"OLD MARY" By Louis Becke T. Fisher Unwin, 1901 I Early one morning, just as the trade wind began to lift the whitemountain mist which enveloped the dark valleys and mountain slopes ofthe island, Denison, the supercargo of the trading schooner _Palestine_, put off from her side and was pulled ashore to the house of theone white trader. The man's name was Handle, and as he heard thesupercargo's footstep he came to the door and bade him good morning. "How are you, Randle?" said the young man, shaking hands with thequiet-voiced, white-haired old trader, and following him inside. "I'mgoing for a day's shooting while I have the chance. Can you come?" Randle shook his head. "Would like to, but can't spare the time to-day;but Harry and the girls will be delighted to go with you. Wait a minute, and have a cup of coffee first. They'll be here presently. " Denison put down his gun and took a seat in the cool, comfortable-looking sitting-room, and in a few minutes Hester and KateRandle and their brother came in. The two girls were both over twentyyears of age. Hester, the elder, was remarkably handsome, and muchresembled her father in voice and manner. Kate was of much smallerbuild, full of vivacity, and her big, merry brown eyes matched thedimples on her soft, sun-tanned cheeks. Harry, who was Randle's youngestchild, was a heavily-built, somewhat sullen-faced youth of eighteen, andthe native blood in his veins showed much more strongly than it did withhis sisters. They were all pleased to see the supercargo, and at onceset about making preparations, Harry getting their guns ready and thetwo girls packing a basket with cold food. "You'll get any amount of pigeons about two miles from here, " said theold trader, "and very likely a pig or two. The girls know the way, andif two of you take the right branch of the river and two the left you'llhave some fine sport. " "Father, " said the elder girl, in her pretty, halting English, as shepicked up her gun, "don' you think Mr. Denison would like to see ol'Mary? We hav' been tell him so much about her. Don' you think we mightstop there and let Mr. Denison have some talk with her?" "Ay, ay, my girl. Yes; go and see the poor old thing. I'm sure she'll bedelighted. You'll like her, Mr. Denison. She's as fine an old woman asever breathed. But don't take that basket of food with you, Kate. She'dfeel awfully insulted if you did not eat in her house. " The girls obeyed, much to their brother's satisfaction, inasmuch as thebasket was rather heavy, and also awkward to carry through the mountainforest. In a few minutes the four started, and Hester, as she steppedout beside Denison, said that she was glad he was visiting old Mary. "You see, " she said, "she hav' not good eyesight now, and so she cannotnow come an' see us as she do plenty times before. " "I'm glad I shall see her, " said the young man; "she must be a good oldsoul. " "Oh, yes, " broke in Kate, "she _is_ good and brave, an' we all love her. Every one _mus_' love her. She hav' known us since we were born, andwhen our mother died in Samoa ten years ago old Mary was jus' like asecond mother to us. An' my father tried so hard to get her to come andlive with us; but no, she would not, not even fo' us. So she went backto her house in the mountain, because she says she wants to die there. Ah, you will like her. .. And she will tell you how she saved the shipwhen her husband was killed, and about many, many things. " ***** Two hours later Denison and his friends emerged out upon cultivatedground at the foot of the mountain, on which stood three or four nativehouses, all neatly enclosed by low stone walls formed of coral slabs. In front of the village a crystal stream poured swiftly and noisily overits rocky bed on its way seaward, and on each thickly wooded bank thestately boles of some scores of graceful coco-palms rose high above thesurrounding foliage. Except for the hum of the brawling stream and thecries of birds, the silence was unbroken, and only two or three smallchildren, who were playing under the shade of a breadfruit-tree, werevisible. But these, as they heard the sound of the visitors' voices, came towards them shouting out to their elders within the huts that"four white people with guns" had come. In a moment some grown people ofboth sexes came out and shook hands with the party. "This is Mary's house, " said Hester to Denison, pointing out thelargest; "let us go there at once. Ah, see, there she is at the doorwaiting for us. " "Come, come inside, " cried the old woman in a firm yet pleasant voice, and Denison, looking to the right, saw that "Mary, " in spite of heryears and blindness, was still robust and active-looking. She wasdressed in a blue print gown and blouse, and her grey hair was neatlydressed in the island fashion. In her smooth, brown right hand shegrasped the handle of a polished walking-stick, her left arm she heldacross her bosom--the hand was missing from the wrist. "How do you do, sir?" she said in clear English, as, giving her stick toKate Randle, she held out her hand to the supercargo. "I am so gladthat you have come to see me. You are Mr. Denison, I know. Is CaptainPackenham quite well? Come, Kitty, see to your friend. There, that canelounge is the most comfortable. Harry, please shoot a couple of chickensat once, and then tell my people to get some taro, and make an oven. " "Oh, that is just like you, Mary, " said Kate, laughing, "before we havespoken three words to you you begin cooking things for us. " The old woman turned her sunburnt face towards the girl and shook herstick warningly, and said in the native tongue-- "Leave me to rule in mine own house, saucy, " and then Denison had aneffort to restrain his gravity as Mary, unaware that he had a very fairknowledge of the dialect in which she spoke, asked the two girls ifeither of them had thought of him as a husband. Kate put her hand overMary's mouth and whispered to her to cease. She drew the girl to her andhugged her. Whilst the meal was being prepared Denison was studying the house andits contents. Exteriorly the place bore no difference to the usualnative house, but within it was plainly but yet comfortably furnishedin European fashion, and the tables, chairs, and sideboard had evidentlybeen a portion of a ship's cabin