GOD PRESERVE THE NATION!

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ROANOKE ISLAND.

THE SITE OF THE FIRST ENGLISH COLONY IN AMERICA.

'I know that historians do borrow of poets, not only much of their ornament but somewhat of their substance.'—Raleigh's History of the World.

The name of Roanoke Island awakens in the mind of every lover of American history, sentiments of veneration and respect. It carries us back to the days of England's great Queen, to ruffs and rapiers, and calls up the memories of the gallant but unfortunate Raleigh, and of the brave knights, Grenville, Lane, and White, men who made their mark in history even in that golden era of chivalry and enterprise.

Let us go back through the vista of nearly three centuries, and trace the history of this spot where our language was first spoken and written on this continent. When we recall the first occupation of this island by the English, and picture to ourselves the Indians in their normal state, with their dress, habitations, and implements, so picturesque and unique, as well as the gallant gentlemen in the costume of that picturesque age, it seems almost to border on romance. But there is a dark side to the picture. The sombre veil of uncertainty hangs over the fate of two entire colonies, which, if lifted, would consecrate this spot to the extremes of suffering and bloodshed. It was, no doubt, better to have these scenes buried in oblivion, and for each succeeding historian to fill up this chapter with his own fancies, than to be able to give the minute details of long days and months of probable famine, pestilence, war, captivity, and torture, which have occurred here or in the immediate vicinity. The certain knowledge of them would have awakened in their countrymen sentiments of retaliation and vengeance, and a fearful retribution would have been meted but to the natives, and have fallen upon the innocent as well as the guilty.

It was not until about the commencement of the sixteenth century that England could be considered one of the great maritime powers in Europe. Although Henry the Seventh had authorized Cabot to prosecute a voyage of discovery as early as 1497, in which he discovered the continent, thus actually anticipating Columbus, who did not discover it till the succeeding year, no real attempts at colonization took place until a century afterward. In 1578, Sir Humphrey Gilbert obtained a patent from Queen Elizabeth to colonize such parts of North-America as were not then occupied by any of her allies. Soon after, he, assisted and accompanied by his step-brother, Sir Walter Raleigh, fitted out an expedition and sailed for America; but they were intercepted by a Spanish fleet, and returned unsuccessful.

In 1583, they equipped a new squadron, in which Raleigh did not embark. This enterprise failed, and Sir Humphrey perished at sea. Still Raleigh was not disheartened. He had been a soldier in the religious war then raging in France, and associated with the Protestant admiral, Coligny, and many of his officers, whose ill-fated colony met so bloody a fate near the river St. John. Doubtless, during his intercourse with these men, their experience in Florida often became the theme of discourse, and it may be that from it he imbibed that passion for discovery and colonization in America, which ended only with his life. He doubtless learned of the voyage of Verranzo, who, in the employ of France, had, in 1524, coasted from Cape Fear to Rhode Island; but still our shores were hardly more than a myth, and the country north of the peninsula of Florida a terra incognita. Early in 1584, Raleigh, then a gallant courtier, received a grant from Elizabeth to 'discover and find out such remote and heathen lands, not actually possessed or inhabited by any Christian King, or his subjects, and there to have, hold, fortify, and possess, in fee-simple to him and his associates and their heirs forever, with privileges of allegiance to the crown of all that might there reside; they and their descendants.'

This grant would apply to any portion of the globe not claimed or inhabited by the subjects of a Christian prince. The grant bears date March 25th, in the twenty-sixth year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, 1584. Raleigh anticipated its passing the great seal, and probably had for some months been making preparations for a voyage of discovery under this patent. So energetic was he, that two barks were prepared and dispatched from the west of England on the 27th of April. They were under the commands of Captains Amidas and Barlow, with Simeon Fernando as pilot, who, it may be presumed from the name, was a Spaniard, and no doubt had been on this coast before. They took the route by way of the Canaries and West-India Islands, and by the tenth of May had reached the former, and by the tenth of June the latter, where they staid twelve days.

Continuing their voyage, on the second of July they found shoal water, where they say[K]: 'We smelled so sweet and strange a smell, as if we had been in the midst of a delicate garden, abounding with all kinds of odoriferous herbs and flowers, so we were assured that the land could not be far distant; and keeping good watch, and bearing but slack sail, the fourth of the same month we arrived upon the coast, which we supposed to be a continent, and firm land; and we sailed along the same a hundred and twenty miles, before we could find any entrance or river issuing into the sea.'

They entered the first inlet which appeared, 'but not without difficulty, and anchored on the left-hand side.' Subsequent historians have written much to settle the long-disputed question, by what channel or inlet the earliest English navigators entered. After a careful examination of the early and of later authorities, and with some practical acquaintance with the localities, I am of the opinion that they must have entered by what is now known as Hatteras Inlet. 'The island twenty miles long and not over six miles broad,' was that part of the banks or shore between this inlet and that now known as Ocracoke.

So soon as they had given thanks to God for their safe arrival, they landed, and took possession in 'the right of the Queen's most excellent majesty,' and afterward delivered it over to the use of the grantee. They found the land sandy and low, and expressed their admiration of the abundance of wild grapes, as well as the pines and cedars; but saw no inhabitants. The third day, they espied a small boat, with three persons, who came to the shore. There they were met by the two captains and the pilot, and one of the natives boldly commenced a conversation entirely unintelligible to the Englishmen, but most friendly in its tones. Having received a shirt and hat, the Indian, after viewing the vessels, fell to fishing, and in less than half an hour loaded his boat as deep as she could swim with fishes, which he soon landed on the shore and divided between the ship and pinnace. The next day, there came divers boats, containing forty or fifty natives, 'a very handsome and goodly people, and in their behavior and manners as civil as any in Europe.' Among them was the king's brother, 'Grangamimeo,' who said the king was called Winginia. They commenced trading with the Indians, no doubt greatly to their own advantage. The natives were, of course, much astonished at the splendor and profusion of the articles offered; but of all things which he saw, a bright tin dish most pleased Grangamimeo. He clapped it on his breast, and after drilling a hole in the brim, hung it about his neck, making signs that it would defend him from his enemies. This tin dish was exchanged for twenty deerskins, worth twenty crowns, and a copper kettle for fifty skins. In a few days, they were visited by the king and his family. The women had bracelets of pearl and ornaments of copper; the pearl was probably nothing but pieces of shell, and the copper must have been obtained from near Lake Superior, where the mines had been worked ages before the advent of the white man. The Indians told them of a ship that had been wrecked near there twenty-six years previously, and that the crew attempted to escape in their boat, but probably perished, as the boat was afterward found on another island. This story has usually been looked upon with doubt; but recent researches in the Spanish archives have shown that they had a fort and colony at Port Royal in 1557, and about the same period, another in the Chesapeake. There can be but little doubt that the story was true, and that the ship contained Spaniards passing between these two places. They also told curious stories of a great river 'Cipo,' where pearl was obtained, which has puzzled later historians to locate; but we now know that Cipo or Sepo, in the Algonquin language, which was spoken from Maine to about this point, means simply a river, and probably referred to either the Moratio, now called the Roanoke, or to the Chowan.

These narratives give a glowing account of the natives and of their ability to construct their houses and canoes and weirs for fish. As this was their first intercourse with Europeans, it undoubtedly shows what their true condition was and had been for centuries. Situated, as this territory is, under a mild climate, where corn, beans, and melons can be so easily raised, and having a great abundance of game and fish, it must have been a paradise for the Indians. Of the king's brother, it is said:

'He was very just of his promise; for many times we delivered him merchandise upon his word, but ever he came within the day and performed his promise. He sent us every day a brace or two of fat bucks, conies, hares, and fish, the best in the world. He sent us divers kinds of fruits, melons, walnuts, cucumbers, gourds, peas, and divers roots and fruits, very excellent and good; and of their country corn, which is very white, fair, and well-tasted, and grows three times in five months. In May, they sow; in July, they reap: in June, they sow; in August, they reap: in July, they sow; in September, they reap. They cast the corn into the ground, breaking a little of the soft turf with a wooden mattock. Ourselves proved the soil, and put some of our peas into the ground, and in ten days they were fourteen inches high. They have also beans, very fair, of divers colors, and wonderful plenty; some growing naturally and some in their gardens.'

