ABOARD THE CONSTELLATION. [From All the Year Round,]

Otago Daily Times, Issue 226, 10 September 1862, Page 6

ABOARD THE CONSTELLATION. [From All the Year Round,]

"Going for seventeen hundred dollars! a shameful, aggravating sacrifice ! No advance on

seventeen hundred dollars ? Gentlemen, gentlemen, be spry with yonr biddings, and don't let . such valuable property be sweepered out of the i U-nited States for a fractional splinter of its ! worth! The splendid yacht Constellation, with .'ill her new stores and fixings, cabins panne'ed with maple and mahogany, mirrors, pictures, new »iils as white as the President's best table napkins," masts as tough a-s a hickory fishing-rod, going to be knocked down to a foreign bidder for the ridiculous rate of seventeen" hundred dollars." This fervid burst of oratory was uttered in the Auction Mart of Buffalo City, on a broiling August day; and the auctioneer .stopped to take b.catli, j wiped his forehead, and kept the ivory hammer I still suspended in mid-air. There was a hum among the spectators—a hum and a smothered laugh, but no effort to avert the j li sacrifice" so much deplored by the man of sales. One Quaker flour-dealer remarked that, had the craft possessed more stowage, he might have tnaOe ! an.oSer, hat that sudi tawdry gimcracks were ' useless to a sober citizen. *' Don't libel the property, brother Broadbrim," exclaimed the flushed auctioneer; "and you, gentlemen, let me requisition you to throw aside your supineness. and bid for the lot as becomes i the land of enlightenment. No advance ? I wish I had her at New York, Ido ! I visa she were lying off Brooklyn, and then the force of compatitionwould- " Never mind the ' force, of competition, Mr. Krttering. You're longer-winded than a Congress man. Call li;e next lot, mUter, and knock this'n ■down to the cap., can't you? Wc"\e listened to enough bunkum-about that tarnation icy-shop schooner.-"' Mr. Kettering made one move appeal. lie hogged of the audience not t-> '■ give the Britisher j a triumph,'.' not to - k-t this 'gorgeous yacht, I co-.nparable to the gilded galley of the Iv.iropiun princess Cleopatra the Great go out of the country;" hue, finally, ho rappod down the1 hammer of fate. j " Cap, she's yours." j I was the captain. Attracted by certain glowing adverii,';eiuenls in the American and Canadian papers, I had come across to Buirhlo to view the yacht, and be present at the sale ; and now I was thu undisputed owner of-the- schooner Constellation, a craft lit tor yachting, and fit for nothing else. Her Hues were graceful and good, and she lay like a duck upon the water, with her -taper masts aud bright paint ; a strange contrast to the uglier and more serviceable vessels on the Jake. But her tonnage was trilling, her spool by far surpassed her power of carrying freight, and there "was some foundation fur the scorn with which the traders of I3u!i;i!o regarded her. Par wafting flour barrels, wheat, ■ Indian cheese, and Illinois iippies, eastward, ami of bearing Krirojief.n goods and Lowell cotton-prints, westward—she was as unfit as a racecourse for ploughing. A mel.m----d:oly story which I heard in after-days, but o'which I then knew but littu-, attached io her. S!r. had been built and decorated for a youn^r B.iifulo exquisite, the heir of a wealthy townsmm, who had acquired costly-babiis-in New . York. By herself, the yacht might have besn all very well, and might even have kept her featherbrained owner out of mischief; bat, unluckily, young Brecket liad a taste f>r play, aud preferred ccarto and : lansquenet, with fashionably high stakes, to the cribbage and "poker" for quarter dollars of liis native province. When a man seeks his own ruin, whether in the Old World or m the New, he seldom has long to .wait. Two gamblers from the Empire City visited Buffalo in the course of a professional tour, became acquainte 1 •with the younger "Breckett, and emptied his pockets :is the price of th-jh- intimacy. To replenish his purse and have Ids "revenge," the silly young man was tempted to borrow the contents of his father's cash-box, in the idle hope of replacing the money he had taken when luck should tarn. The stolen dollars and golden eagles brought with them no change of fortune ; they soon clunked in the purses of the sharpers; and the ■wretched dupe ended his desperate fully by blowing his brains out. Thus it occurred that the pretty schooner, almost new from the builder's hands, | was brought to the hammer at Buffalo mart, and sold for a fraction of her original cost. I was then a raw emigrant; not one ot those emigrants who cross the Atlantic to conjure for- ' tune with axe and ploughshare, hut one of the army of-small capitalists. The price of my captain's commission in the Hundred an.l Ninth,1 added to a small sum in the funds, sufficed to purchase a good many acres of land ia West Canada, mostly overgrown with rough wood, but of fair natural fertility. There was a -good storehouse on the " farm," as 1 modestly called what, in respect to acreage at least, was worthy to be dubbed nn estate ; and though Iliad been more lucky than shrewd in my siicution, old settlers told me that I had secured a remunerative bargain. Summer came round, and events proved that the old sc-ttlers were right. Tk'jre were so-.ue '• bottoms" of fine alluvial land, that gave- a first-rate wheat • crop with scanty trouble. There were good natural meadows for hay. the proportion of barren ground was below the average, and a friendly creek afforded water-carriage for my felled timber to the broad sheet of Lake Erie. If not an experienced farmer, I was no sluggard ; my head man was hones: and skilful; and I found myself thriving beyond'my first hope 9. Then, ..