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wilight hour, or in the bright starry ights of the Tropics-their lonely wandering, along the banks of that beautiful stream, soon taught him not only that he loved, but that he was tenderly and faithfully beloved in return. She was lovely, and he was attractive, and both were young; and, in the depth of this, their first attachment, they cherished its sweets, and delicious delirium, and became all to each other, and lost to all the world beside.

The time, however, was fast approaching, when they were to awake from their delicious dream. The state of the country was every day becoming more intricate and alarming. The Spanish faction had made head in some places, and had obtained some successes, which, though trifling in themselves, were yet of importance, as inspiriting to their partizans, and discouraging to the patriots. We were obliged to be continually on the alert, and were almost daily hearing of some new political event, some success, or some reverse, which we thought likely to bring us into more active service than we had for some months. All was anxiety and excitement. Such a state of affairs, in which it was very probable we would be obliged to leave Manchos at a moment's notice, could not be very acceptable to Falkland; and when he saw the improbability of bringing his Isabel D'Altara aboard our ship, as it would be bringing her into extreme and certain danger; and, also, saw, at the same time, the difficulty of leaving her behind him, as he would then, probably, never see her again, and she would still be in the hands of Joseph De Castro, he resolved to withdraw from us, and give up altogether the service in which we were engaged. This resolve cost him many a bitter struggle. His partiality for his companions, in many a perilous voyage, and wild adventure-his own taste for such an exciting life, and his attachment to the great cause of the revolution all struggled hard against the call of affection, and love for the gentle Isabel. Still she succeeded, and he resolved to leave us, and retire with her to some tranquil and peaceful country. When he communicated his intention to us, it greatly grieved us all; and, though we could not blame the faithful and honorable feeling that

actuated him, we felt that we were losing one of the pleasantest companions of our expedition. Before he could carry this resolve into effect, it was strangely and unexpectedly interrupted.

It was early one evening when a communication from Joseph De Castro reached us, requiring us to put to sea immediately. Seyton, who entertained great suspicions of this man, suspected, from the nature of the communication, that there was some treachery intended, and so deemed it advisable, contrary to his usual custom, to lay it before us all, and ask the assistance of our advice. We all agreed that there could be no absolute necessity for our going to sea before morning; and, therefore, resolved to remain, hoping to obtain, by daylight, more certain information, by which we could be guided. The first we heard next morning was, that Joseph De Castro had fled during the night from Manchos. It appeared that some information had reached the chiefs of the revolution as to the secret proceedings of their agent at Manchos, which implicated him in the foulest treachery to their cause. They had discovered that, although apparently acting for them, he was secretly supplied with vast resources by the Spanish party, and was really working to effect a counter-revolution as actively as he was able, and was really found to be one of the chief causes of the late successes of the Spaniards. They immediately despatched orders to Manchos to have him seized; but having discovered, by some means, that he was detected, and knowing that his life would be the forfeit if he permitted himself to be arrested, he fled during the night with all possible secrecy and despatch. The state into which the good people of Manchos was thrown by this intelligence of his treason and flight, is not easily described, every individual was in arms immediately, and the whole district was in the utmost excitement and confusion. There was also a good deal of excitement aboard the Dolphin; Seyton, long suspecting his treason, was furious at his escape and soon went ashore to consult with the authorities on the subject, while all the rest of us prepared ourselves for action, in the expectation that something decisive would follow. As for poor Falk

land, he troubled himself little, if at all, about the affair in reference to the state of the revolutionary cause, he saw only one evil in it, namely, the departure of his beautiful Isabel, he never breathed a word on the subject, but with a look and manner that spoke deep resolve, went ashore in the boat with Seyton. We greatly pitied him for we knew the depth to which his attachment had gone, and we suspected, from what we had heard, that old Joseph De Castro had fled with her in such a way, that they were likely to meet no more. In this state we continued till late in the day, when the boat returned with both Seyton and Falkland, and we then learned that what we had already heard and conjectured was strictly correct; the party had fled to the districts which were still under the government of Spain, and not a trace remained of Joseph De Castro or Isabel D'Altara. In the many conversations that followed this annonncement Falkland remained in profound silence, he did not seem even to hear a sentence that passed among us, but was altogether wrapped up in himself, and continued in this state of silence and abstraction for some days, when he suddenly disappeared from among us. At first we did not much heed his absence, but when it continued for some days, and we could obtain no tidings whatever respecting him, we became much alarmed for his safety, when we considered the state of his mind for the few preceding days; we spared no exertions to ascertain his fate: he had gone ashore in one of the canoes that so frequently came alongside with fruits and vegetables, and we could learn no more that could lead to even a conjecture as to his probable fate. All this was the more distressing to us as we were ordered to leave Manchos for another station some weeks afterwards, and up to the time of our sailing we could ascertain nothing whatever respecting him.