Their advent to Roanoke Island is thus described:

'After they had been divers times aboard our vessels, myself with seven others went twenty miles into the river that runs toward the city of Skicoak, which river they call Occum, and the evening following, we came to an island which they call Roanoke, distant from the harbor by which we entered seven leagues. At the north end thereof was a village of nine houses, built of cedar and fortified round about with sharp trees, to keep out their enemies; and the entrance into it made like a turnpike, very artificially. When we came toward it, standing near unto the water side, the wife of Grangamimeo, the king's brother, came running out to meet us very cheerfully and friendly; her husband was not then in the village. Some of her people she commanded to draw our boat on shore; others she appointed to carry us on their backs to the dry ground, and others to bring our oars into the house, for fear of stealing. When we were come to the outer room, having five rooms in her house, she caused us to sit down by a great fire, and afterward took off our clothes and washed them and dried them again. Some of the women washed our feet in warm water, and she took great pains to see all things ordered in the best manner, making great haste to dress some meat for us to eat. After we had dried ourselves, she brought us into the inner room, when she sat on the board standing alongside the house, and placed before us some wheat fermented, sodden venison, and fish, sodden, boiled, and roasted, melons, raw and sodden, roots of divers kinds, and fruits. We were entertained with all love and kindness, and with as much bounty as we could possibly desire. We found these people most gentle, loving, and faithful; void of all guile and treason, and such as live after the manner of the golden age.'

'Beyond this island, called Roanoke, a main stands, very plentiful in fruits and other natural increase, together with many towns and villages alongside the continent, some bordering upon the islands, and some standing further into the land.'

'When we first had sight of this country, some thought the first land we saw to be a continent; but after we entered into the haven, we saw before us another mighty long sea, for there lieth along the coast a tract of island two hundred miles in extent.'

Thus they picture the country with the rosy tint so natural to all discoverers. They speak of the island as being sixteen miles long, which recent surveys show nearly correct. Many of the trees, animals, and fish were new to them, and like all travelers, they did not neglect to give a fair embellishment in their report to Raleigh. Their stay in the country was brief, less than sixty days, and on their return, they carried with them two of the Indians, named Wanchese and Mantco, who were regarded as a great curiosity by the English. They were exhibited at London to thousands, and gave Raleigh great satisfaction, as they were the first natives of America who had visited England.

The return of Amidas and Barlow, with their flattering report of the discovery and beauty of Virginia, created great excitement throughout England, and with it a desire to visit the new land. The soldiers of fortune, of which that reign was fruitful, were ready to embark in any cause that promised wealth or fame; and the nobility and merchants, with sanguine views of trade and extensive domains containing the precious metals, were ready to furnish the means to transport a colony to the new El Dorado. It was not difficult to procure men, under such dazzling aspects; a sufficient number was soon enrolled, but the material was not of a kind to make a successful and permanent settlement. Disbanded soldiers from foreign service, and London tradesmen out of business, and enlisting only with the hope of soon obtaining wealth, and returning home to enjoy it, were not the men to clear away forests, cultivate the soil, or develop industry, the only true source for success in America. The fleet consisted of seven vessels, the 'Tiger' and 'Roebuck,' each of one hundred and forty tons; the 'Lion,' of one hundred; and the 'Elizabeth,' of fifty tons; with a small bark and two pinnaces, which were without decks.

In this fleet were several, eminent among the gallant men who have contributed so much to render the reign of the Virgin Queen illustrious in history. The commander, Sir Richard Grenville, distinguished himself at the battle of Lepanto, and afterward lost his life in a desperate encounter with a Spanish fleet off the Azores. He was a cousin of Raleigh, and always his friend. The next in real rank was Ralph Lane, to whom was delegated the office of governor, and of whom we shall speak hereafter. Thomas Cavendish commanded one of the vessels. He was a wealthy and dashing adventurer, who, after his return, fitted out an expedition and captured some Spanish ships with great treasure; but after a reckless life, he found an early grave. Lewis Stukely, another cousin of Raleigh, had some prominent station. He proved a base character, and assisted, by his intrigues, in bringing his patron to the block. Amidas, who was in the first voyage, also found place here, with the title of 'admiral.' Simeon Fernando, the former pilot, was now in command of the 'Tiger.'

The fleet sailed from Plymouth on the ninth of April, 1585, and made one of the West-India Islands, where they had many adventures, on the fourteenth of May. Thence proceeding on their voyage, they reached the coast of Florida on the twentieth of June; on the twenty-third, they barely escaped wreck on Cape Fear shoals; and on the twenty-sixth anchored at Wocokon, now known as Ocracoke. Three days afterward, in attempting to cross the bar, the 'Tiger' struck, and remained for some time; the first of many similar accidents on that wild and dangerous spot. On the third of July, they sent word of their arrival to Winginia, the Indian king at Roanoke; and the same day dispatched Captain Arundell across the sound to the main land, where he found two men who had arrived twenty days before, in one of the smaller vessels. For the next ten days, they were engaged in visiting the Indian towns on the main. Here one of the Indians stole a silver cup. To recover it, a party visited a town, and not obtaining the cup, burned the houses and spoiled the corn; 'a mean revenge,' destined to meet a bloody retaliation.

Soon after, the fleet sailed to Hatorask; not the cape or the inlet which we now call by nearly the same name, but an inlet then nearly opposite Roanoke, where all those intending to remain were probably landed. On the twenty-fifth of August, the fleet sailed for England.

The colony, landed on Roanoke, consisted of one hundred and seven persons, of whom Ralph Lane was the Governor, Amidas, the admiral, Hariot, the historian and chaplain, and John White the artist. So soon as they were settled at the island, they began the exploration of the country. This was done in boats, and entirely toward the south. Visiting the Neuse and the western shore of Pamlico Sound, they explored Currituck, on the east; while on the north, they penetrated to the distance of one hundred and sixty miles, and ascended Moratio, now known as the Roanoke river, probably more than fifty miles from its mouth. This was done with extreme labor and peril, as the Indians had deluded them with a story of mines of gold, and having notice of Lane's coming, were prepared to attack him. So sanguine were the party of finding mines, and yet so reduced, that they still pushed on, though they once found that they had but a half-pint of corn for a man, besides two mastiffs, upon the pottage of which, with sassafras leaves, they might subsist for two days. They returned safe, however, without any of the precious metals which they had made such exertions to find. Lane also explored the Chowan, or, as he called it, the Chowanook. The king of this country gave him much information respecting the territory, which proved to be perfectly truthful.

From the Indians, Lane had received intimations of the existence of Chesapeake Bay,[L] and was desirous of visiting it.

The story of this 'king' of the Chesapeans was full of interest, he knowing well the route, which Lane communicates, with the plans he intended to carry out, but which the sudden departure of the colony left unfulfilled, so that the great bay remained for a few years longer a mere myth to the English. Of this native king, Lane says:

'He is called Menatonon, a man impotent in his limbs, but otherwise, for a savage, a very grave and wise man, and of a very singular good discourse in matters concerning the state, not only in his own country, and the disposition of his own men, but also of his neighbors round about him, as well far as near, and of the commodities that each country yielded. When I had him prisoner with me for two days that we were together, he gave me more understanding and light of the country than I have received by all the searches and savages that I or any of my company have had conference with.' 'He told me that by going three days' journey up the Chowanook, (Chowan,) you are within four days' journey over land north-east to a certain king's country, which lays upon the sea; but his greatest place of strength is an island,[M] as he described to me, in a bay, the water round about it very deep.

... He also signified to me that this king had so great a quantity of pearl as that not only his own skins that he wears and his gentlemen and followers are full set with the pearl, but also his beds and houses are garnished with them.' 'He showed me certain pearl the said king brought him two years before, but of the worst sort. He gave me a rope of the same pearl,[N] but they were black and nought;—many of them were very large, etc. It seemed to me that the said king had traffic with white men that had clothes as we have.' ... 'The king of Chowanook promised to give me guides to go into that king's country, but he advised me to take good store of men and victual with me.' ... 'And I had resolved, had supplies have come in a reasonable time, to have undertaken it.'

He goes on to state that he would have sent two small pinnaces to the northward, to have discovered the bay he speaks of, while he, with all the small boats and two hundred men, would have gone up the Chowanook with the guides, whom he would have kept in manacles, to the head of the river, where he would have left his boats, and raised a small trench with a palisado on it, and left thirty men to guard the boats and stores. Then he would have marched two days' journey, and raised another 'sconce,' or small fort, and left fifteen or twenty men near a corn-field, so that they might live on that. Then, in two days more, he would have reached the bay, where he would have built his main fort, and removed his colony.

It is interesting, at this time, to see how Lane would, with the caution and boldness of a good soldier, have passed up the broad estuary of the Chowan to 'where it groweth to be as narrow as the Thames between Lambeth and Westminster,' and so on, and turning into the Blackwater, which he would have navigated probably to where it is now crossed by the railroad, he would have been within fifty or sixty miles of the bay. While we write, General Burnside is pursuing the same route, not to capture from a savage tribe, but from a rebellious and traitorous people, the same domain.

The same chief or king gave Lane a fanciful account of the Moratio river, which we now call the Roanoke. He says:

'This river opens into the broad sound of Weapomeiok, (Albemarle,) and the other rivers and sounds show no current, but in calm weather are moved by the wind. This river of Moratio has so swift a current from the West, that I thought it would with oars scarce be navigable; the current runs as strong as at London bridge. The savages do report strange things of the head of the river, which was thirty days' voyage; that it springs out of a great rock, and makes a most violent stream; and that this rock stands so near unto the South Sea, that in storms the waves beat into the stream and make it brackish.'