fittings. From the sitting-room--thefloor of which was covered by white China matting--he could see abedroom opposite, a bed with snowy white mosquito curtains, and twomahogany chairs draped with old-fashioned antimacassars. The sight ofthese simple furnishings first made him smile, then sigh--he had notseen such things since he had left his own home nearly six years before. Hung upon the walls of the sitting-room were half a dozen old and fadedengravings, and on a side-table were a sextant and chronometer case, each containing instruments so clumsy and obsolete that a modern seamanwould have looked upon them as veritable curiosities. From the surroundings within the room Denison's eyes wandered to theplacid beauty of the scene without, where the plumes of the coco-palmsoverhanging the swift waters of the tiny stream scarce stirred to thelight air that blew softly up the valley from the sea, and when they didmove narrow shafts of light from the now high-mounted sun would glintand shine through upon the pale green foliage of the scrub beneath. Then once again his attention was directed to their hostess, who wasnow talking quietly to the two Randle girls, her calm, peaceful featuresseeming to him to derive an added but yet consistent dignity from theharmonies of Nature around her. What was the story of her infancy? he wondered. That she did not know itherself he had been told by old Randle, who yet knew more of her historyand the tragedy of her later life than any one else. Both young Denison, the supercargo of five-and-twenty, and Randle, the grizzled wanderer andveteran of sixty-five, had known many tragedies during their career inthe Pacific; but the story of this half-blind, crippled old woman, whenhe learnt it in full, appealed strongly to the younger man, and wasnever forgotten in his after life. ***** They had had a merry midday meal, during which Mary Eury--for that washer name--promised Denison that she would tell him all about herselfafter he and the Randles came back from shooting, "but, " she added, withher soft, tremulous laugh, "only on one condition, Mr. Denison--onlyon one condition. You must bring Captain Packenham to see me before the_Palestine_ sails. I am an old woman-now, and would like to see him. Iknew him many years ago when he was a lad of nineteen. Ah, it is so longago! That was in Samoa. Has he never spoken of me?" "Often, Mrs. Eury----" "Don't call me Mrs. Eury, Mr. Denison. Call me 'Mary, ' as do these dearfriends of mine. 'Mary'--'old' Mary if you like. Every one who knew meand my dear husband in those far, far back days used to call me 'Mary'and my husband 'Bob Eury' instead of 'Mrs. Eury' and 'Captain Eury. ' Andnow, so many, many years have gone. .. And now I am 'Old Mary'. .. And Ithink I like it better than Mrs. Eury. And so Captain Packenham has notforgotten me?" Denison hastened to explain. "Indeed he has not. He remembers you verywell, and would have come with me, but he is putting the schooner on thebeach to-day to clean her. And I am sure he will be delighted to comeand see you to-morrow. " "Of course he must. Surely every English and American in the South Seasshould come and see me; for my husband was ever a good friend to everysailor that ever sailed in the island trade--from Fiji to the Bonins. There now, I won't chatter any more, or else you will be too frightenedto come back to such a garrulous old creature. Ah, if God had but sparedto me my eyesight I should come with you into the mountains. I lovethe solitude, and the sweet call of the pigeons, and the sound ofthe waterfall at the side of Taomaunga. And I know every inch ofthe country, and blind as I am, I could yet find my way along themountain-side. Kate, and you, Harry, do not keep Mr. Denison out toolate. " By sunset the shooting party had returned, and after a bathe in the coolwaters of the mountain stream Denison returned to the house. Kate Handleand her sister, assisted by some native women, were plucking pigeons forthe evening meal. Harry was lying down on the broad of his back on thegrassy sward with closed eyes, smoking, and their hostess was sitting ona wide cane bench outside the house. She heard the young man's footstep, and beckoned him to seat himself beside her. And then she told him herstory. II "I don't know where I was born--for, as I daresay Randle has told you, I was only five years of age when I was picked up at sea in a boat, the only other occupant of which was a Swedish seaman. The vessel whichrescued us was one of the transports used for conveying convicts to NewSouth Wales, and was named the _Britannia_, but when she sighted theboat she was on a voyage to Tahiti in the Society Islands. I imaginethis was sometime about 1805, so I must now be about seventy years ofage. "The Swedish sailor told the captain of the _Britannia_ that he and Iwere the only survivors of a party of six--among whom were my father andmother--belonging to a small London barque named the _Winifred_, She wasemployed in the trade between China and Valparaiso, and my father wasowner as well as captain. On the voyage from Canton, and when withinfifty miles of Tahiti, and in sight of land, she took fire, and theChinese crew, when they saw that there was no hope of the ship beingsaved, seized the longboat, which had been prepared, and was wellprovisioned, and made off, although the cowardly creatures knew that thesecond boat was barely seaworthy. My father--whose name the Swede didnot know--implored them to return, and at least take my mother andmyself and an officer to navigate their boat to land. But they refusedto listen to his pleadings, and rowed off. The second boat was hurriedlyprovisioned by my father and his officers, and they, with my mother andmyself and the Swede--all the Europeans on board--left the burning shipat sundown. A course was steered for the eastern shore of Tahiti, which, although the wind was right ahead, we hoped to reach on the evening ofthe following day. But within a few hours after leaving the barque thetrade wind died away, and fierce, heavy squalls burst from the westwardupon the boat, which was only kept afloat by constant bailing. Aboutdawn the sea had become so dangerous, and the wind had so increased inviolence, that an attempt was made to put out a sea-anchor. Whilst thiswas being done a heavy sea struck the boat and capsized her. The nightwas pitchy dark, and when the Swede--who was a good swimmer--came tothe surface he could neither see nor hear any of the others, though heshouted loudly. But at the same moment, as his foot touched the lineto which the sea anchor was bent, he heard the mate's voice calling forassistance. "'I have the child, ' he cried. 