- I had leisure tiaii on my hands; I had some money to spare ; I saw and was attracted by the -advertisements of the intended sale of the Constellation ; and I went over to Buffalo to examine the much-lauded vessel. What I saw of her pleased me greatly. She w:u swift and handsome, her sails, cables, anchors, ami cordage —everything, from the stewpans of the cook's caboose, to the boats towing astern —was in firstrate order. She would not need repairs for a long time, aud a very small crew would suffice to handle her. I was born on the banks of Southampton Water, and was passionately fond of boating from a boy. My father had owned a yacht, and I had been used to knocking'about the Solent and the Channel at an early age; while, in the transports that had the honor of conveying our regiment to India, Malta, and Bermuda, I had kept watch and -watch, and had added to my stock of sea-lore. I was, therefore, fairly qualified to be a commander of a well-found craft in the fresh water navigation of a lake; although Erie, shallowest of the American inland seas, is liable to tempests of peculiar fury. 1 bought the Constellation, paid for her, hired a couple of boatmen out of work to help me across with her, and left Buffalo under easy canvas: steering my new purchase in person, and feeling a pardonable pride in the elegant appearance and good behavior of my little vessel. Half Buffalo sauntered to the quays to see us off. We had the topsails set, the foresail clued up, and the large mainsail gently swelling to the light air that turned the glittering sheet of water into frosted silver. Many duller sailers were crawling along, but the yacht went through the ripple like a wild swan, cutting through the water with her knife-like bows, and heeling prettily to the breath of the south-e?.ster. Although I had hauled down the star-spangled flag of America, and had replaced it with a small British ensign and a plain blue burgoo, the people watched our departure with some sympathy, and a few Irish stevedores gave me a cheer as the schooner- gathered way. One well-dressed man on a lean horse eyed us with remarkable interest, scanning our motions through a pocket-telescope. Something in the mien or features'of this personage attracted my notice. He was a good-looking large-whiskered man of thirty-five : tall, dark, and with hawk's eyes and an aquiline nose. He wore a white hat, a green coat, and trousers and waistcoat of un bleached linen—a very sensible hot-weather costume, but not American. Indeed, he was quite a shining speck atnoi:g tine creased black suits and crumpled satin vests, the " goatee" beards, and the lean yellow faces, of those around him. "That man is from the old country," said 1" to myself, and then steered -tli? schooner a point nearer the wind, and forgot him. Little did I think-how our future fates would become involved Tiie wind was light, and not favourable, and it it took many hours to beat across to he Canada shore. My home was at the north-eastern angle of Lake Erie, between the stirring town of Dover and that smaller settlement which has assumed the aspiring name of Niagara. I had the advantage of a creek and a commodious bay on roy own pro-

party, where twenty Constellations might have lain at anchor, secure from spiteful squads. There we moored the schooner ; my supernumeraries \v<;rc paid and dismissed; and before three days were out, I had a regular crew. Crew, however, is almost too ambitious a word whereby to designate an old man-of-war's man, half worn out, but still-active and resolute, audaslout colonial lad. Such as they were—old Bill and young Eh—they cost me but little in the way of cash, being housed in a sort of wooden barracks where my labourers lived, -xvA drawing" regular rations from the store which my foreman superintended. _ -Harvest was coming on; some large lots of timber had- been felled in tU« woods ; and the process, of squaring, hauling, and raft-making, demanded the muster's eye. So some little time elapsed, during which I was unable to use the yacht, and she lay at anchor, taut and trim, a provoking little beauty coaxing one torn holiday excursion. The corn being cut, and the pines having been transformed from-'live spires of darkling-green to yellowish logs' floating in the smooth water ofihe creek, I began to feel myself more at liberty to avail myself-of my "new acquisition. i am of a companionable nature, and should have been giad of a friend or two to cruise with inc. 'But, unluckily, sumnier is the. season for work among the Canadians, who look on their long winter as the'time, for play, and 1 could ihul no one disengaged. There was but a small.detachment of military then quartered in the district, and the solitary subaltern could no!; venture to give himself leave of absence and abandon his command,-even for a day.. ■ 1 should have beta obliged '-to remain On shore, or to put forth alone, but for an acquaintance which I made fortuitously; in i!i» public biliiard-rooni at Dover. Tins was with liio < all dark hawk-eyed gentleman whom Iliad seen fur a moment on horseback on the quay of Buffalo, and who was now touring through.'-the, western districts, of Canada. "He was, s« : ; I had conjectured, ot" British birth, and gave his name Mr. Gartmare. Bur, although of English, or rathi-r Irish, extraction, Mr. Garfmorc hnd been so lung in America that he had learned the Yankee habits of grammar and pronunciation, and ha i roamed iiboiic the States from Michigan to Florida. It was after a dinner at the Victoria—then, us now, the chief hotel in Dover—that I gave my m:w fiiend an invitation to take a cruise with m;> hi the schooner. "I'd he. very happy, . slick away felicitous, now, to accept your hu.-pitalUy," sail Mr. Gartmore, "only the gijyernor-^eirjral will he wait'ng forme at Quebec, you sec," here lie dropped his voice and looked my.