This river he afterward explored. But ere long, either from oppression or fear of the English, the Indians assumed a hostile attitude, and laid plans to surprise them. The English had to be continually on their guard, and in the mean time famine compelled them to leave Roanoke in large parties, to obtain subsistence from the corn-fields, or proceed along the coast for shell-fish.

About the first of June, 1586, Lane, with a party, left the island, proceeding across the sound, and by a stratagem, hardly authorized in an honorable soldier, captured and killed the chief of the country and many of his people.

In the mean time, he was on the look-out for ships from England, with supplies, and had sent Captain Stafford, with a party, to 'Croatan,' probably at or near what is now known as Cape Lookout, to discover their approach. Suddenly, he reported a great fleet of twenty sail in sight, which proved to be the squadron commanded by the celebrated Sir Francis Drake, who was returning from one of his expeditions among the Spanish settlements in the West-Indies. When Drake left England, he was directed to look after Raleigh's colony, and had accordingly brought a letter to Lane. He anchored his fleet opposite Roanoke, (probably just off 'Nagg's Head,' now celebrated as the scene of the temporary sojourn and flight of Governor Wise,) and supplied them with the needed provisions. He also made them an offer of one of his small vessels, which they very gladly accepted.

But a storm, which continued for many days, came upon them; the promised bark was driven to sea; the open roadstead, where the larger ships were compelled to anchor, made Roanoke an undesirable location, and as the time had long expired when the promised reinforcements should have arrived from England, this disappointment, together with the hostilities of the Indians, so discouraged the leaders of the colony, that they solicited and obtained from Drake a passage to England. On the nineteenth of June, after a little less than a year's residence in the new land, they all sailed for home, and Roanoke Island was left in solitude.

It is somewhat singular that with all the wars, famine, and privations of these adventurers, not a solitary death occurred during the time they spent here.

It certainly speaks much for the salubrity of the climate, as well as for the care of the officers who were in command. They all arrived safely in England, about the last of July.[O]

[Foonote O: After Lane returned home, he obtained some celebrity as a soldier, in various wars, and was knighted. His narrative, addressed to Raleigh, as printed in Hakluyt, would prove him possessed of much energy. As the first Governor of an American colony, his name has been kept in remembrance. Had the supply-ship arrived but a few weeks sooner, he might have remained, and his colony have been the progenitors of the English race on this continent.]

Among the eminent men who accompanied Lane, and passed nearly a year at Roanoke, was Thomas Hariot, an Oxford scholar and a celebrated mathematician. He went out in the expedition as historian and naturalist, to make a topographical and scientific survey and report of the country and its commodities, duties fulfilled by him in the most faithful manner. His report was published in London, in 1588, under the title of A Brief and True Report of the New-found Land in Virginia, of the Commodities found there, etc. It was, in 1590, put into Latin, and published by Theodore de Bry, at Frankfort, with about thirty curious engravings, from the designs of John White, the artist who accompanied the expedition. These pictures are exceedingly well executed, by eminent Dutch artists, and a number of them give undoubtedly the exact portraits of many of the principal Indians, with their costumes and habits, as they were before they were changed by intercourse with the Europeans, showing us their original condition.

The Aborigines were certainly further advanced in agriculture and civilization than has been generally supposed, and probably much more than the tribes who resided further north. To all who are curious in the history of the early inhabitants of North-America, this work will be found of extraordinary interest. It may be observed that the maps of the coast which it contains are remarkably correct, and at the same time indicate many important changes to have since occurred. But its greatest value is its description of the 'commodities' or valuable productions, of daily use and commercial value, which were found here. Thus, under the Indian name of Uppowoc, Hariot gives a description of the tobacco-plant,[O] which had been previously known to the Spaniards. This, however, seems to have been its earliest introduction to the English, and it was carried home by them 'to the nobility.' In the account of this plant, we are told that it is so esteemed by the Indians that they even think their gods are delighted with it. Our chronicler further says: 'We were in the habit of using this plant for our diseases, as the natives did, and have continued the practice since our return.' It was only used to smoke; the natives were never guilty of chewing it.' Among the roots, it mentions Openauk, which must have been what we call the pea-nut, which is now largely cultivated along that coast, and is quite an article of commerce. They also found here the sweet potato and various kinds of squashes and melons, as well as many varieties of beans, some of which are still cultivated extensively in that region.

It also describes a root which grows sometimes as large as a human head; this must have been what is now known as the tanger. But the greatest discovery of all was the potato, which has been of such inestimable benefit to mankind. This, which they carried home, was cultivated by Raleigh, on his estate in Ireland, and thence disseminated through Europe. Doubt has been thrown over this statement by the fact that botanists have been unable to find this plant in North-America in an indigenous state, and so have concluded that it never grew here at all. Our volume, however, proves that it was cultivated by the natives, as were corn, beans, and tobacco. Of it, Hariot speaks as follows:

'Kaishuopenauk is a kind of white root of the size of a hen's egg, and almost similar in form; it did not seem to be of a very pleasant taste, and consequently we did not take any particular pains to learn its history, yet the natives cook and eat them.'

Scarcely any part of our country has a greater variety of plants and trees than this vicinity. It will be found an interesting field for botanists.

Only a few days had elapsed after the departure of the colonists, when a ship, prepared and furnished with supplies from Raleigh, arrived at Roanoke. After some days spent by her commander in searching for his countrymen, he set sail for home. Fifteen days after the departure of this supply-ship, three vessels, under the command of Sir Richard Grenville, made their appearance before the place, and when he ascertained the state of affairs, his disappointment was extreme. He, however, made extensive explorations, and leaving fifteen men to reside at Roanoke and keep possession of the country, departed for home. One would suppose that Raleigh, by this time, would have become disheartened by his disappointments in America; but he was now at the hight of his prosperity, and seemed never to despair of the final success of this his favorite project. The following year, 1587, a new expedition was fitted out under the charge of John White, as Governor, with twelve assistants. They were to found the city of Raleigh, in Virginia. This fleet of three ships left Plymouth on the fifth of May, and after making a short stay at the West-India Islands, sailed for our coast, reaching it on the sixteenth of July. They a second time barely escaped a wreck on Cape Fear shoals, but anchored safely at Hatorask, on the twenty-seventh of the same month. They had been directed by Raleigh to visit Roanoke, and then proceed to the Chesapeake and there land the colony which they had transported. The Governor and party landed on Roanoke Island, and proceeded to the place (probably on the side next the sea) where Sir Richard Grenville left fifteen men the year previous. They found, however, only the skeleton of one, who with his companions had probably been slain by the savages. The next day they repaired to the south end of the island, where Lane had built his fort and houses. No human being was to be seen, and thus the fate of the fifteen was confirmed.

The commander of this fleet was Simeon Fernando, a prominent officer in the two previous expeditions, who no doubt had given satisfaction to Lane, for his name was given to the fort at Roanoke. But the chronicles, in this instance, have charged him with treachery, he having refused to proceed to the Chesapeake. In consequence of this refusal, the colony remained here, occupying the buildings erected by Lane. The Indians soon gave proof of hostility by attacking and murdering one of the assistants. Master Stafford, who had previously been with Lane, accompanied by the Indian Manteo, (who came with them from England,) with twenty others, passed over to the mainland, and renewed their former intercourse with the Indians. The natives claimed to be friendly, and related how the fifteen were murdered by the tribe that once inhabited Roanoke. This party again visited the mainland on the ninth of August, and falling in with a party of natives, whom they supposed to be hostile, attacked and killed a number, but subsequently learned that they were of a friendly tribe. On the thirteenth of August Manteo was christened and announced as Lord of Roanoke, in reward for his faithful service. How far he understood the meaning or value of the rite, we are unable to state; but the tendency of the act to influence the natives to regard the Europeans with more favor, can be readily implied.

The first child of English blood born upon this continent, (August 18th,) was 'Virginia' Dare, a granddaughter of the Governor. At the expiration of the time when the ships were to return home, it was thought advisable to send one of the principal men with them to make sure that supplies should be forwarded by their friends; but so satisfied were the majority with their present prospects, that it was a difficult matter to find one willing to go. At the last moment, finding all else so reluctant to leave, the Governor, John White, decided to return in person, and sailed, in company with the returning ships, on the twenty-fifth of August, leaving at Roanoke one hundred and seventeen persons to an unknown fate. He, with his vessel and her consorts, arrived safely in England.

The ship in which the Governor embarked, reached England in November, 1587. The succeeding year was, perhaps, as trying for that country as any it had ever experienced, the fear of the Spanish invasion and its consequences, being the absorbing theme of public attention. No doubt White had in view the best interests of his colony; he knew the condition of the colonists, and that their prosperity and perhaps their lives depended on his reinforcing them. But the war was imperative, and demanded the services of all. Raleigh, Lane, and White had important positions assigned them, and all gained a reputation for valor. It was not, therefore, till two years later, that White was able to embark for the colony, and then without either men or provisions; as he expresses it, 'with only myself and my chest.'