'Be quick, for I'm done. ' "In another minute the brave fellow had taken me from him; then the poormate sank, never to rise again. Whether I was alive or dead my rescuercould not tell, but being a man of great physical strength, he not onlykept me above water with one hand, but succeeded in reaching first thesea-anchor-four oars lashed together--and then the boat, which had beenrighted by another sea. "How this brave man kept me alive in such a terrible situation I do notknow. By sunrise the wind had died away, the sea had gone down, and hewas able to free the boat of water. In the stern-sheet locker he foundone single tin of preserved potatoes, which had been jammed into acorner when the boat capsized--all the rest of the provisions, with thewater-breakers as well, were lost. On this tin of potatoes we lived--sohe told the master of the _Britannia_--for five days, constantly insight of the land around which we were drifting, sometimes comingto within a distance of thirty miles of it. All this time, by God'sprovidence, we had frequent heavy rain squalls, and the potato tin, which was about eighteen inches square, and was perfectly water-tight, proved our salvation, for the potatoes were so very salt that we wouldhave perished of thirst had we been unable to save water. Ohlsen cutdown one of his high sea-boots, and into this he would put two handfulsof the dried potatoes, and then fill it up with water. It made a goodsustaining food after it had been softened by the water and kneaded intoa pulp. "An hour before dawn, on the sixth day, Ohlsen, who was lying on thebottom boards of the boat, was awakened by hearing me crying for mymother. The poor fellow, who had stripped off his woollen shirt toprotect my little body from the cold, at once sat up and tried tocomfort me. The sea was as smooth as glass, and only a light air wasblowing. Drawing me to his bare chest--for I was chilled with the keenmorning air--he was about to lie down again, when he heard the creakingof blocks and then a voice say, 'Ay, ay, sir!' and there, quite near us, was a large ship! In a moment he sprang to his feet, and hailed with allhis strength; he was at once answered, the ship was brought to the wind, a boat lowered, and in less than a quarter of an hour we were on boardthe _Britannia_. "On that dear old ship I remained for five years or more, for thecaptain had his wife on board, and although she had two young childrenof her own, she cared for and loved me as if I had been her owndaughter. Most of this time was spent among the Pacific Islands, andthen there came to me another tragedy, of one of which I have a mostvivid remembrance, for I was quite eleven years old at the time. "The _Britannia_, like many South Seamen of those times, was a letter ofmarque, and carried nine guns, for although we were, I think, at peacewith Spain, we were at war with France, and there were plenty of Frenchprivateers cruising on the South American coast, with whom our shipswere frequently engaged. But none had ever been seen so far eastwardas the Galapagos Islands, and so we one day sailed without fear into asmall bay on the north-west side of Charles Island to wood and water. "On the following morning the captain, whose name was Rossiter, orderedmy old friend Ohlsen, who was now gunner on the _Britannia_, to takefour hands and endeavour to capture some of the huge land tortoiseswhich abound on the islands of the group. I was allowed to go with them. Little did I think I should never again see his kindly face when I tookmy seat in the boat and was rowed ashore. Besides Ohlsen and myself, there were two English seamen, a negro named King and a Tahitian native. The youngest of the English sailors was named Robert Eury; he was abouttwenty-two years of age, and a great favourite of the captain who knewhis family in Dorset, England. "We hauled the boat up on a small sandy beach, and then started off intothe country, and by noon we had caught three large tortoises which wefound feeding on cactus plants. Then, as we were resting and eating, wesuddenly heard the report of a heavy gun, and then another and another. We clambered up the side of a rugged hill, from the summit of which wecould see the harbour, a mile distant, and there was the _Britannia_lying at anchor, and being attacked by two vessels! As we watched thefight we saw one of the strange ships, which were both under sail, firea broadside at our vessel, and the second, putting about, did the same. These two broadsides, we afterwards heard, were terribly disastrous, for the captain and three men were killed, and nine wounded. The crew, however, under the mate, still continued to work her guns with theutmost bravery and refused to surrender. Then a lucky shot from oneof her 9-pounders disabled the rudder of the largest Frenchmen, which, fearing to anchor so near to such a determined enemy, at once loweredher boats and began to tow out, followed by her consort. At the entranceto the bay, however, the smaller of the two again brought-to and beganfiring at our poor ship with a 24-pounder, or other long-range gun, andevery shot struck. It was then that the mate and his crew, enraged atthe death of the captain, and finding that the ship was likely to bepounded to pieces, determined to get under weigh and come to closequarters with the enemy, for the _Britannia_ was a wonderfully fastship, and carried a crew of fifty-seven men. But first of all he sentashore Mrs. Rossiter, her two children, a coloured steward, and all themoney and other valuables in case he should be worsted. His name wasSkinner, and he was a man of the most undaunted resolution, and had atone time commanded a London privateer called the _Lucy_, which hadmade so many captures that Skinner was quite a famous man. But hisintemperate habits caused him to lose his command, and he had hadto ship on the _Britannia_ as chief mate. He was, however, a