It was full two months before we again heard of him. We had left Manchos with orders to cruise off the Spanish districts and watch some merchantmen that were expected to sail for Spain, with specie and valuables on board, we had much hopes of capturing them, and so continued cruising along those coasts for some weeks, and, occasionally, when near Berbito, we used to

run close ashore after sunset, for the purpose of communicating with some of the inhabitants, who were favorable to our cause, and often supplied us with very useful information. It was on one of these occasions, one bright and beautiful night, that, as we were running very slowly along the coast, Seyton and I were sitting at the stern of the Dolphin, and conversing on the prospect of affairs, it was a usual thing with us to spend thus a few hours every evening; on this night the air was perfectly still, so that every sound, even from incredible distances, came floating over the smooth waters; we thought we heard the rowing of a boat at some distance, and on listening attentively for some time, knew that it was approaching us, it soon neared us so as to become visible in our night-glasses, and, though we were moving out slowly, we still shortened sail so as to enable it to come up with us; on running alongside she had only five persons in her, and on our throwing a rope to her, before a sentence had passed between us, a young Indian was in the chains, and sprung upon our deck; he instantly came aft, to where Seyton and I were, and on our demanding his business, be looked at us attentively for a few moments, and then hung down his head, on again asking what he wanted, he looked up and said with a smile, "So you don't know me in this disguise,it was indeed George Falkland!-we certainly had not recognised our old companion, nor was it possible to recognise him, for his whole person was discoloured, and stained to the dark and peculiar hue of the Indians, he stood before us in the half-naked and wild appearance of some of the tribes of the Interior, and his disguise was so perfect, that he might have continued to deceive us, if he had so desired:→ we were indeed startled at the discovery, but in that, or in any other disguise he was welcome, and warmly and sincerely welcome to us. He was fully conscious of this, so dismissing the boat in which he came, he accompa nied us below; there we were joined by Calcraft, and had sufficient privacy for conversing over the sudden cause of his disappearance, and the reason of his present disguise. The poor fel low was full and frank in all he related in reply to our inquiries, and he was at times so much affected as to be unable

to restrain the flow of his feelings, nor was it to be wondered at, for when he first left us in secret, for the purpose of =ascertaining the fate of Isabel, he was obliged to undergo many hardships, and to wander about that distressed country in various disguises, lest the Spanish authorities should discover him. This continued for several weeks, and when he had at last discovered the object of his searches, near Berbito, in the midst of the Spanish settlements, and still in the power of old Joseph De Castro and his son, he found her almost heart-broken at her misfortunes and miseries, and drooping and wasting away with sickness and sorrow; he told us some of the particulars of their meetings at this time, they were always carried on under disguise, and he was so effectually disguised, that he had, free access as an Indian, and found some recompense for the distress and sorrow he had previously endured; but the happiness of again meeting, and again walking to gether, and mingling their thoughts, and often their tears together, was embittered by the hopelessness of their situation, and the danger that surround ed them; it was a state of things that could not long continue, for they were unceasingly harrassed by a fear of discovery, the consequence of which would be, certain death to Falkland, and as certain misery to Isabel, and she was so annoyed by the surveillance under which she was kept by Joseph De Castro, that she longed to fly, and escape all her sorrows, by uniting her self for ever with Falkland; after some struggle in her mind, as to the propriety of such a step, she at last resolved to take it, and so fly for ever the persons and the place which were associated with her misery. Falkland told us frankly, that when he had learned that we were cruizing off these coasts, he thought the Dolphin afforded the most certain opportunity of putting their intended flight into effect, and his object in coming on board this night, was, not to rejoin our service, but to ask the assistance of his old companions and friends: he was greatly affected when he asked our assistance, and burst into tears before us all. We felt much and sincerely for his distress, and when Seyton promised every as sistance that the Dolphin could give, we all endeavoured to cheer him up, by

assuring him, that we would join heart and hand in any plan which he would suggest.