The ships put to sea on the twentieth of March, and lingered among the West-India Islands till the last of July, when, proceeding on their voyage, they anchored off old Hatorask Inlet on the fifteenth of August. Here they descried a great smoke issuing from Roanoke, which gave White great hopes of meeting the friends he had left three years before. The party landed with much difficulty, explored the island, and found that the smoke proceeded from the burning of grass and dead trees. Footprints of savages were seen in the sand, but to the sound of their voices and their trumpet-calls there was no response.

Circumnavigating the island, they went to the north end, where a colony had been left, and where they saw letters cut in the bark of a tree, indicating that the settlers had gone to Croatan, (Cape Lookout.)

They found the fort deserted and dilapidated, and within it, guns, bars of iron, and lead, thrown on the ground, with weeds growing over them; and they afterward discovered buried in a trench, several chests, some containing property of White, and among it his own armor.

He was now anxious to proceed to Croatan, but a severe storm coming on compelled the ships, after losing men and anchors, to put to sea. As it continued, they bore away for home, leaving Roanoke to solitude.

It is probable that the colony found the Indians hostile, and despairing of relief from home, abandoned the island and proceeded to Croatan, where they ultimately perished. However, a writer who resided in the country more than a century after, says there were traditions among a tribe that inhabited the coast, that their ancestors were white people, and could talk in a book, and many of the children had gray eyes, which are never seen among natives of pure blood.

Raleigh is said to have sent three several times to ascertain their fate, but without any success. In some of the memoirs of the later Virginia settlements, which have recently been printed, there are references to persons said to have been recovered from Raleigh's colony on Roanoke, but they are indirect, and only show that tradition was busy with their fate. There can be no doubt every soul perished on this isolated coast.

The ancient history of Roanoke closed with the departure of Raleigh's last ship, and the natives resumed possession of their favorite spots.

The Chesapeake was entered, and Jamestown settled, in 1607; and although the bold explorer of the bay and rivers, Captain John Smith, was desirous of sending a party to look after the lost colony, it was never done. Years passed away, and the grant of Carolina embraced all the country once claimed and occupied by Raleigh and his colonists.

In 1653, an adventurer from Virginia, with a small craft, entered Currituck Inlet and visited Roanoke. Here he found residing a great Indian chief, with whom he made a treaty of peace and alliance, which led to a purchase of land and to a long intimacy. A house for the chief was built like the English dwellings, and his son was confided to the English to be educated. The young chief embraced Christianity, and was baptized.

At this time the ruins of Lane's fort were plainly visible, and the natives were familiar with its history.

The first permanent settlement in what is now North-Carolina, can not be traced to an earlier date than 1656. It was on the shores of Albermarle Sound, some forty miles from Roanoke.

Almost coeval with this came small vessels from New-England, to trade, first for furs and peltry, and soon after to exchange their own productions and those of the West-Indies for the tobacco, corn, naval stores, and lumber of the country; and for the succeeding century our people were almost entirely the merchants and carriers of all this region. As a consequence some of them permanently settled here, and many of the merchants of Boston held extensive tracts of land obtained by grants or purchase.

Our public records contain many references to these, and among others we find a grant of the Island of Roanoke, as early as 1676, to Joshua Lamb, of New-England. It would seem that it was then settled, and had houses and buildings,[P] and probably had been occupied for many years, and perhaps antedated the settlements before referred to, thus making it the first place permanently settled in North-Carolina.

In 1785, more than a century after, the following appears in the inventory of the estate of a resident of Boston:

'In the State of North Carolina—one half of Roanoke Island, valued at L184 6s. 8d.'

Lawson, the very truthful historian of this country, who wrote about 1700, says:

'A settlement had been begun on that part of Roanoke Island, where the ruins of a fort are to be seen this day, as well as some old English coins, which have been lately found, and a brass gun, and a powder-horn, and one small quarter-deck gun, made of iron staves, hooped with the same material, which method of making guns might probably be used in those days for infant colonies.'

In time, the settlers extended over the Island, and slowly and quietly partially cultivated it. They were from the humblest class. Slavery, with its consequences, never came here, and the small farms were 'worked' by their owners and their sons.

Many years ago the writer visited Roanoke. It was then, to a great extent, covered with its original growth of pines and oaks; the whole population, being only three or four hundred, a simple, industrious community, who alternated their agricultural labors with fishing in the adjacent waters, and sometimes navigating their small vessels to neighboring ports. He then visited the site of Lane's fort, the present remains of which are very slight, being merely the wreck of an embankment. This has at times been excavated by parties who hoped to find some deposit which would repay the trouble, but with little success, a vial of quicksilver being the only relic said to have been found. This article was doubtless to be used in discovering deposits of the precious metals by the old adventurers. While walking through the lonely forests the mind of the visitor is involuntarily carried back to the scenes that took place there, as well as to the actors who centuries ago passed away. Now silence broods over the place once so active with life, and nothing but nature remains, while the distant surf is ever sounding an everlasting requiem to the memory of the brave colonists.

If this brief history had been penned a year ago, the task would have ended here; but Roanoke has now another chapter to add to the annals of our country. The great rebellion of 1861 had overshadowed the land, and its instigators were endeavoring to overthrow a Government whose power had only been felt by them as the dew of heaven, and with as beneficent results. The authority of Government was called into action, and Roanoke Island once more felt the tread of armed men. Hatteras Inlet, now the principal entrance to these sounds, and well fortified by the insurgents, was in August of 1861, captured by the Federal forces. The rebels then concentrated at Roanoke, which is the key to Albemarle Sound, and an important military position. Here they assembled a large body of troops and erected strong fortifications, deeming themselves secure against any force that could be sent against them. General Burnside left the Chesapeake with a large fleet, and having succeeded in passing Hatteras Inlet and the bars which encircle it, sailed up the sound and came to anchor off the lower end of the Island on the sixth of February, 1862.

On the morning of the seventh the fleet under the command of Captain Goldsborough, attacked that of the enemy, and after a sharp cannonade, the rebel vessels were, with one exception, captured or destroyed. As soon as the naval action ceased, General Burnside landed his troops at the lower part of the island, where they were forced to wade through mud and water; but nothing could retard the valor of these New-England soldiers, who, pressing on toward the centre of the Island, carried the entrenchments and drove the enemy before them. The rebels retreated to the northern end of the island and surrendered as prisoners of war, in number about twenty-five hundred men, with all their stores and implements.

The fleet and army subsequently visited Edenton, Pascotank, the Chowan, Neuse, and Roanoke rivers, and planted the National flag over them—visiting nearly the same shores so long ago explored by Lane and his adventurers, and like him returning victorious to the headquarters at Roanoke Island.

* * * * *

A STORY OF MEXICAN LIFE.

'You are an unbelieving set of fellows, and though you admire my rings, my breastpin, and my studs, and though you willingly accept any stray gems that I occasionally offer you, still you sneer and laugh at my mine; but it is no laughing matter, and now that we are all here together, I suppose I may as well gratify you by telling you all about it. However, as the yarn is a long one, I will first of all put the cigars and the wine within reach, so that you can help yourselves during the recital.

'Soon after our forces had evacuated Mexico, on my return from a long, tedious journey across the Cordilleras, I hired, what for the city of Mexico, might be deemed sumptuous apartments, overlooking the Cathedral Square; so luxurious, in fact, that my Mexican friends were lavish in their praises, though I confess my American visitors said much less. But my domicil consisted of only two 'pieces,' one answering for both bedroom and parlor, while in the other I dressed. Never mind the latter, for it contained little else than one shelf, which was adorned with a brown earthen pitcher and a gourd cut in two, for all my washing. My drawing-room, however, deserves a more elaborate description. The walls were frescoed, in a peculiarly gorgeous style; garlands of flowers were represented as twining around piles of fruit, and it was hard to say whether the profusion of the fruit, or the colors of the flowers, were the severest tax on the imagination, though I always thought myself, that they were both surpassed by incredible swarms of impossible humming-birds, with very gold and silver wings. The floor was covered with bran new matting, and the bedstead of cedar-wood was also new, though the bullock-skin on which the mattress rested, had rather an antiquated air. Moreover, I had a pair of sheets which were not of a bad color, although slightly patched. In addition, there was a Madonna hanging on one wall, and a Saint looking at her from the other; and against a door near the foot of my bed, stood a rocking-chair, which on my conscience I believe must have been worth at least a dollar and a half. As the door was fastened up, this rocking-chair was the favorite resort of my first morning visitor, all subsequent callers having to choose between the window-sill, the matting, and the bedstead.