greatfavourite with the men, who now urged him to lead them on and avenge theloss of the captain; so the moment the boat returned from landing Mrs. Rossiter he slipped his cable, and stood out to meet the enemy. "We, from the hill, watched all this with the greatest interest andexcitement, and then Ohlsen turned to the others and said, 'Let us getback to the boat at once. The captain has got under weigh to chase thosefellows, and we should be with him. ' "So we descended to the beach, where we met the poor lady and herchildren, and heard that her husband was dead. She begged Ohlsen notto leave her, but he said his duty lay with his shipmates; thenshe besought him to at least leave Robert Eury with her, as she wasterrified at the idea of having to spend the night on such a wild islandwith no one but the coloured steward to protect her and her children. At this time--although we could not see them--we knew the ships wereheavily engaged, for the roar of the cannon was continuous. So, much tohis anger, young Eury was bidden to remain with the captain's wife, her son aged twelve, her daughter Ann, who was three years younger, thecoloured steward, and myself. Then, bidding us goodbye, Ohlsen and histhree men went off in the boat, and were soon out of sight. "Young as he was, Robert Eury had good sense and judgment. He was angryat Mr. Skinner venturing out to attack such well-armed vessels withour poor 9-pounders, and although he had been most anxious to joinhis shipmates, he was, he afterwards told me, pretty sure that the_Britannia_ would have to strike or be sunk. The first thing he did, however, was to make all of our party comfortable. At the head of thebay there was an empty house, which had been built by the crews of thewhaleships frequenting the Galapagos as a sort of rest-house for the mensent to catch tortoises. To this place he took us, and set the stewardto work to get us something to eat, for Mr. Skinner had sent provisionsand wine ashore. Then he took the ship's money, which amounted to aboutthirteen hundred pounds, and buried it a little distance away from thehouse. I helped him, and when the bags were safely covered up he turnedto me with a smile lighting up his brown face. "'There, Molly. That's done, and if Mr. Skinner has to strike, and theFrenchmen come here, they'll get nothing but ourselves. ' "By this time it was well on towards the afternoon, and we only hearda cannon shot now and then. Then the sound of the firing ceasedaltogether. We got back to the house and waited--we knew not for what. Poor Mrs. Rossiter, who was a very big, stout woman, had sobbed herselfinto a state of exhaustion, but she tried to brace herself up when shesaw us, and when Robert Eury told her that he had buried the money, shethanked him. "'Try and save it for my children, Robert I fear I shall not be longwith them. And if I am taken away suddenly I want you to bear witnessthat it was my husband's wish, and is mine now, that Mary here is toshare alike with my son Fred and my daughter Ann. Would to God I hadmeans here to write. ' "Robert tried to comfort her with the assurance that all would be well, when as he spoke we saw a sight at which I, girl of twelve as I was, was struck with terror--the two French ships appeared round the headlandwith the _Britannia_ following with French colours at her peak. Thethree came in together very slowly, and then dropped anchor within acable's length of the beach. The captain's wife looked at them wildlyfor a moment, and then fell forward on her face. She died that night. "The two French captains treated us very kindly, and they told Robert, who spoke French well, that Mr. Skinner had made a most determinedattempt to board the larger of the two vessels, but was killed by amusket-shot, and that only after thirty of the _Britannia's_ crew hadbeen killed and wounded, and the ship herself was but little more than awreck, did Ohlsen, who was himself terribly wounded by a splinter inthe side, haul down his flag. Then the elder of the two Frenchmen askedRobert which was the child named 'Marie. ' "'This is the child, sir, ' said Eury, pointing to me. "'Then let her come with me and see the gunner of our prize, ' said he;'he is dying, and has asked to see her. ' "I was taken on board the Britannia, over her bloodstained decks, andinto the main cabin, where poor Ohlsen was lying breathing his last. Hisface lit up when he saw me, and he drew me to his bosom just as he haddone years before in the open boat off Tahiti. I stayed with him tillthe last, then one of the French privateer officers led me away. "In the morning Mrs. Rossiter was buried; the French captains allowingsome of the surviving members of the crew of the _Britannia_ to carryher body to her grave. There was a young Spanish woman--the wife of theolder captain--on board the larger of the privateers, and she took careof us three children. I cannot remember her name, but I do remember thatshe was a very beautiful woman and very kind to us, and told us throughan interpreter that we should be well cared for, and some day go home toEngland; and when she learned my own particular story she took me in herarms, kissed, and made much of me. "About noon the crew of the _Britannia_ were ranged on deck, and theelder of the two French captains called on Robert Eury to step out. "'This man here, ' he said in English, indicating the coloured steward, tells me that you have buried some money belonging to the prize. Whereis it?' "'I cannot tell you, ' replied Robert; 'the captain's wife told me itbelonged to her children and to the little girl Mary. ' "The Frenchman laughed. 'It belongs to us now; it is prize money, mygood boy. ' "Eury looked at him steadily, but made no answer. "' Come, ' said the captain impatiently, 'where is it?' "'I cannot tell you. ' "The younger of the captains laughed savagely, and stepped up to him, pistol in hand. "'I give you ten seconds to tell. ' "'Five will do, monsieur, ' replied Robert, in French, 'and then you willbe losing five seconds of your time. I shall not tell you. But I shouldlike to say goodbye to my dead captain's children. ' "'The young Frenchmen's face purpled with fury. 