland which formed theopposite side of the cove, there was a cavern, to which as the shore wassteep, there was no access but by swimming, and we resolved to exploreit. We soon reached its mouth, and were enchanted with its romanticgrandeur and wild beauty. It extended, we found, a long way back, andhad several natural baths, into all of which we successively threwourselves, each, as they receded further from the mouth of the cavern,being colder than the last. The tide, it was evident, had free ingress,and renewed the water every twelve hours. Here we thoughtlessly amusedourselves for some time, quoting Acis and Galatea, Diana and her nymphs,and every classic story applicable to the scene.
At length, the declining sun warned us that it was time to take ourdeparture from the cave, when, at no great distance from us, we saw theback, or dorsal fin, of a monstrous shark above the surface of thewater, and his whole length visible beneath it. We looked at him and ateach other with dismay, hoping that he would soon take his departure,and go in search of other prey; but the rogue swam to and fro, just likea frigate blockading an enemy's port, and we felt, I suppose, very muchas we used to make the French and Dutch feel last war, at Brest and theTexel.
The sentinel paraded before us, about ten or fifteen yards in front ofthe cave, tack and tack, waiting only to serve one, if not both of us,as we should have served a shrimp or an oyster. We had no intention,however, in this, as in other instances, of "throwing ourselves on themercy of the court." In vain did we look for relief from otherquarters; the promontory above us was inaccessible; the tide was rising,and the sun touching the clear blue edge of the horizon.
I, being the leader, pretended to a little knowledge in ichthyology, andtold my companion that fish could hear as well as see, and thattherefore the less we said the better; and the sooner we retreated outof his sight, the sooner he would take himself off. This was our onlychance, and that a poor one; for the flow of the water would soon haveenabled him to enter the cave and help himself, as he seemed perfectlyacquainted with the _locale_, and knew that we had no mode of retreatbut by the way we came. We drew back out of sight; and I don't knowwhen I ever passed a more unpleasant quarter of an hour. A suit inChancery, or even a spring lounge in Newgate, would have been almostluxury to what I felt when the shades of night began to darken the mouthof our cave, and this infernal monster continued to parade, like awater-bailiff, before its door. At last, not seeing the shark's finabove water, I made a sign to Charles that, _coute qui coute_, we mustswim for it; for we had notice to quit, by the tide; and if we did notdepart, should soon have an execution in the house. We had been carefulnot to utter a word; and, silently pressing each other by the hand, weslipped into the water; when, recommending ourselves to Providence,which, for my part, I seldom forgot when I was in imminent danger, westruck out manfully. I must own I never felt more assured ofdestruction, not even when I swam through the blood of the poor sailor;for then the sharks had something to occupy them, but here they hadnothing else to do but to look after us. We had the benefit of theirundivided attention.
My sensations were indescribably horrible. I may occasionally write ortalk of the circumstance with levity, but whenever I recall it to mind,I tremble at the bare recollection of the dreadful fate that seemedinevitable. My companion was not so expert a swimmer as I was, so thatI distanced him many feet, when I heard him utter a faint cry. I turnedround, convinced that the shark had seized him, but it was not so; myhaving left him so far behind had increased his terror and induced himto draw my attention. I returned to him, held him up, and encouragedhim. Without this he would certainly have sunk; he revived with myhelp, and we reached the sandy beach in safety, having eluded our enemy;who, when he neither saw or heard us, had, as I concluded he would,quitted the spot.
Once more on terra firma, we lay gasping for some minutes before wespoke. What my companion's thoughts were, I do not know; mine werereplete with gratitude to God, and renewed vows of amendment; and I haveevery reason to think, that although Charles had not so much room forreform as myself, that his feelings were perfectly in unison with myown. We never afterwards repeated this amusement, though we frequentlytalked of our escape, and laughed at our terrors; yet on these occasionsour conversation always took a serious turn: and, upon the
whole, I amconvinced that this adventure did us both a vast deal of good.
I had now been six months in these islands, had perfectly recovered myhealth, and became anxious for active employment. The brilliantsuccesses of our rear-admiral at Washington made me wish for a share ofthe honour and glory which my brethren in arms were acquiring on thecoast of North America; but my wayward fate sent me in a very oppositedirection.