'As for the neatness and cleanliness of my sanctum, it was marvelous—for Mexico. I don't remember ever seeing more than ten scorpions at one time there, and two or three tarantulas on the ceiling were too much a matter of course to attract notice. Still, I had been so long away from civilized society, and endured so many privations, that I confess, notwithstanding the attractions that my home offered, I spent but little of my time there, for I was warmly received by several American families, and gladly availed myself of their hospitality and friendly attentions. To own the honest truth, ere a month had elapsed, I had so well compensated myself for past privations, that I had a serious attack of illness.

'To this illness was I indebted for my second interview with my worthy landlady, Donna Teresa Lopez, who had been invisible since the day on which my lucky stars first guided me to her roof. This worthy woman, who was somewhere between forty and sixty years of age, (Mexican women, be it understood, when once they pass thirty, enter on a career of the most ambiguous antiquity,) had two branches of business, of which she claimed a thorough knowledge—tobacco and medicine. My sickness, therefore, was to her a source of intense gratification. She was everlastingly bringing me some new remedy of her own invention, in spite of which, thanks be to God, and a good constitution, I at length rallied, and grew gradually convalescent.

'One night, while lying half-asleep and half-awake, dreamily promising myself, if the weather were favorable on the morrow, that I would venture out of doors, I fancied I heard a voice, muttering words in my own mother tongue. I rose, and resting on my elbow, listened attentively—but then a profound silence reigned around me. Persuaded, that feeble as I still was, I had mistaken a dream for a reality, I languidly let my head fall back upon my pillow. Scarcely a minute, however, had elapsed, ere a voice whose tone denoted anguish and distress, and which seemed to come from the middle of the room, exclaimed, in distinct English: 'My God! my God! take pity on my anguish, and in mercy help me!'

'Assured this time that I was no longer dreaming, I started up again, and laboring under much excitement, cried out: 'Who is there?'

'Again all was perfectly silent. Just as I was about to jump out of bed and explore the mystery, my eye fell upon a faint streak of light, which glimmered through a crack in the door behind my rocking-chair, near the foot of my bed. From the same direction, also, came the sound of a nervous, unequal, jerking tread, which fully explained a portion of the mystery. It was pretty evident, first, that I had a neighbor; secondly, that he spoke English; and thirdly, that he was either a somnambulist or a soliloquist.

'This discovery, ordinary and common-place enough in itself, for Englishmen and Americans are plentiful enough in Mexico now-a-days, still made a very serious impression on my mind, for the words I had overheard, and above all, the tone in which they were uttered, seemed to imply something mysterious, and to be the key-note of some dramatic fragment. For hours I tossed about, pondering over those words, and day was dawning ere I fell asleep.

'The entrance of my learned landlady with a cup brimful of her latest concoction, awoke me.

''Here, Senor,' said she, presenting the dose to me with a serene air of matronly confidence, 'Here, Senor, is a tea containing no less than seventeen different ingredients; and I have a presentiment that this is the very thing to perfect your cure.'

''Thank you a thousand times,' I said, 'but I feel perfectly well this morning.'

''That is no matter—'

''No matter! what is no matter?'

''Why, no matter how well you fancy you feel; this is a sovereign remedy, so just drink it off to please me.'

''For mercy's sake, Senora, put down your medicine, sit down in the rocking-chair and draw near to the bedside, for I have several questions to ask.

''How long has my present neighbor lodged with you, Senora,' said I, when she had duly ensconced herself. She gazed inquiringly at me, but when I pointed to the door behind her, she replied, with apparent nonchalance:

''Somewhere about three months.'

''And who is he?'

''That is a question I can not answer?'

''Why not?'

''Because, over and above his rent, he paid me five dollars to hold my tongue.'

''If I were to offer you ten to let it go, how would it be then?'

''Ten dollars!' replied my hostess, in a ruminating tone of voice.

''Yes, ten dollars.'

''I should feel it my duty to my fatherless children to speak,' said this excellent mother of the bereaved heirs of the defunct Lopez. 'Yes—holy Virgin, forgive me—but I should feel bound to speak.'

''It is a bargain, then; Senora, proceed.'

''Your neighbor, Senor,' replied my hostess, in a low voice, 'is a heretic—an Englishman.'

''Not an American?'

''English or American—what is the difference, any way? I tell you he is a heretic, and you know we Mexicans make no difference between those heathens—we call them all Inglez.''

'The fair Teresa, I may remark, had always taken me for one of her fellow-countrymen, as I spoke the language fluently, and had been thoroughly sun-burnt years before.

''He arrived here, as I have already had the honor of saying, about three months since. He appears very sickly and exhausted, and from the look of his clothing I judge he had just returned from a long journey in the interior. 'Senora,' said he, when paying his bill in advance, 'I wish you to speak to no one of my residence in this house. I have no family, no country, and no name; I hate the world; I do not know a soul in this city, and I do not want to. I expect two inquiries to be made for me, one by a man, the other will be by a woman. I will not see any others. Should either of them call, their first salutation to you will be: 'The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.' Without that pass-word, I forbid you to allow any one to have access to my room.''

''Well, Senora Lopez, have these folks with the eternal pass-word turned up yet?'

''No, Excellency, during the whole three months he has not had a single visitor. Every morning when I take him his chocolate, he promises a dollar if I can find him a letter at the post-office. So every day I go, but unfortunately I have only found two for him in all that time.'

''But, of course, if you go for his letters, you must know his name, and surely you noticed where the two came from, which you received for him.'

''They were addressed to Albert Pride, and bore the stamp, 'New-Orleans.' But who knows whether that is his real name?'

''How does he spend his time?'

''He alone can answer that question. Since the first hour of his entering the house he has shut himself up in that room, and no one has seen him quit it. Between you and me, I confess candidly, that my opinion of him is by no means favorable. Why, would you believe, that though he is as thin as a rail and as pale as a ghost, he won't admit that he is even slightly indisposed. If I ask him about his symptoms, he gets angry; and if I offer him any of my specifics, he has the ill-manners to exclaim: 'Bosh! Oh! that man is a wicked fellow; I have no confidence in him!'

''Many thanks, Senora Lopez, for your information,' said I, handing her the promised reward'—vaya vm; con Dios!'

'After her departure I began to reflect that my own conduct had not been much less dishonorable than hers. What right had I to tear aside the vail of mystery in which my neighbor wished to wrap himself? I owned to myself that I was very clearly in the wrong. And yet, having made this concession to the claims of conscience, my fancy was busy putting together the scraps I had gleaned. The field of speculation was so vast and unbounded that I knew not where to stop. The starting-point was easy. Curiosity began by asking, Why the deuce, Albert Pride was so carefully hiding himself away in the city of Mexico? He must be a fellow-countryman; because an Englishman, no matter how branded at home, by fraud or dishonor, could boldly strut about New-Orleans or New-York, without submitting to voluntary self-imprisonment in the city of Mexico. Was he a fraudulent merchant, or a bank-defaulter? Good heavens! such gentlemen generally assume such a graceful nonchalance, or else laugh at their little transactions so good-naturedly that such a supposition was ridiculous. Well, then, perhaps he had had a personal difficulty? I think that is the phrase, is it not, for sending a fellow-mortal on his last long journey? What of that? that even would be no reason for concealment, for once in Mexico, what had he to dread? Thus I went on, tormenting my mind with suppositions and conjectures without end, until at last I resolved to dispel my apparently inextricable tangle of mystery by taking a walk, as soon as I had finished my breakfast. Accordingly I sallied forth, turned my steps toward the Alameda, and at no great distance from one of the fountains I sat down on a bench, beneath the shade of one of the grand old trees.

II.

'The Alameda, during the early part of the day, is perhaps the most unfrequented spot in the whole city of Mexico; in fact, almost deserted. It would be, therefore, unsafe to traverse, were it not that the absence of victims insured the stray loiterer against any well-grounded fear of robbers. Great, therefore, was my surprise at hearing, shortly after I had taken my seat, two persons in animated conversation behind the spot which I had selected. A thicket of climbing plants and prickly cactuses alone separated me from them; but while it prevented me from catching even a glimpse of their persons, I lost not one word of their conversation.

''Pedro,' said a full, sonorous voice, 'I am by no means satisfied with you. In the management of this business, you have shown a carelessness that I can not tolerate. Why, zounds! your acquaintance with Pepito was a most excellent pretext for gaining access to the enemy's camp. You might have pretended to be very anxious about Pepito, who I most heartily wish was at the devil, and what could be more natural than going to make inquiry after him?'

''Well, General, the fact is this,' said the invisible individual, who had been addressed as Pedro, 'much as I am attached to Pepito, I am by no means anxious to have a bullet through my brains.'

''Bullet through your brains! what do you mean?'

''Simply what I say. Now, look here, Senor General, the other day, last Friday, I succeeded in slipping, during the old woman's absence, to the door of the fellow's room. 'Who is there?' exclaimed the 'Inglez,' in a loud voice, just as I was about to give the third kick at his door. 'Me, Pedro,' I replied. 'Don't know you,' was the answer, 'you must have mistaken the room,' 'Not at all, Senor,' said I, 'I come to seek some tidings of my compadre, Pepito.' 'Tidings of Pepito,' repeated the Inglez, 'tidings of Pepito—wait—' So I did wait, congratulating myself on the success of my scheme, and handling my knife with a confident expectation of making sure work of my man, when I heard the floor creak, and looking through the key-hole, I saw the confounded Inglez cocking a pistol and putting a fresh cap on it. And do you know, General, it somehow happened that when he opened the door, I was at the bottom of the stairs.'

