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rose and-greeted him. When stantling erect, he seemed almost gigantic, at least m the eye of Alderman Popkins, who, however, being a short man, might be deceived.

"The latter would gladly now have been back in the carriage, or even on 'Chauge in London; for he was by no means well pleased with his company. How ever, he determined to put the best face on matters, and was beginuing a conversation about the state of the, weather, the baddishness of the crops, and the price of goats in that part of the country, when he heard a violent scream. He ran to the edge of the rock, and, looking over, beheld his carriage surrounded by robbers. One held down the fat footman, another had the dandy by his starched cravat, with a pistol to his head; one was rummaging a portmanteau, another rummaging the Principessa's pockets; while the two Miss Popkins' were screaming from each window of the carriage, and their waiting-maid squalling from the dickey.

"Alderman Popkins felt all the ire of the parent and the magistrate roused within him. He grasped his cane, and was on the point of scrambling down the rocks, either to assault the robbers or to read the riot act, when he was suddenly seized by the arm. It was by his friend the goatherd, whose cloak falling open, discovered a belt stuck full of pistols and stilettos. In short, he found himself in the clutches of the captain of the band, who had stationed himself on the rock to look out for travellers and to give notice to his men.

"A sad ransacking took place. Trunks were turned inside ont, and all the finery and frippery of the Popkins family scattered about the road. Such a chaos of Venice beads, and Roman mosaics, and Paris bonnets of the young ladies, mingled with the alderman's nightcaps and lambs-wool stockings, and the dandy's hair-brushes, stays, and starched cravats.

"The gentlemen were eased of their purses and watches, the ladies of their jewels; and the whole party were on the point of being carried up into the mountain, when, fortunately, the appearance of soldiery at a distance obliged the robbers to make off with the spoils they had secured, and leave the Popkins family to gather together the remnants of their effects, and make the best of their way to Fondi.

"When safe arrived, the alderman made a terrible blustering at the inn; threatened to complain to the ambassador at Naples, and was ready to shake his cane at the whole country. The,

dandy had made stories to tell of his scuffles with the brigands, who overpowered him merely by numbers. As to the Miss Popkins, they were quite delighted with the adventure, and were occupied the whole evening in writing it in their journals. They declared the captain of the band to be a most romantic looking man, they dare to say some uufortunate lover, or exited nobleman; and several of the band to be very handsome youdg men---" quite picturesque!"

"In verity,' said mine host of Terracina, they say the captain of the baud is un gallant uomo."

"A gallant man!" said the Englishman, indignantly: I'd have your gallant man hanged like a dog.'

"To dare to meddle with Euglishmen!' said Mr. Hobbs.

"And such a family as the Popkinses!' said Mr. Dobbs.

"They ought to come upon the county for damages!' said Mr. Hobbs. "Our ambassador should make a complaint to the government of Naples,' said Mr. Dobbs.

"They should be obliged to drive these rascals out of the country,' said Hobbs.

"If they did not, we should declare war against them," said Dobbs. "Pish!-humbug!' muterred the Eng lishman to himself, and walked away.

"The Englishman had been a little wearied by this story; and by the ultrazeal of his countrymen, and was glad when a summons to their supper relieved him from the crowd of travellers. He walked out with his Venetian friend and a young Frenchman of an interesting demeanour, who had become sociable with them in the course of the conversation. They directed their steps toward the sea, which was lit up by the rising

moon.

"As they strolled along the beach they came to where a body of soldiers were stationed in a circle. They were guarding a number of galley slaves, who were permited to refresh themselves in the evening breeze, and sport and roll upon the sand.

"The Frenchman paused, and pointed to the group of wretches at their sports. "It is difficult," said he, "to conceive a more frightful mass of crime than is here collected. Many of these have probably been robbers, such as you have heard described. Such is, too often, the career of crime in this country. The parricide, the fratricide, the infanticide, the miscreant of every kind, first flies from

justice, and turns, mountain bandit; and then, when wearied of a life of danger, becomes traitor to his brother desperadoes; betrays them to punishment, and thus buys a commutation of his own sentence from death to the galleys: happy in the privilege of wallowing on the shore an hour a day, in this` mere state of animal enjoyment!