Our plans were arranged on the next morning, and it was resolved to put them into execution the following evening. We accordingly stood in for the shore as soon as the sun had set, and the evening was sufficiently dark to prevent our being easily perceived. As we neared the land, which we did but slowly, as the wind had died away, Falkland was all impatience, and at the first fitting moment ordered the boat to be lowered. During the few minutes occupied in getting it to rights he has tily walked the deck without opening his lips to any one; he was evidently under much excitement. We were unwilling to break in upon his thoughts and so prepared ourselves for our adventure without any communication with him. This was the less necessary as all our plans were previously arranged and nothing now remained but putting them in progress of execution. In a very short time our boatmen-eight able men, well armed, were ready, and Falkland, with Seyton, Calcraft, and myself, took our seats in the boat, gave the word, and pushed off for the shore.

I know not why it was that we were all so silent; as for Falkland, he seemed so completely wrapped in himself, that he did not utter a syllable from the moment he left the Dolphin to the moment we touched the beach, his arms were folded on his breast and his eyes were immovably fixed upon the waters; his silence and abstraction had a depressing effect upon us all, and, Seyton, who was always prone to indulge his own reflections, leaned over the gunwale of the boat and was lost in his own thoughts; as for Calcraft, the wild and merry-hearted Caloraft, he looked at us all alternately, and was silent as the rest of us. I thought that this boded no good. I confess that I felt no disposition to converse; I felt a weight pressing on my feelings, and was much disposed to give way to the melancholy tone of feeling which the loveliness of the evening and our peculiar situation were awakening within me; with some exertion, however, I shook it off, and began to reflect in my own mind on the appearance of my companions-a number of young men of bold and adventurous spirits, who had abandoned the calm monotony of

their father-land, and sought the excite ment of enterprise in a far foreign land and on the ocean wave; they had all the energy and dashing courage suited to their adventurous career, and while they wooed danger, as readily and as cheerfully as they would woo a bride, they had all the romance of feeling that could make them enjoy most amply the varied circumstances of storm and strife and danger, as well as other more gentle positions, in which they were continually placed by the unceasing variety of their career. Three of them were now before me, fully prepared for an adventure, and armed at all points against their enemies; they had their swords at their sides, their dirks in their breasts, and their pistols in their belts, they carried all small light rifles, and as they sat wrapped up in their large cloaks, they presented a dark and fierce appearance in the dim light, that added to their known intrepidity, gave, in my mind, the air of deep romance to the

scene.

I have never known a more beauteous night or more lovely scenery than I witnessed on this occasion; it was one of those calm, tranquil, and bright evenings that are to be seen only in our tropic climes, the burning blaze of the sun had passed away, and the cool evening breeze had come gently on, balmy and sweet, and sighing softly along the water. Our course lay between two bold and lofty headlands, that approached so near to each other, that the opening to the harbour was not above a hundred yards across, they were wooded from their basis, where the waves for ever washed them, to their tops, with trees of every size; they were exceedingly steep and precipitous, and as we passed close under one of them, we were completely enveloped in the shadowy gloom it cast upon the waters; in a very short time however, we were emerged from it and pulled into the open basin which formed the harbour. We steered our boat close along the shore, and it was impossible not to admire the beauty of the calm and smooth waters, as they lay asleep under the brightness of the stars, every one of which seemed reflected in their bosom, there they lay smooth and placid as a sleeping infant: there was not a ripple on their surface, and not a sound could be heard either on the shore or on the sea, except the

plashing of our oars as we pulled through the beautiful harbour, and when occasionally some bursts of voices from the distant village would steal along the waters and break upon our ears, and then it would come so distinctly that it seemed only to make the hour still more lonely and silent. We had already resolved on going up the river rather than making for the village. We feared that on any alarm we might find it difficult to escape through the inhabitants, and therefore thought it safer to approach the house by the river, as we would thereby be brought very near to it without any probability of discovery or opposition. Accordingly we rowed close along the shore till we came to the river, which flowed into the harbour between a steep and rocky cliff on one side and a bold wooded bank on the other. As the stream was very strong we found some difficulty in making way against it, and it cost us two hours hard pulling before we reached the point of our destination. To me at least there was ample recompense for the delay, in the beautiful ap pearance which the thickly wooded banks presented in the stillness of the night; to me, who was still a stranger to the peculiar scenery of the tropics, all this was exquisitely attractive. I could not keep my eyes from wandering from bank to bank, then looking on the smooth waters or the clear and starry sky, and then contrasting all with the dark appearance and silent bearing of our little party, armed like banditti in that retired and unsuspicious place, and fierce as tigers in the chase when the hunter's spear had chafed him. It was a position in which a lover of romance would wish to be placed, and I confess it had an exciting effect on my feelings more strong than any thing of the kind I had ever before experienced, so that I felt anxious to fling aside the natural passiveness of my character, and to act a part that would give me claim to consort, as an equal in spirit and courage, with the bold and determined men with whom I was associated on this occasion. While my thoughts were thus occupied we reached the point of our destination.