'Very well then, youfool!' and he raised his pistol to murder the young man, when the oldercaptain seized his arm. "'Shame, Pellatier, shame! Would you kill such a brave man in coldblood? Let us be satisfied with getting such a good ship. Surely youwould not shoot him for the sake of a few hundred dollars?' "'There may be thousands. How can we tell?' replied Pellatier. "Robert laughed, and then raised his hand in salute to the eldercaptain. "'Captain Pellatier is right, sir. Madame Melville told me that therewere thirteen hundred pounds in the bags which I have buried. And oncertain conditions I will tell you where to find it. ' "'Name them. ' "'The money is fair prize money. That I admit. But you will never seeit, unless you agree to my conditions, and pledge me your word of honourto observe them honourably. I am not afraid to die, gentlemen. ' "'You are a bold fellow, and ought to have been a Frenchman--but bequick, name the conditions. ' "'Half of the money to be given to these orphan children, whose pitiablecondition should appeal to you. And promise me on your honour as menthat you will land them at Valparaiso, or some other civilised place, from where they may reach England. If you will not make this promise, you can shoot me now. ' "'And what of yourself?' said Pellatier, who was a little dark manwith very ugly monkey-like features; 'you would be the guardian of thismoney, no doubt, my clever fellow. ' "The insulting manner in which he spoke exasperated Eury beyondendurance, and he made as if he would strike the man; but he stoppedsuddenly, and looking contemptuously at the Frenchman uttered the oneword-- "'_Babouin!_' "It nearly cost him his life, for Pellatier, stung to fury by the loudlaughter of his fellow-captain, again levelled his pistol at the youngman, and again the older captain seized his arm. "'By Heaven, you shall not harm him!' he cried, amid a murmur ofapplause from the crew. Then addressing Eury he said. I give you mypromise. The children and yourself are under my protection, and when wereach Valparaiso I will put you all on shore. ' Then he ordered one ofhis officers to escort Robert ashore and get the money. "Eury thanked him quietly, and then he turned to Pellatier, and said hewas sorry he used an offensive word to him; but Pellatier received hisapology with a scowl, and turned away. In half an hour Eury returnedwith the officer, carrying the money. It was counted and divided, andit was easy to see that Dupuis, the elder captain, was very pleasedwhen the young man asked him to take charge of the half of the moneybelonging to the Rossiter children and myself. "The three ships sailed in company for South America a week later. Iremained on board the _Britannia_ together with Robert Eury and sixothers of her original crew, the Rossiter children being taken bythe Spanish lady on board the larger of the privateers, the secondlieutenant of which, with about twenty men, were drafted to the prize. After keeping in close company for four or five days we lost sight ofthe privateers, much to the annoyance of our captain, who was a veryindifferent navigator, as he soon showed by altering his course to E. ByS. So as to pick up the coast of South America as soon as possible. This was a most fortunate thing for us, for at daylight on the followingmorning two sail were seen, not five miles distant, and to our intensedelight proved to be English letters of marque--the barque _Centurion_of Bristol and the barque _Gratitude_ of London. They at once closed inupon and engaged us, and although the Frenchmen made a good fight, they had to strike after a quarter of an hour's engagement, for the_Centurion_ was a very heavily armed ship. "Her captain was a very old man named Richard Glass. He came on boardthe _Britannia_ and spoke very good-humouredly to the French lieutenant, for on neither side had any one been killed, and he saw that the_Britannia_ was a fine ship. He told the Frenchmen to take the longboat, and as much provisions and water as they liked, and make for the coast, which was less than seventy miles distant. This was soon done, andour former captors parted from us very good friends, every one ofthem coming up and shaking hands with Robert Eury and calling him _boncamarade_. "Captain Glass put his own chief officer in charge of the _Britannia_(with Robert as his mate) and ordered him to proceed to Port Jackson andawait the arrival there of the _Centurion_ and her consort. We arrivedat our destination safely, and as soon as my story was known many kindpeople wanted to adopt me; but the agent of the _Britannia_ took meto his own home, where I lived for many happy years as a member of hisfamily. Robert Eury was then appointed mate of a vessel in the Chinatrade, but I saw him every year. Then when I was seventeen years of agehe asked me to marry him, and I did so gladly, for he was always presentin my thoughts when he was away, and I knew he loved me. " III "My husband invested his savings in a small schooner, which he named the_Taunton_ and within a month of our marriage we were at sea, bound ona trading voyage to Tahiti and the Paumotus. This first venture provedvery successful, so did the two following voyages; and then, as hedetermined to found a business of his own in the South Seas, he bought alarge piece of land on this island from the natives, with whom he wason very friendly terms. His reasons for choosing this particular islandwere, firstly, because of its excellent situation--midway between PortJackson and the Spanish settlements on the South American coast, whichwere good markets; secondly, because great numbers of the Americanwhaling ships would make it a place of call to refresh if there wasa reputable white man living on the island; and thirdly, because heintended to go into sperm whaling himself, for it was an immenselyprofitable business, and he could, if he wished, sell the oil to theAmerican ships instead of taking it to Port Jackson. The natives here inthose days were a very wild set, but they really had a great friendshipand respect for my husband; and when they learnt that he intended tosettle among them permanently they were delighted beyond measure. Theyat once set to work and built us a house, and the chief and my husbandexchanged names in the usual manner. "My first child was born on the island whilst my husband was away on avoyage to Port Jackson, and, indeed, of my four children