The Water-Witch or, The Skimmer of the Seas

id he wr

"Ay,

You

of the others, we shall probably portray the maiden as one that was less subject to the influence of coquetry than the truth would justify. To the great discontent of the Alderman, whatever might h

they all diverged, it required a practised guide to thread their mazes, without a loss of both time and distance. It would seem, however, that the worthy burgher was fully equal to the office; for, moving with more than his usual agility, he soon

n pines are pleasant on a June morning. You shall have mountain air and a sea-breeze Patroon, to quicken the appetite at the Lust in Rust. If Alicia will speak, t

, glancing her dark eye, in vain, in the direction of the bay they had quitted, "I should

y, the sea-gulls and snipes lose the benefit of our company! The salt water, and all who live on it, are to be avoided by a wise man, Mr. Van Staats, except as they both serve to cheapen freight and

e; and so we dismiss the subject. Fran?ois, fais moi le plaisir de porter

Patroon; and when he saw, by the vexed eye and flushed cheek of his young mistress, that sh

ne manquerait jamais d'admirateurs, dans un désert. Ah!

les feuilles, fortement fermé

in the course of a busy and I hope a profitable life, that a faithful servant is an honest counsellor. Next to Holland and England, both of which are great commercial nations, and the Indies, which are necessary to these colonies, together with a natur

le Alide, Monsieur, a

fresh and blooming as a rose, and a girl of excellent qualities! 'Tis a pity that she is a little opinionated; a defect that she doubtless inherits from her Norman ancestors; since all of my famil

as de rose, and no opinatre du tout. Mon Dieu! p

The line of Hugh Capet himself would fail, without the butcher; and the butcher would certainly fail, without customers that can pay. Fran?ois, thou art a man who understands the val

r; Mam'selle be too go

eather and foul; hot and cold; wet and dry; bilge-water and salt-water; cramps and nausea; sa

ould attend so ill-judged a step in his niece, as faithfully as if each muscle had be

eur, dere should be watair but for drink, and for la propreté, avec fosse to keep de carp roun

er-in-law should be kept in sight, judicious Fr

ans la famille de

ere added in current coin the sum-total would sink a common ship. You know

choses convenables; mais, malheureusement, mon chèr, ma?tre est mort; and

they have pleasure in doing the ver

foi,

ords and rich gifts; with these, they becom

d voice of a well-bred domestic, though he could not conceal a jocular wink; "pourta

no time to generalize among the sex, in order to understand the real quality of the article. Now, here

de vivacité; Monsieur le P

ry. Now is the time to show this Captain Ludlow, how a Frenchman can wind him round his finger, on terra-firma. Loiter in the rear, and draw o

old valet nodded, in reply to the Alderman's wink and chuckle, and immediately relaxed his speed. The former

d been effected by the vulgar machinery of truth and common sense. No wonder then the retainer entered into the views of the Alderman, with more than a usual relish for the duty. He heard the cracking of the dried twigs beneath the footstep of him who followed; and in order that there might be no ch

ng the commander of the Coquette. Not so with the bold mariner. So far from his self-possession being disturbed, it would have been

y glance had ascertained they were alone. "This is safer navigation for an officer of thy draught of water, than run

, non! 'tis to follow ma jeune ma?tresse I go on de bay; and, sair, I wish

in a wood should glean something from his labors. Is it the ar

took the book from Fran?ois, who, instead of resenting

w de Cid! le grand homme! l'homme de génie! If you read, Monsieur Marin, you shall see la vraie poésie! Not de big book and no single rhyme-Sair, I do not vish to say

aster Cid, with his fine sentiments, in the bargain. Great as was his genius,

more dan all, if la France a besoin. Que l'envie de ces Angl

is in the book, and it is as fine as you would make a pl

the volume, by a common impulse, "Imprimé! ha!

wl. "As for your Cid, to me it is an useless volume, since it te

ur vish to know. Tout le monde read him in la France; en province, comme en ville. If sa Majesté, le Grand Louis, be n

til which time I take my departure. The day may come, when we sha

shall not meet, nevair. Ah, ha, ha! Monsieur le Marin n'aime pas à entendre parler de la gloire de la France! Je voudrais bien savoir lire ce f-

of the manner, in which he had met the audacity of the stranger, prouder still of the reputation of the author, whose fame had been known in France long before his own departure from Europe, and not a little consoled w

amiliar to the Manhattanese an explanation of the localities may be a

stuaries and the city, but it looks far beyond the point of Sandy-Hook, into the open sea. It is here that, in our own days, ships are first noted in the offing, and whence the news of the approach of his vessel is communicated to the expecting merchant by means of the telegraph. In the early part of the last century, arrivals were too r

et, and to this spot we must now transfer the scene. A rude seat had been placed around the root of the tree, and here the whole party, with the exception of the absent do

llious blacks, hot streets, and spoiling furs, it passeth mortal powers to keep cool in yonder overgrown and crowded town. Thou seest, Patroon, the spot of white on the opposite side of the bay

vantage of having a city in the view," remarked Alida, with a

That truth cannot be denied, and good company we are, though the opinion comes from one who is not a cipher in the party. Modesty is a poor m

g so suddenly from behind the root of the tree, as effectually to shut the mouth of the burgher. "My desire to of

Alderman. "If Her Majesty has so little employment for her cruisers, that their captains can dispose

ommander should felicitate himself that he may be of service to s

private abode, called the Lust in Rust

l but brown cheek flushed a deeper red than

y against its force. The Coquette's anchor will be aweigh, in twenty minutes; and I shall find two hours of an ebbing tide, and a top-gallant breeze, but too short a time fo

am so little of a sailor, that prudence, if not pusillanim

Mr. Van Beverout will see no pretension in believing myself

able to the colony, that it has produced so good an officer; though I believe your grandf

he political opinions of my grandfather, those of his descendant have never been questioned. Let me entreat the fair Alida to

lida. "By certain symptoms that attended our passage to the island, your Coquette,

enemies. I had hoped for a differ

n. It was fortunate that neither of their companions was very observant, or else suspicions might have been excited, that a be

Barbérie," repeated Ludlow, in a lower voice, bu

it, before her confusion could be noted; and, turning to the valet

le livre,

ieur le marin se fachait à cause de la gloire, et d

t hostile, Fran?ois," returned his mistress, smiling "Captain Ludlow, it is now a month since I am your debtor, by promise, for a volume of Corn

opinion of t

volume again, as it is a legacy from

tit and loss in any other tongue, Patroon; and even a favorable balance never appears so great as it is, unless the account be rendered in one or the other of these rational dialects. Captain Lud

r his ship, might have given reason to expect. He even saw them descend the hill, towards the water of the outer bay, with entire

read more, in the pages, than the author had caused to be placed there; but when his eye caught sight of a sealed billet, the legacy of M. de Barb

the note; examined the superscription, which was simply to 'Capt. Ludlow, of Her Majesty's ship Coquette:' smiled; muttered between his teeth; seemed vexed, and yet delig