Falkland was instantly ashore and led Seyton with Calcraft and myself, followed by four of the men thro' the woods. The other four men remained with the boat. We had not proceeded

above a mile by a way which seemed perfectly well known to him, when he stopped us and, desiring us to wait in that spot for his return, proceeded alone to the habitation of De Castro, which was in that immediate vicinity. I never afterwards had the opportunity of hearing how he succeded so quickly, but so it was, he returned in a very short time accompanied by the young and beautiful Isabel D'Altara, we had no time for considering then, but with a few words of hurried comgratulation, we returned with all speed to the boat. It was at this moment, while our men were getting the boat to rights, and we were congratulating ourselves on the success of our adventure, that the melancholy catastrophe occurred, a catastrophe that seemed suited to the gloominess and silence of our party when preparing for it, but little suited to the loveliness of the hour or the gentle object of our adventure. It happened just after we had arrived at the boat. The men were getting into the boat and taking their oars, Calcraft was already seated with the intention of steering, and Seyton and I stood on the bank, Falkland stood with his lovely prize a few paces from us, waiting till the boat was trimmed, so that she might the more easily step into it. At this moment a shot was fired by some person concealed among the trees, and it was instantly followed by two more. One of them took effect upon Calcraft, wounding him slightly in the fleshy part of the shoulder, and the other wounded very severely one of the boat men. Such a secret and unexpected attack much accelerated our movements, and we hastened to get into the boat, but before we could effect this, several shots were again fired, and George Falkland fell dead on the spot without a word or a groan! He had been standing only a few paces from us, and Isabel was leaning on him. When he fell, she seemed for a moment unconscious that he was shot, and, as if she thought he had fallen by some accident, she made a gentle exclamation and stooped down as if to raise him. I am disposed to think that she never discovered the irreparable loss she had sustained, for just as she stooped down, several more were fired, and, one of them taking effect on her, she fell with a faint cry, over the body of her Falkland. At the same instant a party of VOL. I.

men rushed upon us from the wood, but as they had just discharged their fire-arms and had no other weapons, two of them were cut down by Seyton and myself; our men were with us in a moment, and the party fled again into the wood, leaving five of their number either killed or desperately wounded: we followed them a very short way, but they escaped, owing to the difficulty of pursuing them in the darkness. We quickly returned and found Falkland lying dead on his face, and Calcraft, who was suffering some pain from his own slight wound, on one knee at his side, supporting on the other the head and shoulders of the ill-fated Isabel. She was perfectly insensible and bleeding profusely, we could not stop it and it was evident she could not survive many minutes. It was no time for inaction, Seyton hastily raised the body of Falkland and placed it in the boat, he then proposed to me, as I was bending over the dying Isabel, to place her also in the boat that we might all escape as speedy as possible from so dangerous a position, but on our attempting to raise her in our arms, she heaved a long and heavy sigh and expired. We paused a moment and placed her again on the bank, then looked at each other and burst into tears. After a few moments more we again raised her and placed her in the boat, and as the current was with us we very soon reached the open harbour, and, being now out of the reach of all danger, we pulled more leisurely for the Dolphin.

When we had time to reflect, we all felt that we ought to bury the two bodies that very night, rather than bring them on board the Dolphin, and the place we selected for the burial of these unhappy lovers, was well suited for such an object. In a very rocky part of the beach, there was a small inlet which ran in among the rocks for about one hundred yards-at the entrance the rocks were towering and massive, giving a very bold and wild effect to the place; further in, there was a smooth and sandy beach, with high and wooded banks on each side of the inlet, so that, when we stood within it, our view of the ocean was completely shut out by the bold and craggy rocks that guarded the entrance, and all else was concealed by the high banks and waving woods that embosomed us. This place had the appearance of the most perfect

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