-ienous ; " there are messages to iic -conveyed "from somebody 1 won't, particularise, n >t. a thousand miles )Vo:u Washington, that can't he thmsted lo the post." My c.mnu'io -li.td t!ia oddest way of mixing inborniai;i.,:us with Pennsylvania*! phrase-1, that I remember, and :it iiuothcr time I might have laughed at tho hn>:t<l hi :t.that he ms a secret emissary of the British legation at Washington. l>nt it doe* not do to be over-critical ia a new country -, the mm wus amusing, and 1 had no reason to regard him witli mistrust. 1 pressed Mr. Garlmorc to go with me on a crtiise, and, iii'ter.some little parley, he elo*ed with, the invitation.- " The■ Q'ccbtv. i;»lks," lie s-iid (he did not again allude to the Govi'rnoi'-('k-neral of the Cnnad:!.*), " must just k.-Vj) theirimpatience cool for a lew days. It was but putting high-pressure speed on, when he <lid .start, and he should reach the capital in time to make all square." So, to sea, or rather to lake, we put, in the schooner yacht, well provisioned, ft was a pleasant trip wo had. The- leave.'! were reddening fast, on millions of beech" and maple trees, on .sumach ar.d creeping vine; and the scarlet tints of a portion of the lori'St made a rich contrast with the sombre green of the pine and the light green of the spruce fir. The winds were light and variable, exactly the weather best adapted to display the sailing qualities of the yacht, and the broad grey shoot of water, glimmering like op:i! at sunset, made a fine framework for the rocky birch-crested islets. Mr. Gartmore proved an agreeable companion. He could siny; well, plived the key-bugle better than a mail, coach guard, was very skilful at all games from draughts to piquet, and had plenty of anecdotes to tell. Altogether, he. ple-ised me much, and when we lan del on the forest-fringed north-western shore, and has! a day's sport in the woods', he. handled his rifle with practised adroitness, and killed the only tyro b:i"ks we tv>uid succeed in approaching. '• U->-»i my word," siid' I, on one of these occasions, "that is :• piv::y shut. A.hundred and thirty yards, ..t ilic iuv.-o-t calculation, and the buck ■ actually bounding iVoni the covert when you sliouliii.-n.-d the piece! You must have had great practice-" "My .new friend ceased wiping out the barrel of his long rifk\ east his eye on. the dead .stag lying at his feet, and then- looked at me. with rather a comical expression on his bronzed face. " Pracliiv, captain ? You may say that. I've known the tune when 'twas tench and go'with Patrick Garimor", his life or another's—and nit l'iy on the finger ' Uvit , was steadiest on tlu> trigger, and the eye that drew the truest head on the enemy.'1 * " . '"The -Indians, I suppose? "said I. "Ah! There is wild work on the frontier, I believe? "' Mr. Gartmove's reply was rather vague. '•Indians' They're .some wild eats, thats's true for you, the red scalpers, but there are worse savages-in America, Oaptuin Pownill, than over wor- paint and eagle's feathers. Why, down south, I've known the day when the bloodhounds " lie stopped short, bit hii lips, and his sunburnt face flushed scarlet. " Bloodhounds ?" said I. "The .mention of thoso brutes puts me in mind of the old Spanish conquerors, and the .meiciless pursuit of the Oiiiihs. 1 have heard, but I can hardly believe, that the slave-owners in the south employ such dogs still, in negro catching ! " To my surprise, ill. Garlmore broke out into a tirade against the whole coloured race, and especially against fugitive slaves and the white abo-litionist-r who helped them. He was so violent on this -topic, that \ve had a long argument ; for I was sorry to see a native of our own islands so blinded by prejudices, picked up among the planters of the south. But on this subject Mr. Gartmore would not listen to reason. " It's too bad, sir, to defend such subventionary principles,'' said he; "forgive my warmth, captain, but you see the question lies in a nutshell, I know niggers ; you don't. What air, they, then ? Why, animated property, and that's just abont all, the ebony-coloured possums ! Senator Call never said a sensiblcr or more philosophical thing than when he galvanized the House with ! that definition. As for emancipation, sir, it's robbery the most barefaced ; and if any one asks Pat Gartmore's opinion, there it is for him." I laughed, and changed the subject. It was not the first time that I had found persons who were kiud and liberal in . other matters, hopelessly impracticable on this question. That evening we took advantage of a brisk breeze, and ran over to the American shore, anchoring in front of Muoroe. The next morning at an early hour a boat came alongside, and two persons asked leave to come on board. One of them was a stern-looking man, in plain clothes, but with policeman written on his. face "us plainly as if D 42 had been 'embroidered on his collar -, the other, was a big bony Kentuckian, with a fierce eye and a lowering brow that indicated anything1 but good humour. " Morrow, mister!" growled the Kentuckian, whose homespun clothes and high riding-boots of ill-dressed leather showed many a stain of clay and mud, but yet half-dried ; " this gentleman's a States marshal,'"and I and he hey corned on business." "Indeed?" said I, rather nettled by the fellow's coarse tone ; " what may that business be ?" " Let me speak, Mr. Gregg," said the officer ot justice, in a dry, but civil manner ; " I told you before I came off, that we had no complaint against the gentleman. We only require an answer to one or two questions, which in the name of the law, sir, it is my duty to put." This puzzled me, but I saw that the last speaker though firm, had no wish to be offensive, and I therefore professed my willingness to afford any needful information. "Your name, sir ?" said the marshal, pulling out pocket-book and pencil. ■' ' •' Henry Wadmore Pownall."