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"The fair Venetian_shuddered as she cast a look at the horde of wretches at their evening amusement. "They seemed," she said, "like so many serpents writhing together." And yet the idea that some of them had been robbers, those formidable beings that haunted her imagination, made her still cast another fearful glance, as we contemplate some terrible beast of prey, with a degree of awe and horror, even though caged and chained.

"The conversation reverted to the tales of banditti which they had heard at the inn. The Englishman condemned some of them as fabrications, others as exgerations. As to the story of the improvisatore, he pronounced it a mere piece of romance, originating in the heated brain of the narrator.

"And yet," said the Frenchman, "there is so much romance about the life of these beings, aud about the singular country they infest, that it is hard to tell what to reject on the ground of improbability. I have had an adventure happen to myself which gave me an opportunity of getting some insight into their manners and habits, which I found altogether out of the common run of existence."

"There was an air of mingled frankness and modesty which had gained the good-will of the whole party, not even excepting the Englishman. They all eagerly inquired after the particulars of the circumstance he alluded to, and as they strolled slowly up and down the sea shore, he related the adventure.

THE ADVENTURES OF THE

BLACK FISHERMAN. "Every body knows Black Sam, the old negro fisherman, or as he is commonly called, Mud Sam, who has fished about the Sound for the last half century. It is now many, many years since Sam, who was then as active a young Negro as any in the province, and worked on the farm of Killian Suydam, in Long Island, having finished his day's work at an early hour, was fishing, one still summer evening, just about the neigh bourhood of Hell-gate.

"He was in a light skiff, and being well acquainted with the crurnets and

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eddies, he had shifted his station, according to the shifting of the tide, from the Hen and Chickens to the Hog's Back, from the Hog's Back to the Pot, and from the Pot to the Frying-pan; but in the eagerness of his sport he did not see that the tide was rapidly ebbing, until the roaring of the whirlpools and eddies warned him of his danger; and he bad some difficulty in shooting his skiff from among the rocks and breakers, and getting to the point of Blackwell's Island. Here he cast anchor for some time, waiting the turn of the tide to enable him to return homewards the night set in, it grew blastering and gusty. Dark clouds came brindling up in the west, and now and then a growl, of thunder, or a flash of lightning, told that a summer storm was at hand. Sam pulled over, therefore, under the lee of, Manhattan Island, and coasting along, came to a snug nook, just under a steep beetling rock, where he fastened his skiff to the root of a tree that shot out from a clift in the rock, and spread its broad branches, like a canopy, over the water. The gust came scouring along; the wind threw up the river in white surges; the rain rattled among the leaves; the thunder bellowed worse than that which is now bellowing; the lightning seemed to lick up the surges of the stream, but Sam, snugly sheltered under rock and trees, lay crouched in his skiff, rocking upon the billows until he fell asleep.

"When he awoke, all was quiet. The gust had passed away, and only now and then a faint gleam of lightning in the east shewed which way it had goue. The night was dark and moonless; and from the state of the tide Sam concluded it was near midnight. He was on the point of making loose his skiff to return homeward, when he saw a light gleaming along the water from a distance, which seemed rapidly approaching. it drew near, he perceived it came from a lantern in the bow of a boat, which was gliding along uuder shadow of the land. It pulled up in a small cove, close to where he was. A man jumped on shore, and searching about with the lantern, exclaimed, "This is the place

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here is the iron ring! The boat was then made fast, and the man returning on board, assisted his comrades in conveying something heavy on shore. As the light gleamed among them, Sam saw that they were five stout desperate fellows, in red woollen caps, with a leader in a three-cornered hat, and that some of them were armed with dirks, or long knives and pistols. They talked low to one

another, and occasionally in some outlandish tongue which he could not understand.