three were bornhere. When Robert returned in the _Taunton_ he brought with him a cargoof European stores and comforts for our new home, and in a few monthswe were fairly settled down. From the first American whaleships thatvisited us he bought two fine whaleboats and all the necessary gear, and then later on engaged one of the best whalemen in the South Seas tosuperintend the business. In the first season we killed no less than sixsperm whales, and could have taken more, but were short of barrels. Thewhaling station was at the end of the south point of the harbour, andwhen a whale was towed in to be cut in and tried out the place presenteda scene of great activity and bustle, for we had quite two hundrednatives to help. Alas, there is scarcely a trace of it left now! Thegreat iron try-pots, built up in furnaces of coral lime, were overgrownby the green jungle thirty years ago, and it would be difficult even tofind them now. "The natives, as I have said, were very wild, savage, and warlike; butas time went on their friendship for my husband and myself and childrendeepened, and so when Robert made a voyage to Port Jackson or to any ofthe surrounding islands I never felt in the least alarmed. I must tellyou that we--my husband and myself--were actually the first white peoplethat had landed to live on the island since the time of the _Bounty_mutiny, when Fletcher Christian and his fellow mutineers tried to settlehere. They brought the _Bounty_ in, and anchored her just where your ownschooner is now lying--opposite Randle's house. But the natives attackedChristian and his men so fiercely, and so repeatedly, though withterrible loss to themselves, that at last Christian and Edward Youngabandoned the attempt to found a settlement, and the _Bounty_ wentback to Tahiti, and finally to Afitā, as the people here call PitcairnIslands. "Four years passed by. My husband was making money fast, not only asa trader among the Paumotus and the Society Islands, where he had twosmall vessels constantly employed, but from his whale fishery. Then camea time of sorrow and misfortune. A South Seaman, named the _StirlingCastle_, touched here for provisions, and introduced small-pox, andevery one of my poor children contracted the disease and died; manyhundreds of the natives perished as well. My husband at this time wasaway in one of his vessels at Fakarava Lagoon in the Paumotu Group, and I spent a very lonely and unhappy seven months before he returned. Almost every morning, accompanied by one or two of my native womenservants, I would ascend that rugged peak about two miles from here, from where we had a complete view of the horizon all round the island, and watch for a sail. Twice my heart gladdened, only to be disappointedagain, for the ships on both occasions were Nantucket whalers. And then, as the months went by, I began to imagine that something dreadfulhad happened to my husband and his ship among the wild people of thePaumotus, for when he sailed he did not expect to be away more thanthree months. "At last, however, when I was quite worn out and ill with anxiety, hereturned. I was asleep when he arrived, for it was late at night, andhis vessel had not entered the harbour, though he had come ashore in aboat. He awakened me very gently, and then, before I could speak to himand tell him of our loss, he said-- "'Don't tell me, Molly. I have heard it all just now. But, there, I'mhome again, dear; and I shall never stay away so long again, now thatour children have been taken and you and I are alone. ' "After another year had passed, and when I was well and strong again, the whaleship _Chalice_ of Sag Harbour, Captain Freeman, touchedhere, and the master came on shore. He was an old acquaintance of myhusband's, and told us that he had come ashore purposely to warn us ofa piratical vessel which had made her appearance in these seas a fewmonths before, and had seized two or three English and American ships, and murdered every living soul of their crews. She hailed from Coquimbo, and her captain was said to be a Frenchman, whilst her crew was composedof the worst ruffians to be found on the coast of South America--menwhose presence on shore would not be tolerated even by the authoritiesat any of the Spanish settlements from Panama to Valdivia. Sailingunder French colours, and professing to be a privateer, she had actuallyattacked a French merchant brig within fifty miles of Coquimbo Roads, the captain and the crew of which were slaughtered and the vesselplundered and then burnt. Since then she had been seen by severalvessels in the Paumoto archipelago, where her crew had been guilty ofthe most fearful crimes, perpetrated on the natives. "My husband thanked Freeman for his information; but said that if thepirate vessel came into Tubuai Lagoon she would never get out again, except under British colours. This was no idle boast, for not onlywere my husband's two vessels--which were then both at anchor in thelagoon--well armed, but they were manned by English or English-bloodedhalf-caste seamen, who would have only been too delighted to fight aFrenchman, or a Spaniard, or a Dutchman. "Ah, 'tis so long ago, but what brave, rough fellows they were! Someof them, we well knew, had been transported as convicts, and were, whenopportunity offered, drunken and dissolute, but to my husband and myselfthey were good and loyal men. Two of them had seen Trafalgar day in the_Royal Sovereign_ under Collingwood when that ship had closed with the_Santa Anna_ and made her strike. Their names--as given to us--wereJames Watts and Thomas Godwin. After the fleet returned to Englandthey got into mischief, and were transported for being concerned in asmuggling transaction at Deal, in Kent, in which a preventive officerwas either killed or seriously wounded--I forget which. Their exemplaryconduct, however, had gained them a remission of their sentences, andthe Governor of New South Wales, who was most anxious to open up theSouth Sea Island trade, had recommended them to my husband as good men, Godwin having been brought up to the boatbuilding trade at Lowestoft inEngland, and Watts as a gunsmith. "About ten days after the visit of the _Chalice_ my husband left in oneof his vessels for Vavitao--only a day's sail from here. He wanted meto go with