''Which means, Pedro, that you ran away like a coward as you are.'

''Coward!—nay, General, you must be joking. The truth is, I experienced a new sensation; I felt for the first time the emotion of fear; yes, that must have been what passed over me. It was something quite new to me, and for the moment I did not know what ailed me.'

''Idiot! do you suppose a foreigner would be fool enough to amuse himself by shooting a Mexican at mid-day, in the very heart of the capital?'

''Oh! I know very well, General, that it would cost him a small fortune, if he was rich, and his life if he was poor. But then these Inglez are so imprudent, so rash, so headstrong, and I felt that I had no wish to have a bullet in my head, just to put money into the pocket of the best judge in the city.'

''Nonsense; but about those papers. I must have them. What steps do you propose taking?'

''General and chief, were I to put my hand upon my heart, and tell you the sacred truth, I should say that I propose for a time to lie quiet and—do nothing.'

''Do nothing—lie quiet! Do you forget that I have paid you already one hundred dollars in advance, and that four hundred more are ready for you when your job is finished?'

''Oh! I know our bargain, General, and I have the greatest confidence in your honor. As for abandoning the enterprise, that I have never dreamed of; but the fact is, my motive in remaining inactive for a season is, that I am certain if I make a move now I shall be undoubtedly checked, perhaps mated.'

''How so?'

''Well—because I find at the monte-table, where I usually try my luck, that there has been for nearly a week a run on odd numbers. Now, I always remark that when there is a run on odds, I always lose in every thing I put my hand to. Stop, then, General, till the tables turn, and when I strike a new vein, you shall hear from your servant, Pedro.'

'Of course I waited, expecting to hear the General burst forth in violent denunciations on his servant, Pedro, or at any rate supposed he would ridicule such an excuse; but I was deceived.

''Well, Pedro, your excuse is not so bad; had you explained yourself at the outset, I should not have been so angry.'

'The Mexicans, it may be remarked, are influenced in the most important and momentous actions of their life, by superstition; this fact is readily explained, when we reflect that the vast majority of them are utterly devoid of the very first rudiments of education, and owe the position they occupy to the fortune of civil war or of the gambling-table. Except in the mere texture and richness of their costume, nothing else in that strange country of the grotesque and picturesque, distinguishes the man of rank from the beggar or the lazzaroni. In every class, in every rank, you meet with the same simplicity, the same vanity, the same prejudices, the same superstition, the same purity of language, the same grace of elocution. The beggar, wrapped in his tatters, displays the self-same exquisite polish of manners, the same courteous bearing, as the senator or the millionaire, in velvet and gold. After all, it must be ever remembered that perhaps the senator was once a beggar, and that ere long the beggar may be a senator. One or two lucky hits at monte, and in a few, short hours, lo! the metamorphosis is complete.'

'You can readily believe that the conversation I had thus overheard interested me greatly; however the promptings of curiosity would have riveted me to my seat, the dictates of prudence warned me to retire as quickly and stealthily as possible.

'With a tread as noiseless as practicable, I therefore turned my footsteps to the main avenue, and keeping an eye always on the spot I had left, I took another seat near the main entrance. Not much more than a quarter of an hour could have elapsed, when along the same path I had myself taken, I saw two men approaching. One of them was a tall and very handsome man; he flourished in his hand a cane with massive gold head, and walked with a military air, in fact, with the air of a hero and a conqueror; perfectly well-dressed, in the latest European fashion; indeed, had it not been for the immense profusion of gold chain, and sparkling rings upon his fingers, instead of gloves, you might have almost mistaken him for a gentleman. His companion presented the most striking contrast. His face, shaded by a torn, slouched hat, was dirty and coffee-colored. Of short stature, slight build, and round-shouldered, he followed his master, with an humble, abject look, and from his tread, you would almost have imagined that he was anxious not to leave any track behind, of his footsteps on the gravel walk. A velvet cloak, so worn and patched that a lazzaroni would only have yielded to the temptation of stealing it, from a love of art and not from any hope of its being of any earthly use to him, was thrown across his shoulders, beneath which appeared pantaloons ornamented on the outer seam of each leg with long-shanked brass buttons, covered with verdigris, and boots of Spanish leather, outrageously dilapidated.

'As they drew nearer to my seat, I became more and more impressed that the handsome flourisher of the gold-headed cane was not unknown to me. I was not mistaken, for as he passed me his eye caught mine, and with a friendly wave of the hand, he honored me with a most polite recognition. It was General Valiente, one of the most celebrated or rather notorious 'ladies' men' in Mexico.

'From the fact of his companion having addressed him as General, and from the direction in which I had watched them come, I was at no loss to identify General Valiente and his companion with the invisible talkers who had so unwittingly imparted their secrets to me.

'I noticed that immediately on leaving the Alameda, General Valiente and his friend Pedro separated, without further parley, and each took directly opposite roads.

'This adventure took firm hold of my mind, and for nearly two hours I remained seated in the Alameda, revolving it over and over. Personally, I knew but little of this General Valiente; but by hearsay, much. His name was connected with various strange stories, in which jealous husbands, duels, poniards, and poison figured very largely, and it had been hinted that had Eugene Sue been acquainted with Valiente, there might have been forthcoming one of the most intensely interesting histories relative to the mysteries of Mexico.

III.

'Time passed on, until the promptings of an empty stomach began to remind me that my dinner-hour was at hand, if not already passed; but I still sat there, ruminating. At last, however, I arose, and slowly walked up the magnificent Calle des Plateros, which leads directly into the Cathedral Square. Whilst thus sauntering along, my gaze fell on a young and lovely female, whose eyes were intently fixed on me, and who, I fancied, to my extreme surprise, was preparing to address me. Fearing, however, that I might be laboring under a delusion, and dreading to involve myself in a ridiculous dilemma, although I had instinctively almost halted, I quickened my step, when, to my great delight, she stepped toward me, her lovely face suffused with blushes.

'Doubt was at an end. Raising my hat, and approaching her most respectfully, I inquired if fortune had so favored me as to enable me to be of any possible service to her, and if so, I was at her orders.

''Senor, I have simply to beg some information; can you direct me which street will lead me to the Cathedral Square?'

''I am myself going thither, Senora, and if you will permit me to walk beside you, I shall be most happy to show you the way.'

'For a few moments, she hesitated, and I seized the opportunity to examine her more attentively. Hair as black as the raven's wing, large blue eyes, a face perfectly oval, a mouth of the smallest and the most expressive mold, lips the reddest and most faultless it is possible to imagine, composed the details of the lovely whole, which at the first glimpse had dazzled and attracted me. Probably my respectful admiration was legible on my countenance, for after a few seconds, the youthful beauty accepted my proffered guidance.

''Would you deem me too impertinent, were I to ask you one question, Senora?' said I, after we had proceeded a few steps.

''Of course that will in a great measure depend on the question you are about to ask,' she replied, giving at the same time a sweet smile.

''Are you a native of Mexico, Senora?'

''No, Senor,' answered she, after a momentary pause, 'I am not a Mexican; but may I, in return, inquire what induced you to doubt it?'

''Madame, if you will excuse my candor, my doubts were excited by your Spanish.'

''O Senor! I am aware that I speak it very poorly.'

''If I am not greatly mistaken, you are a native of la belle France.'

'The beautiful stranger turned pale. 'What possible interest, Senor, can it be to you as to who or what I am?' This she asked with an earnest look, so piercing and fixed as to astonish me in any woman.

''No interest, madame, but it would be a pleasure; for my mother's ancestors were French, and I am, therefore, ever happy to have an opportunity to be of any service to one whom I am permitted to look upon as in some degree a country-woman.'

''I am not from France, Senor, although my ancestry, like yours, is French. I am a native of New-Orleans.'

''Better still, madame,' Said I, 'for then I am indeed your fellow-countryman; for I was born in the Sunny South, not far distant from Mobile—but, madame, I fear you feel ill?'

''Oh! no—ill—it is nothing—the heat—and I am fatigued, sir; pray, are we far from the Cathedral Square?'

''Three minutes more will bring us to it, madame; you can already see the steps of the cathedral.'

''Then, sir, I have only to thank you for your kindness,' she replied, bowing her head most gracefully.

'There was no mistaking her thanks for any thing but a desire to dismiss me, so I once more bowed to her, and she, to dispel every possibility of doubt, quickened her pace, so as to be rid of me as soon as possible.

'Without altering my gait, I pursued the even tenor of my way, when, what was my surprise to see her stop before the door of my domicile.

