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Updated: May 9, 2025
"But now lead on; In me is no delay; with thee to go, Is to stay here: with thee here to stay, Is to go hence unwilling; thou to me Art all things under heaven, all places thou." The intelligence communicated by Ithuel essentially altered Raoul's views of his actual situation.
"Notwithstanding, the Inglese are not a despicable people," answered Andrea, who was obliged to take the stranger literally, since he knew nothing of his provincial use of terms; "for a nation of the north, they have done marvellous things of late years, especially on the ocean." This was more than Ithuel could bear.
"And where is the lugger now?" asked Cuffe, betraying the drift of all his questions in his eagerness to learn more. Ithuel was not to be led on so hurriedly or so blindly. Affecting a girlish sort of coyness, he answered, simpering: "Why, Captain Cuffe, I cannot think of answering a question like that under the solemnity of an oath, as you call it.
As for Ithuel himself, he had not observed his usual caution; but, unknown to himself, the oily wine had more "granite" in it than he imagined, and then he seldom spoke of the abuse of impressment without losing more or less of his ordinary self-command.
Three hearty English cheers followed, and Ithuel was so far disconcerted as to fire the remaining gun, loaded as before with bullets, at least two minutes too soon. The sea was thrown into a foam, but not a man in the boats was hurt. Then the fire became general, gun after gun exploding; the rattling of small-arms filling up the pauses.
The pieces had been depressed by Ithuel himself, in the midst of the fray, and nothing remained but to wait the moment for using them. This moment was now near. The object of the English was to land on the principal islet, and to carry the ruin by storm.
But all was seemingly tranquil there, at that early hour; and the lugger making very little show when her canvas was not spread, there was reason to hope that the accident was as yet unseen. The approach of the felucca would probably betray it; though the precaution had been taken to order Ithuel to show no signs of national character.
Her shadowy outline was visible, though drawn against the land, moving slowly athwart the lugger's hawse, perhaps half a mile in-shore of her. As there was a current setting out of the river, and all the vessels rode with their heads to the island, Ithuel occasionally turned his head to watch her progress, which was so slow, however, as to produce very little change.
She knew that Raoul had already been a prisoner in England two years, where, as he often said himself, he stayed just long enough to acquire a very respectable acquaintance with the language, if not with the institutions, manners, and religion, when he made his escape aided by the American called Ithuel Bolt, an impressed seaman of our own Republic, who, fully entering into all the plans imagined by his more enterprising friend and fellow-sufferer, had cheerfully enlisted in the execution of his future schemes of revenge.
"Leghorn is a free port," returned Ithuel; "and smuggling is not needed." "Aye, free as to friends, but not free to come and go between enemies. No port is free in that sense; it being treason for a craft to communicate with the foe, unless she happen to be le Feu-Follet," observed Raoul, laughing; "we are privileged, mon brave!"
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