him, but I was too much interested in a large box of Englishseeds, and some young fruit trees which the Governor of New South Waleshad sent to us, and so I said I would stay and watch our garden, inwhich I took a great pride. He laughed and said that I must not forgetto look out for 'Freeman's pirate' as well as for my garden. He neverfor one moment imagined that the French vessel would turn up at Tubuai. "He took with him Thomas Godwin and William Myson, leaving Watts, whowas master of the other vessel, with me, to attend to the whaling. "A week after he had sailed I set out to walk to the north end of theisland, where my children were buried. I had with me an active nativeboy named Tati--who was carrying some plants and seeds which I intendedplanting on and about the children's graves--and two young women. Westarted early in the morning, for I intended staying at the north endtill late in the afternoon, whilst the two girls went crayfishing on thereef. "About noon I had finished my labours, and then, as it was a beautifullybright day, I climbed a hill near by, called 'The White Man's Lookout, 'which commanded a clear view of the sea all round the island. It hadbeen given this name by the natives, who said that Fletcher Christianand his fellow-mutineer, Edward Young, had often ascended the hill andgazed out upon the ocean, for they were fearful that at any moment aKing's ship might appear in pursuit of their comrades and themselves. "I was again feeling somewhat anxious on account of my husband. Heshould have returned a week before, for there had been no bad weather, and I knew that his business at Vavitao should have kept him there onlya day at the most. But the moment I gained the summit of the hill myheart leapt with joy, for there were two vessels in sight, one of whichI at once recognised as my husband's. They were about a mile distant, and were running before the wind for the harbour. The strangevessel, which was a brigantine, was following close astern of our ownschooner--evidently, I thought, my husband is showing her the way intothe lagoon. "Just as I was preparing to descend the hill my little companion, thenative boy, Tati, drew my attention to four canoes which, in companywith a boat from Captain Watts' schooner, were approaching the vessels. "'Ah, ' I thought, 'Watts has seen the vessels from the whaling station, and is going out to meet them. ' "But presently something occurred which filled me with terror. When theboat and canoes were quite close to the vessels, they both luffed, and fired broadsides into them; the boat and two canoes were evidentlydestroyed, and the two remaining canoes at once turned round and headedfor the shore, the brigantine firing at them with guns which I knew tobe long twenty-fours by the sharp sound they made. In a moment I knewwhat had happened--my husband's ship had been captured by the Frenchprivateer of which Captain Freeman had told us, and the Frenchmen werenow coming to seize our other selves lying anchored in the lagoon. "Tati looked at me inquiringly. "'Run, ' I said, 'run and tell Uasi (for so the natives called CaptainWatts) that the master and his ship have been captured by an enemy, whowill be upon him very quickly, for the boat and two of the canoes he hassent out have been destroyed, and every one in them killed. Tell him Iam coming. ' "The boy darted away in a moment, and I followed him as quickly as Icould; but Tati reached the harbour and was on board Watts' schoonerquite half an hour before me, and when I went on board I found thevessel was prepared to defend the entrance to the harbour. CaptainWatts had swung her broadside on to the entrance, boarding nettings werealready triced up from stem to stern, and on the schooner's decks werefifty determined natives, in addition to the usual crew of twenty men, all armed with muskets and cutlasses. The four 6-pounders which shecarried, two on each side, were now all on the port side, loaded withgrape-shot, and in fact every preparation had been made to fight theship to the last. Watts met me as soon as I stepped on board, and toldme that before my messenger Tati had arrived to warn him he had heardthe sound of the firing at sea, and at once surmised that something waswrong. "'Soon after you left the house, Mrs. Eury, some natives sighted the twovessels to the north-east and I sent the boatswain and four men off inone of the whale-boats, little thinking that I was sending them to theirdeath. Four canoes went with the boat. Just now two of the canoes cameback with half of their number dead or wounded, and the survivors toldme that as soon as they were within musket-shot both the ships openedfire on them, sunk the boat and two of the canoes with grape-shot, andthen began a heavy musketry fire. I fear, madam, that Captain Eury andhis ship----' "'Your fears are mine, Watts, ' I said, 'but whether my husband is aliveor dead, let us at least try and save this vessel. ' "'Ay, ay, madam. And if we have to give up the ship, we can beat themoff on shore. There are a hundred or more natives lying hidden at theback of the oil shed, and if the Frenchmen capture this vessel they willcover our retreat ashore. They are all armed with muskets. ' "We waited anxiously for the two ships to appear; but the wind hadgradually died away until it fell a dead calm. Then a native runnerhailed us from the shore, and said that both vessels had anchored offthe reef, and were manning their boats. "'All the better for us, * said Watts grimly;'we'll smash them up quickenough if they try boarding. If they had sailed in, the Frenchman's longguns would have sunk us easily, and our wretched guns could not havedone him much harm. ' Then he went round the decks, and saw that the crewand their native allies were all at their proper stations. "Presently he saw the boats--five of them--come round the point. Twoof them we recognised as belonging to my husband's vessel, though theywere, of course, manned by Frenchmen. They rowed leisurely in throughthe entrance till they were within musket-shot, and then the foremostone ceased rowing, and hoisted a white flag. "'They want us to surrender without a fight, ' said Watts, 'or aremeditating some treachery, ' and taking a musket from one of the crew helevelled it and fired in defiance. The