'As she was in the act of ascending the steps, she turned round, and as I was not many yards behind her, it happened that I was the first person who met her eye. I noticed she seemed for a few moments to hesitate, and then apparently obeying some sudden impulse, she walked toward me.

''Sir,' said she, with the same earnest, piercing glance, which had before struck me; 'Sir, this conduct is neither polite nor honorable, and if you really are an American, you must know that to play the spy on a lone female is not manly.'

''Good heavens! madame,' said I, as coolly as possible, 'perhaps you will allow me to explain, that my conduct is simply that of a man who is returning home to dine.'

''Home! why, is this your residence?'

''Exactly so, madame.'

'This explanation evidently annoyed her, but she added coldly:

''Excuse, then, sir, the error into which my hastiness has betrayed me. I regret my ill-judged impetuosity. May I inquire, sir, if you are acquainted with any of the persons dwelling in this house?'

''With the exception of Donna Lopez, the landlady, I do not know a single soul.'

''Would you inform her, sir, that I wish to speak with her?'

''With much pleasure.'

'Opening the door, I immediately proceeded to summon Donna Teresa.

''Senora,' said I, 'here is a lady who is anxious to see you.'

'My beauteous countrywoman gave a most expressive look, which very clearly signified that my instant departure would be satisfactory to her feelings, but my curiosity was so far kindled that I pretended not to understand, but remained standing near the door. My want of tact seemed once more to vex her, but after a moment's reflection, she addressed the worthy Teresa.

''Senora,' said she, in a low voice, but still not so low but I could overhear, 'The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.'

''If you will follow me, Senora, I will show you to Mr. Albert Pride's rooms,' said mine hostess, as she led the way up-stairs.

IV.

''Well, Doctor of mine,' said I, addressing the disinterested Teresa, when after a delay of some twenty minutes she appeared with my dinner, 'what do you think of our last new arrival? Matters are beginning to grow a little complicated.'

''What do I think? Why, I think that she is marvelously beautiful; such a perfect beauty I never saw before. But yet, her eye displeases me.'

''That, allow me to remark, is not a very logical conclusion.'

''Oh! as for a logical conclusion, I don't know what that is; but I know just what I feel, though perhaps I can't tell you in words, why I do feel so; but I am candid, I am; and I tell you, I don't like her eye.'

'After Donna Teresa's departure, I sat with the book which usually served me as a companion at meal-times, wide open on the table, but it remained unread. My strange encounter with this beautiful stranger had taken entire possession of my mind. What could be the link between her and this Albert Pride, who had for three months been awaiting her arrival? Why should she be as anxious as he to avoid recognition? For every thing conspired to prove this—her emotion when I asked if she were French, her pallor and faintness when I claimed to be a fellow-citizen, her indignation at the thought of my playing the spy upon her, and her hesitation to speak in my presence to Donna Lopez—all tended to show she desired to preserve the strictest incognito.

'The convent-bells of all Mexico were ringing the Angelus, and I was still seated at the dinner-table, absorbed in deep thought. My imagination had been so racked that it passed from the domain of the real, and reveled in the most fantastic regions of the ideal, and it required a strong effort of the will to bring back my mind to the dull matter-of-fact aspects of actual life.

'As the evening promised to be magnificent, I determined to refresh my mind by taking a brisk walk.

'Passing down the Calle del Arco, I met an acquaintance, at whose solicitation I entered one of the most fashionably-frequented gambling-houses in the city; it was about nine o'clock, and quite a number of players were assembled.

'Soon after taking my stand at the board of green cloth, so as to have a good view of the game, and to watch the conflicting emotions depicted on the countenances of these devotees of the fickle goddess, I felt a gentle tap on the shoulder, and turning round, beheld at my side General Valiente.

''Would you, Senor Rideau, have the goodness to give me an ounce in exchange for sixteen dollars?'

''Certainly, General.' And I immediately handed it to him, placing the dollars he gave me in return, on the table immediately before me.

''You had better see if it is all right,' said he.

''It is not necessary, General.'

''Oh! I beg of you to count them, an error is so easily committed.'

'Accordingly I counted the pile, and found there were only fifteen.

''You see now, Senor, how necessary it is to be particular. I am delighted now that I pressed upon you to examine them; you see I owe you a dollar.' Saying which, he turned to the table and put down his stake.

'After two or three games, I suggested to my friend that it was about time to leave, but before retiring, I just put down five dollars as my one offering to chance. A very short suspense was all that I had to endure, for in a minute my card won.

'The croupier, after raking in his winnings and paying two or three of his losses, took up my stake, and after quietly glancing at each coin, held them out toward me, and said:

''I do not feel bound to pay.'

''Why not, I should like to know?'

''Because, Caballero, your dollars are spurious.'

''General Valiente,' said I, raising my voice, 'here is this croupier pretending that the money I received from you just now, is false.'

''The croupier is an impertinent rascal, whose ears I would crop off if I had him any where else than where we are,' said the General. 'As for your dollars, my dear Caballero, I really can not vouch for their purity, you know there are such gangs of counterfeiters throughout the country. You see how far I was right in begging you to examine them just now. This little accident now will impress it on your mind and make you more cautious in future.'

'I knew too much of Mexican life to be surprised at this cool reply. As for resenting the General's conduct, I did not for an instant dream of it. Military men in Mexico assume, and in fact enjoy such extensive privileges, that to have made a fuss about such a trifle would been looked on by all civilians as sheer madness. I therefore merely examined my pile very carefully, and congratulated myself at finding that three out of the fifteen were genuine. It was very evident that despite his very sound advice, my friend General Valiente had neglected to examine them with any great nicety.

'While thus engaged, the clocks struck ten, and at the sound the players arose to stretch their legs and take part in the interlude. Servants appeared with what passed for refreshments, that is to say, tumblers and decanters containing three or four different kinds of liquor, all of domestic manufacture, and which differed only in their colors. Glasses and decanters soon circulated freely, and each man helped himself without stint.

'Seated near the door, chatting to two or three Americans, my attention was attracted by the entrance of a ranchero, gayly dressed in the rich national costume of the country. His jaunty air amused me, and I moreover fancied I recognized his features. After running his eye over the assemblage, his countenance brightened up, and with an air of boldness he walked directly toward a window, where with his back to us, was standing my delectable friend, the General.

'I can scarcely define the feeling which prompted me, but instinctively I changed my seat for one not far distant from the window.

V.

'On beholding the ranchero, Valiente was unable to suppress an outburst of ill-humor.

''What do you come here for, Pedro?' said he, lowering his voice; 'you know well enough that I have forbidden you to accost me in public.'

'This flattering reception, however, did not disturb Pedro's equanimity.

''Before you fly off into a passion, General,' said he, 'perhaps you will deign to cast a glance at my change of attire. How does it strike you?'

''Oh! good enough, good enough, Pedro, but—'

''Suits me admirably, I think, don't you? I need not say it's the first-fruits of a lucky hit. The run on the odds gave up, and I went in and won twice running on the evens. I find it impossible to express to you, General, my delight, the intense joy I experienced, when I threw that villainous old suit of mine out of the window, it was a hideous abomination, and I really felt ashamed to walk with you this morning across the Alameda. But now luck has changed; Pedro and the evens win, and I feel ready to undertake what other men might deem impossibilities.'

''I am very glad your luck has turned, Pedro, and I appreciate your willingness to act; but as I before told you, you must not be seen talking to me, thus publicly, so be off quickly.'

''Yes, I know all that, General, but first let me hand you a letter that I received just now from Brown and Hunt.'

''Hush! Are you drunk or mad, to mention names in such a place as this?'

'The General looked around him, but the precision with which I was comparing my watch with the clock over the mantelpiece, saved me from suspicion, and he resumed his conversation, in a voice which evidently betokened suppressed rage.

''Listen, Pedro; twice have I expressly forbidden you holding any communication with that firm; beware, lest I find you daring again to disobey me. This once more I will overlook it; but keep this well in mind, that it is far better to have me for your friend than your enemy. Now not another word; begone!'

'Pedro, whose consequential air had gradually faded into one of deep humility, as soon as the General ceased speaking, bowed very low and left without uttering a sound. The voice of the croupier was soon heard announcing that the monte would recommence, and yielding to the pressing invitation of those around me, I resumed my position at the table.

'It was past midnight ere the bank closed, and I rose the winner of some ten ounces. Not being at all ambitious of exciting the cupidity of the less fortunate brethren around me, I was very particular in intrusting all my money to the croupier and taking his receipt for it, payable to my order. This precaution settled in the most public manner, I bade my friends good night.

'At the foot of the stairs I found General Valiente waiting for me, apparently, for he accosted me in the most gracious tone, and bowed with the most exquisite air of well-bred politeness.

''Believe me, Senor Rideau, I feel extremely mortified about that little affair of the counterfeit dollars.'

''You are altogether too considerate, General, to think about the matter in any way.'

