CHAPTER XXXV
"Come, all you kindred chieftains of the deep, In mighty phalanx round your brother bend; Hush every murmur that invades his sleep-- And guard the laurels that o'ershade your friend." _Lines on Tripp_.
Here, perhaps, it would be wise to suffer the curtain of our imperfectdrama to fall before the reader, trusting that the imagination of everyindividual can readily supply the due proportions of health, wealth,and happiness, that the rigid rules of poetic justice would award to thedifferent characters of the legend. But as we are not disposed to partso 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 astrue as all that has been already related, we see no unanswerable reasonfor dismissing the dramatis personae so abruptly. We shall, therefore,proceed to state briefly the outlines of that which befell them inafter-life, regretting, at the same time, that the legitimate limitsof a modern tale will not admit of such dilatation of many a merry orstriking scene as might create the pleasing hope of beholding hereaftersome more of our rude sketches quickened into life by the spiritedpencil of Dunlap.
Following the course of the frigate, then, towards those shores fromwhich, perhaps, we should never have suffered our truant pen to havewandered, we shall commence the brief task with Barnstable, andhis laughing, weeping, gay, but affectionate bride--the black-eyedKatherine. The ship fought her way gallantly, through swarms of theenemy's cruisers, to the port of Boston, where Barnstable was rewardedfor his services by promotion, and a more regular authority to commandhis vessel.
During the remainder of the war, he continued to fill that station withability and zeal; nor did he return to the dwelling of his fathers,which he soon inherited by regular descent, until after peace hadestablished not only the independence of his country, but his ownreputation as a brave and successful sea-officer. When the FederalGovernment laid the foundation of its present navy, Captain Barnstablewas once more tempted by the offer of a new commission to desert hishome; and for many years he was employed among that band of gallantseamen who served their country so faithfully in times of trial and highdaring. Happily, however, he was enabled to accomplish a great deal ofthe more peaceful part of his service accompanied by Katherine, who,having no children, eagerly profited by his consent to share hisprivations and hardships on the ocean. In this manner they passedmerrily, and we trust happily down the vale of life together, Katherineentirely discrediting the ironical prediction of her former guardian, bymaking, everything considered, a very obedient, and certainly, so far asattachment was concerned, a most devoted wife.
The boy Merry, who in due time became a man, clung to Barnstable andKatherine, so long as it was necessary to hold him in leading-strings;and when he received his regular promotion, his first command wasunder the shadow of his kinsman's broad pennant. He proved to be in hismeridian, what his youth had so strongly indicated, a fearless, active,and reckless sailor; and his years might have extended to this hour, hadhe not fallen untimely in a duel with a foreign officer.
The first act of Captain Manual, after landing once more on his nativesoil, was to make interest to be again restored to the line of the army.He encountered but little difficulty in this attempt, and was soon inpossession of the complete enjoyment of that which his soul had solong pined after, "a steady drill." He was in time to share in all thesplendid successes which terminated the war, and also to participatein his due proportion of the misery of the army. His merits werenot forgotten, however, in the re-organization of the forces, and hefollowed both St. Clair and his more fortunate successor, Wayne, in thewestern campaigns. About the close of the century, when the British madetheir tardy relinquishment of the line of posts along the frontiers,Captain Manual was ordered to take charge, with his company, of a smallstockade on our side of one of those mighty rivers that sets boundsto the territories of the Republic in the north. The British flag waswaving over the ramparts of a more regular fortress, that had beenrecently built, directly opposite, within the new lines of the Canadas.Manual was not a man to neglect the observances of military etiquette;and understanding that the neighboring fort was commanded by afield-officer, he did not fail to wait on that gentleman, in propertime, with a view to cultivate the sort of acquaintance that theirmutual situations would render not only agreeable, but highlyconvenient. The American martinet, in ascertaining the rank of theother, had not deemed it at all necessary to ask his name; but whenthe red-faced, comical-looking officer with one leg, who met him, wasintroduced as Major Borroughcliffe, he had not the least difficultyin recalling to recollection his quondam acquaintance of St. Ruth. Theintercourse between these worthies was renewed with remarkable gusto,and at length arrived to so regular a pass that a log cabin was erectedon one of the islands in the river, as a sort of neutral territory,where their feastings and revels might be held without any scandal tothe discipline of their respective garrisons. Here the qualities of manya saddle of savory venison were discussed, together with those of sundrypleasant fowls, as well as of divers strange beasts that inhabit thosewestern wilds, while, at the same time, the secret places of the broadriver were vexed, that nothing might be wanting that could contributeto the pleasures of their banquets. A most equitable levy was regularlymade on their respective pockets, to sustain the foreign expenses ofthis amicable warfare; and a suitable division of labor was also imposedon the two commandants, in order to procure such articles of comfort aswere only to be obtained from those portions of the globe where the artof man had made a nearer approach to the bounties of nature than in thevicinity of their fortifications. All liquids in which malt formed aningredient, as well as the deep-colored wines of Oporto, were sufferedto enter the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and were made to find their way,under the superintendence of Borroughcliffe, to their destined goal; butManual was solely entrusted with the more important duty of providingthe generous liquor of Madeira, without any other restriction on hisjudgment than an occasional injunction from his coadjutor that it shouldnot fail to be the product of the "south side"!