" Nationality, and pro-fess'on ?" I "An Englishman, late a captain in her Ma- i jesty's service, now a settler in Canada West." The Kentuckian's features relaxed into a less ferocious expression- The people of his native State have a considerable iespect for military men, and the announcement of my social standing seemed to mollify him, "We needn't trouble the cap.; a<;r bird won't be treed here, I guess," he said, as he chucked his cigar, now reduced to a stump, overboard. " Wait a moment, Mr. Gregg." said the marshal ; " sir, I owe you an explanation of this. I am here in execution of my duties to c-.-irry out the pro-visions of the-Fugitive Slave Act." i'Of tho Fugitive Slave Act ?" I exclaimed ; •' what, in the name of all that's absurd, have I to do with such a law or its provisions?" " Wall, cap.," said the Kentucky man, lighting afresh cigar, "this i.s how her head lays. A lot of pesky black varmint have made tracks out of Tennessee, and there's more than four thousand dollars reward to bo goc by the white gentlemen that claps his fist on them. They were run, that's what they war, statnpedoed and run oil" by it darned skunk, whom I'll scalp if I set oya on his ugly face—ur may I be mosquitoed oat-of creation!" The marshal hero interfered, as my patience was evaporating, and briefly informed me: llrsfc, that a number of' valuable slaves, fourteen in all, had escaped t'rom an estate in Tennessee : secondly that the Kentnddan was "Joshua Gregg, ono of fie most celebrat d of the profess otial in. nliunters. whf;S3 trade w.is to pursue runaway negroes: thirdly, that the preseut search was less for tho slivei, who had'hitherto been closely concealed, than for the man who had prompted and aide 1 their flight. '•That's the notorious Dan I[o!t, t!ie wickedest Irish loafer that ever 'listed in pay of them chcatiii'cowards, the Undergiound Hail way Ab->------lition men," Gregg broke, in with a vigorous oath; "twice we've met, Dan Holt and 1, unl twice the snake's oft'with a whole skin; but ictmK on'y get a grip, once more," that's all ! " The marshal! n!served the dUgust with which I heard this ruflian'i* threats. He was himself calm and resolute, but it was with him a mutter of duty, not a labor of love, to hunt down slaves and their abettors. He therefore brief!v noted down my rcMdiince, the naino of the y.-icht, arid the names of my crew, Uill Uradstreet and Kit Cohb, and coaxed his rough ally into Use shore boit again. As the bnathook was pressed against the vessel's side, to push off, the marshal sceuiud to remeinS)!.'!* something. " Hold on a moment, miater !" cried he to the watenmui. '• I say, Captain IV.vnall ! I quite torgot to ii',k—■have you any company on board ?" /'Only one frier:.!, Mr. IV.tnek Gartmore, a naturalised Anierieai:, hero by invitatioa." " None of them earning Quaker-cut venomous aboHiiiniits ?" growled tiie inan-huntur from ■ihe styni-s!ieets. _ " Uy no nic.nii," answered 1, quite tickled by tile <-omp:iri*ou of my sporting friend to a .Quaker"; " .Mr. Gartiiu.rc holds opinions very much like yours on the subject of slavery. L doubl if he 'thinks uigucrs-have snuh at all, or are more than fl •••ih and blood mae'iinc* fur picking cotton and homing rice.'' 'i'iii-i was con-lusive. The negro banter gnuue-1 ; the martial bade-t'ie watcrmau " <;ive way';1' an I oil' w v nt my unwcla«nj visitors shoreward. " lint when! is Gartmore ? " [ asked in so,TU! surprise, as uid Hill, w!io was steward and cook as well as lbromast niin, bustled by with !iot eoil't c and watlh: cakes. Indeed my guest was habitually an curly riser. He had never been so slow to appear ou.deek before. The old sailor said Mr. Gartmore had a bad headache. He had sent m« his compliments," ami .should join jne presently if he fJt well enough U> get up. i " N«)thiivjr serious, Bill. 1 hope? No'signs of fever ? " I asked i;i some alarm. | Hill said,'• No, not as li'« knowe;! on. The ■ gen'lonian said perhaps the punch last night had been brewed too strong, but afore noon he'd bias riijlit as :i trivet." "Very well, Mill; when breakfast's over, we'll wefgb and stand out." . Tiic punch; very odd! It bail been to, my fancy, a very moderately potent bruwage, and 1 had noticed that my guest's head was a .strong and cool one. .But the -.ice, the ice which in that sultry climate turned liquor Inr > iH'Ctxir, perhaps t.'iat made a ilii/Vrenee. Well ! We weighed and stojil out for ihs* eastward. The sl:ore lessened tro:n view, KiVi o i deck came Mr. Garimor<\ apolo^iiing .for the. late hours hehad kept, and" looking remarkably Well in health. The eo'ille, he said, how splendiiciously mv steward in ah; it! Invl swept ti.e cobwebs out' of hi* brain. Hi.* .headache was all but gone. He was very •Mief-fiil and chatty, an! laughed ' heartily as I ivcoiUite I tho. visit-I had received that inorni'i.'