bullet struck the water withina foot of the boat. The white flag, however, was held up higher by theofficer in the stern. Watts seized a second musket, and this time hisbullet went plump into the crowded boat, and either killed or woundedsome one, for there was a momentary confusion. Then the white flag waslowered, and with loud cheers the five boats made a dash towards us. Telling the gunners to reserve their fire of grape until he gave theword, Watts and the natives now began a heavy musketry fire on theadvancing boats, and although they suffered heavily the Frenchmen cameon most gallantly. Then when the first two boats, which were pullingabreast, were within fifty yards' distance, Watts and a white seamansprang to two of the guns and themselves trained them, just as I hearda native near me cry out that in the bows of each boat he could see aman--my husband and his chief mate, who were both bound. Before I couldutter a warning cry to Watts, both of the guns belched out their volleysof grape, and with awful effect. The boats were literally torn topieces, and their mangled occupants sank under the smooth waters of thelagoon; only two or three seemed to have escaped unwounded, and asthey clung to pieces of wreckage our savage allies, with yells of fury, picked them off with their muskets; for the same native who had seen myhusband bound in the boat had seen him sink. "'No quarter to any one of them!' roared Watts when he heard this; 'thecowards lashed Captain Eury and poor Mr. Myson to the bows of the boats, and our own fire has killed them. ' "He sprang to the third gun, the white seaman to the fourth, and waitedfor the other three boats, which, undaunted by the dreadful slaughter, were dashing on bravely. Again the guns were fired, and again a unitedyell of delight broke from our crew when one of the boats was sweptfrom stern to stern with the deadly grape and filled and sank. The twoothers, however, escaped, and in another moment were alongside, andthe officer in command, followed by his men, sprang at the boardingnettings, and began hacking and slashing at them with their cutlasses, only to be thrust back, dead or dying, by our valiant crew, and the nowblood-maddened natives. Nine or ten of them did succeed in gaining afoothold on the deck, by clambering up the bobstay on to the bowsprit, and led by a mere boy of sixteen, made a determined charge; a nativearmed with a club sprang at the youth and dashed out his brains, thoughat the same moment a Frenchman thrust him through the body with hiscutlass. But the boarding party were simply overwhelmed by numbers, andin less than five minutes every one of those who had reached the deckwere slaughtered with but a loss of three men on our side. Those stillremaining in the boats alongside then tried to draw off, but Watts, whowas now more like a mad animal than a human being, calling to some ofthe crew to help him, himself cut down the boarding netting, and liftingone of the 6-pounders, hurled it bodily into one of the boats, smashinga large hole through it. Then a score of naked natives leapt into theremaining one, and cut and stabbed the crew till not a living soulremained. Some indeed had tried to swim to the shore a few minutesearlier, but these poor wretches were met by canoes, and their brainsbeaten out with clubs. The memory of that awful day of carnage will bewith me if I live to be a hundred. "As soon as possible Watts and the carpenter restored some order amongour native allies, who, according to their custom, were beheading andotherwise mutilating the bodies of the enemy. We found that we had lostfour killed and had about thirteen wounded. Of those killed two werewhite men. "Then taking with me half a dozen natives, I went off in one of our ownboats to the spot where our grape-shot had sunk the boat in which thenative had said he had seen my husband. The water was only about fourfathoms deep, and we could clearly see numbers of bodies lying on thewhite sandy bottom. One by one they were raised to the surface andexamined, and the fifth one raised was that of my poor husband. His armswere bound behind his back, and his chest and face were shattered bygrape-shot. "A wild fury took possession of me, but I could not speak. I could onlypoint to the ship. We went back on board, and my husband's body was laidon deck for the crew to see. "I hardly know what I did or said, but I do remember that Watts swore tome that I should be revenged, and in a few minutes I was seated besidehim in one of our own boats with a pistol in my hand, and we, in companywith thirty or forty canoes, were on our way to the ships anchoredoutside. "What followed I cannot remember, but Watts told me that I was the firstto spring up the side of the French brigantine, and that the captain, as I fired my pistol at him, struck off my hand with his sword, andwas then himself cut down by the carpenter. There were but nine men onboard, and these were soon disposed of by our men, who gave no quarter. My husband's vessel was in charge of but three of the enemy, and fromthem, when they surrendered, we heard that every one of her crew, exceptthe mate Myson and my husband, had been cruelly slaughtered at Vavitaoa few days previously. Watts tried to save the lives of these three men, but in vain; the natives killed them, in spite of all his efforts. Theydied bravely enough, poor wretches. "Watts and the carpenter succeeded in saving my life, and the stump ofmy arm healed up very quickly, for I was always a strong and vigorouswoman. When they came to search the cabin of the French brigantinethey found that her captain--the man who had cut off my hand--was LouisPellatier, the very same man who, years before, had attempted to shootmy poor husband at the Galapagos Islands. "I sailed with Watts to Port Jackson a few months later in the Frenchbrigantine, which was sold as a prize, and remained there for nearly twoyears. Then the loneliness of my life began to affect my health, and soI returned here to live and die. And here on this island have I livedfor nearly fifty years in peace and happiness, for since Randle and hisfamily came here I have been very happy, and now I only await the lastcall of all--that call which will summon me to stand before the throne, side by side with my dear husband. "