It was not unusual for the young officers of the two garrisons to alludeto the battle in which Major Borroughcliffe had lost his limb--theEnglish ensign invariably whispering to the American, on such occasions,that it occurred during the late contest, in a desperate affair on thenorth eastern coast of their island, in which the major commanded, inbehalf of his country,--with great credit and signal success; and forwhich service he obtained his present rank "without purchase!" A sort ofnational courtesy: prevented the two veterans, for by this time both hadearned that honorable title, from participating at all in these delicateallusions; though whenever, by any accident, they occurred near thetermination of the revels, Borroughcliffe would so far betray hisconsciousness of what was passing as to favor his American friend witha leer of singular significance, which generally produced in the otherthat sort of dull recollection which all actors and painters endeavor torepresent by scratching the head. In this manner year after yearrolled by, the most perfect harmony existing between the two posts,notwithstanding the angry passions that disturbed their respectivecountries, when an end was suddenly put to the intercourse by theunfortunate death of Manual. This rigid observer of discipline nevertrusted his person on the neutral island without being accompanied by aparty of his warriors, who were posted as a regular picket, sustaininga suitable line of sentries; a practice which he also recommended to hisfriend, as being highly conducive to discipline, as well as a salutarycaution against a surprise on the part of either garrison. The major,however, dispensed with the formality in his own behalf, but wassufficiently good-natured to wink at the want of confidence it betrayedin his boon companion. On one unhappy occasion, when the discussions oLa new importation had made a heavy inroad on the morning, Manual leftthe hut to make his way towards his picket, in such a state of uttermental aberration as to forget the countersign when challenged by asentinel, when, unhappily, he met his death by a shot from a soldierwhom he drilled to such an exquisite state
of insensibility that the mancared but little whether he killed friend or enemy, so long as hekept within military usage, and the hallowed limits established by thearticles of war. He lived long enough, however, to commend the fellowfor the deed, and died while delivering an eulogium to Borroughcliffe onthe high state of perfection to which he had brought his command.
About a year before this melancholy event, a quarter-cask of wine hadbeen duly ordered from the south side of the island of Madeira, whichwas, at the death of Manual, toiling its weary way up the rapids of theMississippi and the Ohio; having been made to enter by the port of NewOrleans, with the intention of keeping it as long as possible under agenial sun! The untimely fate of his friend imposed on Borroughcliffethe necessity of attending to this precious relic of their mutualtastes; and he procured a leave of absence from his superior, with thelaudable desire to proceed down the streams and superintend its fartheradvance in person. The result of his zeal was a high fever, that set inthe day after he reached his treasure: and as the doctor and the majorespoused different theories, in treating a disorder so dangerous in thatclimate--the one advising abstemiousness, and the other administeringrepeated draughts of the cordial that had drawn him so far fromhome--the disease was left to act its pleasure. Borroughcliffe died inthree days; and was carried back and interred by the side of his friend,in the very hut which had so often resounded with their humors andfestivities. We have been thus particular in relating the sequel of thelives of these rival chieftains, because, from their want of connectionwith any kind heart of the other sex, no widows and orphans were leftto lament their several ends; and furthermore, as they were both mortal,and might be expected to die at a suitable period, and yet did notterminate their career until each had attained the mature age ofthreescore, the reader can find no just grounds of dissatisfaction atbeing allowed this deep glance into the womb of fate.
The chaplain abandoned the seas in time to retrieve his character,a circumstance which gave no little satisfaction to Katherine,who occasionally annoyed her worthy husband on the subject of theinformality of their marriage.
Griffith and his mourning bride conveyed the body of Colonel Howardin safety to one of the principal towns in Holland, where it wasrespectfully and sorrowfully interred; after which the young man removedto Paris, with a view of erasing the sad images which the hurried andmelancholy events of the few preceding days had left on the mind of hislovely companion. From this place Cecilia held communion, by letter,with her friend Alice Dunscombe; and such suitable provision was madein the affairs of her late uncle as the times would permit. Afterwards,when Griffith obtained the command which had been offered him beforesailing on the cruise in the North Sea, they returned together toAmerica. The young man continued a sailor until the close of the war,when he entirely withdrew from the ocean, and devoted the remainder ofhis life to the conjoint duties of a husband and a good citizen.