. a;;d as 1 de-eribed the threatening a-pe:*t o[ t\i<; formidaMe Joshua Gregg. •' One of these in;:!, sir, who resemble native gold, j%m,;h-he.vji from the mine ;" >aid he, eu!ogist'cally ; " 1 have read of that energetic eit:z.:;i. sir, in the; Xtw Orleans J'icavarii; and ■ other [ii.peri. li.: i.s unpolished, but such are Columbia's props." ■ " . ; " Kvery nrui to his taste, Garfmore," said I -, " for my. part, I had rather coin.- down with v cra-sh, wore I a country, than rest on such precious pillars as your amiable fellow-citizen." Garlinoio laughed with perfect good nature. ■He was as M'the as a bird, all day. We u'trj once becalmed, but a friendly breeze came to ruille the lake, and we ran down to Builalo, and dropped anchor at moon-rise. We spent the greater part of the next day in rambling about the'city, and I afterwards remembered that Gartmore left me deeply engaged in a match at billiards, slipped out, and did not, return for tnor." than two hours. In fact, jm I left the billiardroom to go on board, he came up and passed his arm through mine, ' " 1 have taken a great liberty, I'ownall, my dear hoy," said lie; "I have ventured to give a sort of half promise to an old .friend, that you would give a pleasure trip to him and bis wile along the sniniiier lake. Will you, like a hospitable good fellow?" '• To be sure. Any. friend of yours !" " Ah ! said Gartn ore, " there <">• the individual just across the street, looking into that dry goods store. He's too short-sighted to make us out, so we'll go over, and I'll introduce you. He's a man of high principles, and his wife'isa most accomplished matron." So saying, ■ Gartmore half dragged me to the opposite pavement, where his friend stood, and nudged the hitter's elbow. " Well met, again, Kinder! This is my kind host. Professor Kinder, .Captain Pownall. I have been mentioning the whim of your respected lady, Kinder. Poor Mrs. K. is a sad invalid, though a charming person, Pownall." An odd looking man the professor! I could not doubt his being short sighted, for he not only wore spectacles, but blinked like an owl in the daylight. He was short of stature, but a wiry man in make, and appeared to be neither young nor old, with a very palpable wig, a sallow complexion, and high check bones, lie wore the regular civilian costume of tailcoat, black satin vest, long cravat, ill-made pantaloons, and dusty varnished boots. And so Mrs Kinder was an invalid, poor soul? Dear me, my yacht was never intended for sufferers of the fair sex ! A party of merry Canadian girls would have been all very well, used as they are to rough it in all manner of holiday expeditions : but I rather shuddered at the idea of a dieaway American bluestocking on board the Constellation, There was no escape, however, Mr3.Kiudcr ! was evidently very much bent on her fancy, and the professor was an indulgent husband. Thus I was trepanned into giving a formal invitation ; I and next morning we took on board fresh milk, fruit, turkeys, doe venison, and Mr, and Mrs. Kinder. The day, early as it was, was hot and bright, but Mrs. Kinder wore a great cloak with a hood, closely resembling" an Arab burnous, and kept her veil down. As she ascended the yacht's side, not without a good deal of assistance, I could sec hardly anything of her but tho tip of her nose. In the cabin, however, she took oft" her wraps. I was surprised to see how very many years she was younger than her husband ; although she, too, was short-sighted, and wore spectacles. She was a handsome young woman in spite of the unbecoming manner in which her

glossy hair bad been brushed back and hidden away ; her complexion was of the rich olive of a 1 Spanish girl; her features were well shaped ; and i her teeth were wonderfully white and good for 1 those of a town-bred American lady. I helped i to get the anchor up, and to shake out the brails i of the mainsail, while old Bill bustled with the i unusually sumptuous breakfast, and Eli, the lal, i took the helm. " Where to, captain ?" asked the boy. i The trip was Airs. Kinder's bespeak. Conmnn ; gallantry made me place the yacht at her entire disposal. Her husband whispered to her, and she timidly .spoke: " She should like," she said, '• to coast along the south-east shore, and Btay awhile, if I pleased, in that delightful bay, Hunter's Cove. She longed to see tho scenery there..' She said this in a slow awkward wav, like n child repeating a lesson. I saw the professor's eye-, twinkle-, even his glasses could not hide that, But I had given Mrs Kinder her choice, and mus* obey. " Keep her well in shore,'' were my orders, " and when you round the point of Hunter's Cove drop the lightest of tne anchors. I know the ground is good, and there's no current." I cannot say that Mrs Kinder contributed much to the general amusement. She spoke very little, and in a very low tone, and never sure when ad' dressed. Her health did nr-t appear to me in so bad a state