"On landing, they made their way among the bushes, taking turns to relieve each other in lugging their burthen up the rocky bank. Sam's curiosity was now fully aroused; so, leaving his skiff, he clambered silently up a ridge that overlooked their path. They had stopped to rest for a moment; and the leader was looking about among the bushes with his lantern. 'Have you brought the spades?" said one. "They are here,' replied another, who had them on his shoulder.

"We must dig deep, where there will be no risk of a discovery,' says a third.

"A cold chill ran through Sam's veins. He fancied he saw before him a gang of murderers about to bury their victim. His knees smote together. In his agitation he shook the branch of a tree with which he was supporting himself, as he looked over the edge of the cliff.

"What's that?' cried one of the gang. 'Some one stirs among the

bushes."

"The lantern was held up in the direction of the noise. One of the redcaps cocked a pistol, and pointed it towards the very place where Sam was standing. He stood motionless -breathless-expecting every moment to be his last. Fortunately, his dingy complexion was in his favour, and made no glare among the leaves.

"Tis no one,' said the man with the lantern. What, a plague! you would not fire off your pistol, and alarm the country?

"The pistol was uncocked, the burthen was resumed, and the party slowly toiled along the bank. Sam watched them as they went, the light sending back fitful gleams through the dripping bushes; and it was not till they were fairly out of sight that he ventured to draw breath freely. He now thought of getting back to his boat, and making his escape out of the reach of such dangerous neighbours; but curiosity was all powerful. He hesitated, and lingered, and listened. By and by he heard the strokes of spades. They are digging the grave said he to himself, and the cold sweat started upon his forehead. Every stroke of a spade, as it sounded through the silent groves, went to his heart; it was evident there was as little noise made as possible; every thing had an air of terrible mystery and secrecy. Sam had a great relish for the horrible-a tale of

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murder was a treat for him, and he was a constant attendant at executions. could not resist an impulse in spite of every danger, to steal nearer to the scene of mystery, and overlook the midnight fellows at their work. He crawled along cantiously, therefore, inch by inch, stepping with the utmost care among the dry leaves, lest their rustling should betray him. He came at length to where a steep rock intervened between him and the gang; for he saw the light of their lantern shining up against the branches of the trees on the other side. Sam slowly and silently clambered up the surface of the rock, and raising his head above its naked edge, beheld the villains immediately below him, and so near, that though he dreaded discovery, he dared not withdraw, lest the least movement should be heard. In this way he remained, with his round black face peering above the edge of the rock, like the sun just emerging above the edge of the horizon, or the round-cheeked moon on the dial of a clock.

"The red-caps had nearly finished their work; the grave was filled up, and they were carefully replacing the turf. This done, they scattered dry leaves over the place;

And now,' said the leader, 'I defy the devil himself to find it out!'"

"The murderers! exclaimed Sam, involuntarily. The whole gang started, and looking up, beheld the round black head of Sam just above them; his white eyes strained half out of their orbits, his white teeth chattering, and his whole visage shining with cold perspiration.

"We're discovered!" cried one. "Down with him! cried another. "Sam heard the cocking of a pistol, but did not pause for the report. He scrambled over rock and stone, through bush and briar; rolled down banks like a hedgehog; scrambled up others like a catamount. In every direction he heard some one or the other of the gang hemming him in. At length he reached the rocky ridge along the river: one of the red-caps was hard behind him. A steep rock like a wall rose directly in his way; it seemed to cut off all retreat, when, fortunately, he espied the strong cord-like branch of a grape vine reaching half way down it. He sprung at it with the force of a desperate man; seized it with both hands; and, being young and agile, succeeded in swinging himself to the summit of the cliff. Here he stood in fali relief against the sky, when the red-cap cocked his pistol and fired. The ball whistled by Sam's head. With the lucky thought of a man in an emergency, he uttered a yell, fell to the ground, and

detached at the same time a fragment of the rock, which tumbled with a loud splash into the river.