''O Senor! such a circumstance jars upon my feelings; those confounded villains! we must have a strong government, and make an example of some of them. I feel anxious to make amends to you—something more than a mere apology. Now an idea struck me as I came down-stairs. Will you oblige me by allowing me to buy the spurious dollars? Well, now, suppose I give you four good ones, it will be so much out of the fire.'

''Willingly, General, most willingly; but the fact is, I can only return you twelve; I have a particular use for the other three.'

''Ah! you sly rogue, you passed off three on the croupier, eh? Well, that is not so bad.'

''General, you flatter me too highly. I assure you I have a special purpose for three of them.'

''Oh! well,' said he, 'it is not of the least importance; I happen to have four dollars in my pocket, and I will give them to you in exchange for your twelve, rather than see a friend lose all.'

''General, I thank you a thousand times; here are your twelve counterfeits.'

''O Senor! pray do not mention thanks; between caballeros, there is no need for thanks; I have only done the right thing; here are four genuine dollars. Good-night—pleasant dreams.'

'Half-past twelve was striking as I reached, without further adventure, the door of my habitation.

''Who is there?' cried I, as I suddenly beheld, a few steps from the door, wrapped in a large cloak, leaning against the railing, a tall man.

'The unknown made no reply. I therefore stepped back and drew out my revolver. Dialogues carried on by knives and fire-arms are by no means of rare occurrence at mid-night in the streets of Mexico; but I was anxious, ere proceeding to extremities, to have a good look at my antagonist. Although the Cathedral Square was illumined by a magnificent moonlight, still I could not succeed. His hat was forced down over his brow; his ample cloak was raised, and the folds covered the lower portion of his face entirely. I could distinguish only a pair of glaring eyes, and also discover that his long hair, which nearly reached his shoulders, was almost perfectly white.

'The contemptuous silence and disdainful listlessness of my cloaked adversary tended rather to enrage than calm me; so, with my revolver in full view, and my arm stretched forth, I advanced toward him.

''I have already once demanded who you are, and you have not seen fit to answer me. As I intend entering this house, and can not do so in safety, since you block my passage, and may have a dagger hidden beneath your cloak, I warn you, unless you clear the way, I shall be obliged to proceed to violent means to enforce my demand.'

'Whether the unknown was duly impressed with wholesome prudence, by the tone of my voice and the sight of my pistol; whether, finding he had woke up the wrong customer, he determined to change his tactics; or whether he had no sinister motives, I could not then determine; suffice it to say, he evacuated the disputed territory, and with a measured and majestic step, moved away some eight or ten paces, reminding me of a stage bandit, in some Bowery melodrama.

'Keeping my face toward him, and letting no movement of his body escape me, I knocked loudly at the door, and in a minute more Donna Lopez herself opened it, and I entered.

'Mexican houses all are provided with two doors, and my hostess and I had not crossed the vestibule leading to the inner one, when the knocker fell on the outer door, with a force that fairly startled the obese Teresa.

''Holy Virgin!' exclaimed she, 'who can be there at this hour? But angels defend us, why, Senor, have you your pistol in your hand?'

'In a few words, I explained to her the adventure which had befallen me at the door; but ere I had fairly ended, the door shook with the increased violence with which the knocker now fell upon it. I rushed forward to open it.

''For mercy's sake, Senor, be prudent; do not open it,' said my terrified hostess, 'wait—wait, I will go myself.'

'Poor Donna Teresa, overpowered by fear, was slower than even was her custom, in obeying the impetuous summons, and as she reached the door, it shook for the third time beneath the rapid blows of the knocker.

'Who is there?' said she, in a faltering tone, opening a little slide which was so protected by bars and cross-bars as to prevent the intrusion of a dagger or even the muzzle of a pistol; 'who is there?'

''The price of liberty is eternal vigilance,' was the answer from without.

VI.

'Donna Lopez looked at me with terror and amazement.

''This must be the man Senor Pride has been so impatiently waiting for during the past three months,' said she, 'he must be admitted.'

''One moment, Senora, let me first put one question to this impetuous stranger; perchance he may have uttered these words without knowing their full import.'

''Friend,' said I, approaching the grating, 'it is very true that 'the price of liberty is eternal vigilance;' but allow me to suggest that this is not a very appropriate hour for uttering truisms, however excellent, especially in the way you do. Let peaceable people retire to rest, and take my advice and get you to your own home.'

''I must see Albert Pride without delay; imminent danger threatens him. If you persist in refusing me admittance, on your head be the consequences.'

'This reply dissipated all doubt. I opened the door immediately. A man, wrapped in a large cloak, entered, whom I instantly recognized as the same person I had found leaning against the rails. His face, no longer concealed, betrayed evidence of deep emotion.

'Taking a small lamp in her hand, Donna Teresa, after casting a piteous glance toward me, as though she were begging me not to lose sight of them, told the stranger to follow her, and she would show him the way. He followed, without uttering a word.

''This is the door of Senor Pride's room,' said she, on reaching the head of the stairs.

''Senora,' said the stranger, 'it may be that he is a sound sleeper, and may not answer my first rap. I will therefore, with your permission, take the lamp, and will not detain you longer.'

'How far this proposition suited my worthy hostess, I can not say; at any rate, she made no opposition. As we retired, we heard a firm hand rattling the handle of Pride's door.

'The sleeping-room I occupied, although contiguous to and on the same floor with Albert Pride's, was reached by another staircase. It was very narrow; but I was so familiar now with the house, that I did not wait for my hostess to bring a light, especially as I had candles in my room. As I entered my room, I fancied I heard a gentle tapping at the door, which was closed up near the foot of my bed, and to which I have already alluded. If opened, I knew it must lead into Pride's apartments.

'Again I heard the tapping, and exclaimed: 'Who is there?'

''Open the door, for Heaven's sake, open the door,' was the reply, in a low tone; 'quick, my life is in danger!'

'I approached the door, and in equally low tones asked: 'Who are you?'

''A woman—but quick, open—open the door, for every moment is precious. I tell you my life is at stake!'

'It seemed to me it was rather a time for action than for explanations, so, taking an excellent Spanish dagger, which I had had in my possession many years, I succeeded in wrenching out the two staples which fastened the door on my side, and then putting my mouth to the key-hole, I asked: 'Have you the key?'

''Yes.'

''Then unlock the door, and bring the key with you to this side.'

'A few moments more, and a woman, to judge from the lightness of the tread, for I was still without light, precipitated herself into, rather than entered, the room.

''Oh! thanks; from my heart I thank you, Senor, whoever you are; I owe my life to your kind assistance.'

'The sound of her voice, which I at once recognized, changed the suspicion which had from the first moment flashed upon my mind, into full assurance.

''Do not be afraid, madame,' said I, 'you are in perfect safety here. Do you lock the door, while I look to my candles.'

'The first object my candle brought to light was the pale but still charming face of my beautiful country-woman.

''You, sir!' she exclaimed, scarcely able to suppress her astonishment. 'In mercy I implore you, save me from the fury of my husband.'

''Of Mr. Albert Pride?'

''No, sir, Albert is not my husband; but, listen!—do you not hear?—they are quarreling—they are struggling.'

'I listened. She was not mistaken. In spite of the two partitions which separated us from the scene of this angry interview, we distinctly heard the furious accents of passion. All at once a violent shock made the wall—thin enough, it is true—creak and rattle; then, a moment afterward, we heard the fall as of a body, accompanied with a low moan.

''Albert is dead! He has murdered him; but woe be to him. I will be revenged yet,' exclaimed my companion, her eyes glaring with unearthly fire.

'At this moment, hasty footsteps sounded in the adjoining room, which I subsequently discovered was Pride's bed-chamber.

''Sir,' said a voice choked with anger, 'you are a coward, and shall give me satisfaction for this insult.'

''You brought it on yourself, by your own obstinacy. Had you not opposed my entrance to this room, I should not have used violence toward you, at any rate. As for the satisfaction you claim, I will think about that.'

''Well, you see that your wife is not here,' replied Albert, after a short silence, during which we could hear the furniture being moved, closets opened, and the curtain-rings rattle.

''True, sir; but her absence only proves one thing, that in one particular I have been misinformed.'

''Confess rather, egregiously duped.'

''Duped!—nay, you are the dupe. Will you, Arthur Livermore, give me your word of honor as a gentleman, that my wife, Adele Percival, has not followed you to Mexico? Will you deny that she is now your mistress?'

''Yes, sir, I give you my word of honor,' replied Albert or Arthur, in a low, husky voice.

''And I tell you, Arthur Livermore, to your teeth, you are a miserable, contemptible liar! Nay, seek not to deny it, it is useless; for I hold here the proof, in your own writing. Look, here is your last letter; it arrived two days after Adele left New-Orleans. You acknowledge that—for you turn pale at your own treachery. I bribed the tool who acted as your go-between, so you see I attached some importance to securing proof. You spoke, I think, of being duped. Arthur, I am amazed at your effrontery; but I wait to hear your defense.'