as her husband's anxious fears had prompted him to represent it. But she was singularly shy, and averse to any parade of her accomplishments. When I asked her to favor us with a little instrumental mim,-—there was a piano on baard—she gently but decidedly refuse-.!. Nor did she seem to care .much for the scener •, or for any artistic, literary, or scientific talk. But she was evidently very anxious, quite nervously anxious, to see the Hunter's Cove. We had to hug the land closely, for the freshening breeze did its be.st to impel us across to the Canada shores ; but tho yacht behaved well, and we could manag-; her faislv enough, on condition of my taking tho h-!:n whenever K!i and Hill were busy in trimming sail, or haniing at tack and sheet As for Bill he seemed ointhis pnrtieul-.ir day to he uDitjititoiis ; clattering saucepans at one moment, and next moment setting more head-sail on the craft. Mr. Gartmore, to*?, a'ways obliging, often lent us the aid of his stron" arms; so we k-pt the schooner well in hand, j;s she bounded like a mettled horse over the steelgrey waves tint foamed around. When wo reached the bay which Mrs. Kinder s> longed to explore, it was almost dinner-time, and it was agreed upon that we shoul 1 postpone landing until after mir mta!. The yacht was j moored in the still water, calm and clear as v. j mill-pond, which t!.e rocky headland fenced from | the waves and currents of the br.«id lake. Bill) called I-111 to assist him in the critical process of! dishing the good things that had been simmering j on his stove in the cabo4t.se, and we sat down to j dinner in the cabin with something of the gaiety which generally attends a pie-uic. Mrs. Kinder seemed in better spirits. She said little, her ! timidity ojiiti* overpowered her conversational ! abiiiti<-s, but she laughed now aud then at some mirthfal remark — a wry wK-ery little laugh she bad, and not by any miais wh.it one would ex- ■' jcot to hi ir irom a Mincrvn in .spectacles 1 Iluuter'-J Cove is a very s-epjestered biy to be j so near towns and a welt-peopled cotmtrv, aud i I have seldom seen a more lonely *-pot, with its j rough woodland and crumbling crag*. ()i:lv one I dwelling was visible : a son of log hut, long aud low in structure, but tumbling in ruin. I had seen lbn hovel before, and had been told by a j woodcutter that it was built for the accoiimoda- ' lion of a lumbering party, many years before. It showed no siirn of human habitation ; buta« the wind waved the tall reeds in a neighboring creek, I caught n. glimpse of something like a! large boat, tracked and weather-beaten, yet | aflu.it. Of this, however, I thought \x-.y little, i The bay might be the resort of fishermen, or >Uhirs ; a* fu.- '.lie boat, it had pruiallv been k-ft there as mm i -;l . -able. We sat down to dinner, broaching some old hack and champagne in honor of the occasion. The corks popped, and the conversation was g-ty and agreeable. I had never seen U.irt:nore in such spirits. I'rof^sor Kinder, too, seemed another man—he was so much brighter and better ; while his sick wife, saving I littl.-. cnu'A still laugh and seem pleased. 6r.ee i or twico it occurred to me that Gartmore's spirits ] were nlunst Joo high to be natural ; \ h'j w ; ;s It.ud, jovial, almost bob-! tcrous but every now and then lie i he would stop short in the How of talk and mirth,! bend fi>rw:ud, and .seem to listen Then, he ! would lie as cheery and noisy as over. Once or j twice I could have sworn that, through their j spectacles, Mrs. Kinder's great dark eyes were } fixed in me in a half-alarmed, half mournful I miiiiner -, but the moment she met my glance, the ! expression vanished. " j " Xo more wine, thank you," said the lady, as I i ofll-red again to tiil her glass. " j 1 | aisi-d with the bottle in my hand. " Gartmoiv," said 1, "do you bear that odd splashing! sound, like oars or puddles clow at hand?" "K!i? no; I hear nothing," s.dd he. ri-ing from his s;-at and approaching the cabin-window, as if! to look out through the glazed scuttle. I " Ifa! you hear that, I suppose?" cried I, as a i new and more formidable noise succeeded. j This was no other than a trampling of inanv j feet on the deck overhead, a sound of struggling I panting and blows, and a smothered outcry ofj blended voices, in which I thought I recognised | the energetic forecastle oaths of old Bill.' Mr. I (Jartmorc c'id not answer me, but threw himself upon m<\ with a bound like that of a tiger, and I wrapped his arms round me, pressing minecioselv ! down to my sides. " ' [ "Are you mad?" cried I, indignantly, strap-! gling hard. We were both strong men, and I Gartmori! had enough to do to hold me. " Quick, Kinder, quick !'' he said. Professor Kinder's proeee i;ngs were vcrv curious. Deliberately taking off and flinging aside j his sjiect.ieles, he rose from his chi.ir picked up a napkin, and very dexterously applied himself to bind my arms together at the wrist. Furious at this incomprehensible perfidy, I made a violent cilort, disengaged one hand, "and gave Kinder a I blow that sent him staggering among the plates and glasses on the sideboard. The false professor's yellow face grew livid. "I'll make that a dear hit to you, Britisher. If I don't gin ye goss, I'm no man". " He drew a revolving pistol from his breast pocket, and hurriedly presented it at me. I re m-.