"I've done his business," said the red-cap to one or two of his comrades, as they arrived panting: he'll tell no tales, except to the fishes in the river."

"His pursuers now turned off to meet their companions. Sam, sliding silently down the surface of the rock, let himself quietly into his skiff; cast loose the fastening, and abandoned himself to the rapid current, which in that place runs like a mill-stream, and soon swept him off from the neighbourhood. It was not, however, until he had drifted a great distance, that he ventured to ply his Oars; when he made his skiff dart like an arrow through the strait of Hell-gate, never heeding the danger of Pot, Fryingpan, or Hog's Back itself; nor did he feel himself thoroughly secure until safely nestled in bed in the cockloft of the ancient farm-house of the Suydams.

"Here the worthy Peechy Prauw paused to take breath, and to take a sip of the gossip tankard that stood at his elbow. His auditors remained with open mouths and outstretched necks, gaping like a nest of swallows for an additional mouthful.

"And is that all?" exclaimed the halfpay officer,

"That's all that belongs to the story," said Peechy Prauw.

"And did Sam never find out what was buried by the red-caps?" said Wol fret, eagerly, whose mind was haunted by nothing but ingots and doubloons.

"Not that I know of," said Peechy; "he had no time to spare from his work, and, to tell the truth, he did not like to run the risk of another race among the rocks. Besides, how should he recollect the spot where the grave had been digged, every thing would look so different by daylight. And then, where was the use of looking for a dead body, when there was no chance of hanging the murderers?"

"Ay, but are you sure it was a dead body they buried? said Wolfret.

"To be sure," cried Peechy Prauw, exultingly. "Does it not haunt in the neighbourhood to this very day?

"Haunts!" exclaimed several of the party, opening their eyes still wider, and edging their chairs still closer.

"Ay, haunts," repeated Peechy: "have none of you heard of father Red-cap that haunts the old burnt farm-house in the woods, on the border of the Sound, near Hell-gate?":

something of the kind: but then I took it for some old wives' fable."

"Old wives' fable or not," said Peechy Prauw, " that farming-house stands hard by the very spot. It's been unoccupied time out of mind, and stands in a lonely part of the coast; but those who fish in the neighbourhood have often heard strange noises there; and lights have been seen about the wood at night; and an old fellow in a red cap has been seen at the windows more than once, which people take to be the ghost of the body that was buried there. Once upon a time three soldiers took shelter in the building for the night, and rummaged it from top to bottom, when they found old father Redcap astride of a cider-barrel in the cellar, with a jug in one hand and a goblet in the other. He offered them a drink out of his goblet; but just as one of the soldiers was putting it to his mouthwhew!-a flash of fire blazed through the cellar; blinded every mother's son of them for several minutes, and when they recovered their eyesight, jug, gob let, and Red-cap, had vanished, and nothing but the empty cider-barrel remained!"

"Here the half-pay officer, who was growing very muzzy and sleepy, and nodding over his liquor, with half-extinguished eye, suddenly gleamed up, like an expiring rushlight,

"That's all fudge!" said he, as Peechy finished his last story.

"Well, I don't vouch for the truth of it myself," said Peechy Prauw, "though all the world knows that there's something strange about that house and ground; but as to the story of Mud Sam, I believe it just as well as if it had happened to myself."

THE BOOBY SQUIRE.

A long time elapsed, said Buckthorne, withouts my receiving any accounts of my cousin and his estate. Indeed, I felt so much soreness on the subject, that I wished if possible to shut it from my thoughts. At length chance took me to that part of the country, and I could not refrain from making some inquiries.

I learnt that my cousin had grown up ignorant, self-willed, and clownish. His ignorance and clownishness irad prevented his mingling with the neighbouring gentry in spite of his great fortune, he had been unsuccessful in an attempt to gain the hand of the daughter of the parson, and had at length shrunk into the limits of such society as a mere man of wealth can gather in a country neigh

"Oh! to be sure, I've heard tell of bourhood.