As it was easy to reclaim the estates of Colonel Howard, which, in fact,had been abandoned more from pride than necessity, and which hadnever been confiscated, their joint inheritances made the young coupleextremely affluent; and we shall here take occasion to say that Griffithremembered his promise to the dying master, and saw such a provisionmade for the childless mother as her situation and his characterrequired.
It might have been some twelve years after the short cruise, which ithas been our task to record in these volumes, that Griffith, who wasrunning his eyes carelessly over a file of newspapers, was observedby his wife to drop the bundle from before his face, and pass his handslowly across his brow, like a man who had been suddenly struck withrenewed impressions of some former event, or who was endeavoring torecall to his mind images that had long since faded.
"See you anything in that paper to disturb you, Griffith?" saidthe still lovely Cecilia. "I hope that now we have our confederategovernment the States will soon recover from their losses--but it is oneof those plans to create a new navy that has met your eye! Ah! truant!you sigh to become a wanderer again, and pine after your beloved ocean!"
"I have ceased sighing and pining since you have begun to smile," hereturned with a vacant manner, and without removing his hand from hisbrow.
"Is not the new order of things, then, likely to succeed? Does theCongress enter into contention with the President?"
"The wisdom and name of Washington will smooth the way for theexperiment, until time shall mature the system. Cecilia, do you rememberthe man who accompanied Manual and myself to St. Ruth, the night webecame your uncle's prisoners, and who afterwards led the party whichliberated us, and rescued Barnstable?"
"Surely I do; he was the pilot of your ship, it was then said; and Iremember the shrewd soldier we entertained even suspected that he wasone greater than he seemed."
"The soldier surmised the truth; but you saw him not on that fearfulnight, when he carried us through the shoals! and you could not witnessthe calm courage with which he guided the ship into those very channelsagain, while the confusion of battle was among us!"
"I heard the dreadful din! And I can easily imagine the horrid scene,"returned his wife, her recollections chasing the color from her cheekseven at that distance of time; "but what of him? is his name mentionedin those papers? Ah! they are English prints! you called his name Gray,If I remember?"
"That is the name he bore with us! He was a man who had formed romanticnotions of glory, and wished everything concealed in which he acted apart that he thought would not contribute to his renown."
"Can there have been any connection between him and Alice Dunscombe?"said Cecilia, dropping her work in her lap, in a thoughtful manner. "Shemet him alone, at her own urgent request, the night Katherine and myselfsaw you in your confinement, and even then my cousin whispered that theywere acquainted! The letter I received yesterday from Alice was sealedwith black, and I was pained with the melancholy, though gentle manner,in which she wrote of passing from this world into another!"
Griffith glanced his eye at his wife with a look of sudden Intelligence,and then answered, like one who began to see with the advantages of aclearer atmosphere:
"Cecilia, your conjecture is surely true! Fifty things rushed to my mindat that one surmise--his acquaintance with that particular spot--hisearly life--his expedition--his knowledge of the abbey, all confirm it!He, altogether, was indeed a man of marked character!"
"Why has he not been among us," asked Cecilia; "he appeared devoted toour cause?"
"His devotion to America proceeded from desire of distinction, hisruling passion, and perhaps a little also from resentment at someinjustice which he claimed to have suffered from his own countrymen. Hewas a man, and not therefore without foibles--among which may have beenreckoned the estimation of his own acts but they were most daring, anddeserving of praise! neither did he at all merit the obloquy that hereceived from his enemies. His love of liberty may be more questionable;for if he commenced his deeds in the cause of these free States, theyterminated in the service of a despot! He is now dead--but had he livedin times and under circumstances when his consummate knowledge of hisprofession, his cool, deliberate, and even desperate courage, could havebeen exercised in a regular and well-supported navy, and had the habitsof his youth better qualified him to have borne, meekly, the honors heacquired in his age, he would have left behind him no name in itslists that would have descended to the latest posterity of his adoptedcountrymen with greater renown!"
"Why, Griffith," exclaimed Cecilia, in a little surprise, "you arezealous in his cause! Who was he?"
"A man who held a promise of secrecy while living, which is not atall released by his death. It is enough to know that he was greatlyinstrumental in procuring our sudden union, and that our happiness mighthave been wrecked in the voyage of life had we not met the unknown Pilotof the German Ocean."
Perceiving her husband to rise, and carefully collect the papers in abundle, before he left the room, Cecilia made no further remark at thetime, nor was the subject ever revived between them.
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