-mber what followed very viguely indeed That Gartmore seemed to remonstrate—that Mrs Kinder sprang forward and thrust herself between me and the deadly weapon, with outstretched arms—l know; but of what was said, nothing remains in my recollection. There was a scull!?, and I am pretty sure that Kinder dealt me several blows on the head with some blunt instrument, and I know that T lay stunned and fainting on the floor, and that the "last impression my faculties retained was one of stupid wonder that Mrs. Kinder, whose spec tales had dropped off, and whose long black hair had been shaken in rippling masses over her shoulders, should look so young and pretty as she lifted one slender arm over my prostrate"form, and seemed to intercede for my life. Then I swooued away. I When I regained my senses I was alone, lying on a sofa in the cabin, stiff and sore, and with dizzy and aching brains. I tried in vain to rise; mv limbs could not stir. In vain I tried to call aloud, for a gag was between my teeth, and my voice sounded like the inarticulate murmurs of the dumb. I was fast bound hand and foot, but my head lay on a sofa pillow. I could guess that it was a woman's kinduess of heart that bad occasioned this slight alleviation of my captivity. I could feel that the yacht was in vapid inot-on, bounding over the waves of the lake, and heeling over to a gale. j What wa3 the meaning of the perfidious violenceof I which I had been the victim ? I could not doubt I that some deep-laid plot was at tho bottom of the i aflair, but why had I been singled out for such an attack ? Not for revenge ; no man, I believed, owed me a grudge, and Gartmore least of all men! Not, surely, for tho sake of the few dollars on board ? Not for the purpose of gaining possession of the yacht ? At sea, pirates might make her useful, but not on a lake,however large. What was that? A gun ! Yes, it was the report of a small cannon, and then followed that of another and a distant dropping fire of musketry succeeded' I wondered for a moment, and then sunk into a lethargy again.

I The next thing 1 remember is being in | bed in my own chiinber in my my own house on the Canadian shore. Sirs. Mackieson, the motherly old Scotchwoman who acted as my housekeeper, an<l was a gool and kind nurse in illness, was shuffling about the room in list slippers, and there were phials of medicine near, saj the room was darkened. " Ne'er a word will I tell ye, sir, till ye're well enough to hear it and the doctor gie's consent. S«ie if ye liae ony curiosity about it, ye maun just take your medicine.and gruel, and give up speiring till ye're bonny again. Na, na, ye cannu make auld Eflie Mackieson bstray her trust, neither by fljechiu nor fly tin." The worthy woman was inexorable, and so was the doctor, as to giving me any exciting information until I was fairly convalescent. Once or twice I heard old Bill's grumbling voice without, but he was never permitted to enter, At last, when I was well enough to sit up and take as much beef tea and jelly as my attendants thought good for me, the doctor introduced Bill. The old s ulor wanted littb pressing to tell all he knew. "Ye see, captain" said he,'-I'm right down ashamed to huve been such a greenhorn as to let them landsharks weather on me. But I was down below, arid Eii he were on deck, and the stupid young cornstalk never sings out till the boat waa alongside, and the niggers a scrambling aboard of us. Then he holloas out, and up I cumes, and we played pull devil pull baker lor a i/iinit. But bless year soul, sir, I'm an old hulk", hardly seaworthy, aad I couldn't make much fight agin eight big he niggers and two whites " Niggers?'' said I, eagerly ; do you mean to say they were our assailants?" " Yes, your honor," said Bill, turning his hat round and round, '*the niggirs were hid in that log-hut ashore, and had been there for weeks, a I jokin' out for means of getting over toQuecnVic- j toriaV ground, where they're in course free, For j you see, sir, they'd given leg-bail to their masters j out in Tennessee Stale, helped by some of them i 'mancipation chnps." i " The niggers were escaped slaves, desperate of getting out of the reach of American law, and Mr. Gartaiorc and the professor ?" '* If ever I come across them two lubberly laud pirat.