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He kept horses and hounds, and a voaring table, at which were collected the loose livers of the country round, and the shabby gentleinen of a village in the vicinity. When he could get no other company, he would smoke and drink with his own servants, who in turns fleeced and despised him Still, with all his apparent prodigality, he had a leaven of the old man in him, which shewed that he was his true-born son. He lived far within his income, was vulgar in his expences, and penurious in many points where a gentleman would be extravagant. His house servauts were obliged occasionally to work on his estate, and part of the pleasure-grounds. were ploughed up and devoted to husbandry.

His table, though plentiful, was coarse; his liquor strong and bad; and more ale and whisky were expended in this establishment than generons wine. He was loud and arrogant at his own table, and exacted a rich man's homage from his vulgar and obsequious guests.

As to Iron John, his old grandfather, he had grown impatient of the tight hand his own grandson kept over him, and quarrelled with him soon after he came to the estate. The old man had retired to the neighbouring village, where he lived on the legacy of his late master, in a small cottage, and was as seldom seen out of it as a rat out of his hole in daylight.

The cub, like Caliban, seemed to have an instinctive attachment to his mother; she resided with him, but, from long habit, she acted more as a servant than as a mistress of the mansion, for she toiled in all the domestic drudgery, and was oftener in the kitchen than the parlour. Such was the information which I collected of my rival cousin who had so unexpectedly elbowed me out of all, my expectations.

I now felt an irresistible hankering to pay a visit to this scene of my boyhood, and to get a peep at the odd kind of life that was passing within the mansion of my maternal ancestors. I determined to do so in disguise. My booby cousin had never seen enough of me.to be very familiar with my countenance, and a few years make great difference between youth and manhood. I understood he was a breeder of cattle, and proud of his stock; I dressed myself therefore as a substantial farmer, and with the assistance of a red scratch that came low down on my forehead, made a complete change in my physiognomy.

It was past three o'clock when I arrived at the gate of the park, and was

admitted by an old woman, who was› washing in a dilapidated building which? had once been a porter's lodge. I advanced up the remains of a noble avenue, many of the trees of which had been cut down and sold for timber. The grounds were in scarcely better keeping than during my uncle's lifetime. The grass was overgrown with weeds, and the trees wanted pranning and cleaning of dead branches. Cattle were grazing about the lawns, and ducks and geese swimming in the fish-ponds. The road to the house bore very few traces of carriage wheels, as my cousin received few visitors but such as came on foot or horseback, and never used a carriage himself. Once indeed, as I was told, he had the old family carriage drawn out from among the dust and cobwebs of the coach-house and furbished up, and had driven, with his mother, to the village church to take formal possession of the family pew; but there was such hooting and laughing after them, as they passed through the village, and such giggling and bantering about the church door, that the pageant had never made a re-appearance.

As I approached the house, a legion of whelps sallied out, barking at me, accompanied by the low howling, rather than barking, of two old worn-out bloodhounds, which I recognized for the ancient life-guards of my uncle. The house had still a neglected random appearance, though much altered for the better since my last visit. Several of the windows were broken and patched up with boards, and others had been bricked up to save taxes. I observed smoke, however, rising from the chimneys, a phenomenon rarely witnessed in the ancient establishment. On passing that part of the house where the dining-room was situated, I heard the sound of boisterous merriment, where three or four voices were talking at once, and oaths and laughter were horribly mixed.

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The uproar of the dogs had brought a servant to the door, a tall hard-fisted country clown, with a livery coat put over the under garments of a ploughman. I requested to see the master of the house, but was told he was at dinner with some gemmen'of the neighbourhood. I made known my business, and sent in to know if I might talk with the master about his cattle, for I felt a great desire to have a peep at him at his orgies.

Word was returned that he was engaged with company, and could not attend to business, but that if I could step in and take a drink of something, I was heartily welcome. I accordingly entered the hall, where whips and hats of

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