-s," energetically cried old Bill, '• I'll fel tie scores with them in a way they won't like. To capture was bail enongh.but to maul yer honor so! But here, sir, is a letter the villain bid me hand you, when he got over to the Canada si ta, and untied Eli and me, after the most of the niggers was in the boats." Thti letter was short: " A thou and excuses, my dear PownaU, for the liberty we have taken with your handsome yaclit Necessity, y.<u know, has no law. Oar "dsrk.skinned friends desire me to thank you for helping j them out of the dutches of the Columbian eagle, i and the whole matter would be mere food for j laughter, but for the unlucky blow you were | foolhirdy en m-h to strike the professor. That j nearly tarried the farce into a trauely, for it was jail we could do, to prevent our peppery friend j from washing out the w&r.mt. in blood. \Ve were jebasfcd, but th<- Constellation's heels, quL-ker than greased lightning, sived our bacon. Should we never meet again, which, alas ! 'n probable, I will give you one parting word of advice in return for your hospitality : H u a little 1-jss confiding—what jyou English call ' another time. " Gratefully yours, " P. G." vAn 1 now, my dear sir, allow me to tell you, briefly as m-jy b?. th>? ren of the story," said" the 1 1\ ctor ; " this Mr. G art more, alia* Daniel Holt, ; is about the m nt famous of the paid ag-jnts of the Underground Railway, as they call the aciive part ot the KOciity. lie hid aided the cscaj eof a number of slaves from Tennessee—tight men, jfir# women, and several children—and, with j much trouble, the party was lodged at Hunter's j Cove, to await means of transport to Canada and i frvedoiii. Besides these, the society Itad charge of a very bemtiful Quadroon girl, Cornelia llasii- ] li'ish, from Mobile. Hers was a story yoa raav | have often hetrd in America. It is sufficient I to know that she was the petted child of an old planter, who neglected to set her free ; that, at his death, she was claimed as property by his I heirs ; that she was menaced with sale, slavery, ] and shame ; and that her only hope was in flight ito our free country. She was, as yon have | guessed, probably, the fictitious Mrs. Kinder, and j to her you probably owe your life ; for I under{stand tli.it the sham professor, whose name is | Hiram I^wJi, is a ferocious ruffian." i The doctor worn o:i to tell me that the fugiI live Quadroon gir had been long concealeJ in j Buffalo, in the house of an elderly Quaker lady, j who hal brave J the mob and the law, to shelter ;. the helpless creature. She had been disguised, j so as to pass for Knulcr's wife, an.l, on landing ! at Dover, would ha received into a family of zealJ ousj abolitionists, who would procure her friends j uii'l employment, at Toronto or Montreal. Tne plot to secure the yacht ha 1 been contrived by my first guest, who had sought mv acquaintance for that very end and aim. The" negroes, with two whites to aid them, hud easily mastered my csew, and Gartmore was quite competent to j manage the schooner in the run for Caua-'la. But, | in some manner the doctor added, the scheme I had leaked out. A sloop, with two carronade.s I and a number of armed men on board, healed by j J-jsima Hudson, and backed by a marshal and a [ warrant, had arrived at Hunter's Cove, -n time 11-> give chase to the schooner, aud to riddle her j mainsail with shot. Luckily, no one was hurt, j and the yacht far outs tripped her pursuers, landing her human freight in safety. j ' The conduct of Holt and Leech is imlefeni s'ble." said the doctor, "but what can yon exj pect? The society must work with such tools as ) can be got; the work to be done is desperate; I and these paid agents, who care for nothing but profit, are liet •verbnrthened with scruples? To do Holt justice, I ha>e he>r.i that he was sincerely sorry that you sljoulu have sustaine 1 bodiiv | hurt." j "I am very much obliged to him," said I. A few days later, a Yankee speculator from Buffalo paid me a visit. "Mrster," wild he, "I've conic to trade with you for the sc' ojner. She aia't no manner of use to you no more, she ain't." How so ?" I asked, rather tartly. '• Captain," said the man, '• the bhoys -wsn't believe that rigmarole about a forcible seizure. They swear it was a planned thing, out of jealousy of our glorious institutions. And when the sloop come back, beat, from the pursuit,you never iicerd such a row as there Avar in Buffalo. The people burned you in effigy, they did—meanin' no offence—and swore great guns they'd do it in real, next time you showed yourself, after jaunting off them darkies. As for'the yacht, they'll burn her they will. 2s Tow, captain, be advised." Yacht work won't be no fun, now you can't land on our shores —and you can't, sure as coons climb ! So just trade her to me, and I'll send her on by the ctnal, and swop her to Brooklyn." I was sick of my bargain, and tired of aquatics as the lankee probably guessed. He bought the timous yacht Constellation for about a hundred dollars, and there the matter ended.