Page images
PDF
EPUB

continued Imbert," who control the young ones, and make them promise to favour none but such suitors as have pushed their fortunes upon the sea, and performed the delicate operation of letting blood from whales. It has finally come to be a settled thing, that the daughter of a whale-fisherman loses caste, and degrades herself in the eyes of her acquaintance, if she unites her destiny to a landsman! This is a damnable prejudice; and I swear, not only to be the means of eradicating it, but to hunt the institution itself down! But to return: Gardner was long ago given to understand, by some means that I cannot comprehend, that Mary's favour was to be propitiated only by a successful exhibition of his talent in the branch of surgery to which I have alluded; and he goes, nothing loath, to gain for himself the name of a fearless whaler-an exclusive-before he will be allowed to indulge in hope. Well! Mary, with a determination of manner that has nettled me, and that, to my notion, plainly enough said, 'I have caught you at last, but I doubt your sincerity;' or perhaps for the pleasure of having two strings to,her bow, has contrived to impose the same pilgrimage upon me--me!--Julius Imbert, M.D., born a gentleman-"

"With a silver spoon in his mouth, I suppose," dryly observed Grimshaw.

"A fair hit," said Imbert; "but, my dear fellow, egotism between us is not boasting, you know."

Imbert proceeded in his narration: "I pressed my suit with her, as I thought, successfully; and went so far as to demand some love-token which I might keep as a testimonial of her favour. I was about to imprint a kiss upon her cheek, to seal, what I thought, a good understanding between us, when she interposed her hand, and said,

"Hold, friend Julius! I fear this has proceeded too far already. I cannot allow thee to ratify a contract that I have not yet entirely approved on my part, and whose conditions may perhaps need further considera

[ocr errors]

tion on thine. Thou knowest that I am young in years, and lack experience; and thou shouldst not call upon me to act on the spur of the moment. Thy declaration is as sudden as unexpected: and yet thou hast already asked of me a pledge of constancy, and seemest to look upon it as a thing of course that I should at once comply with thy demand. Beshrew me, but thou art over

confident.

Young as I am, I know the privilege of my sex it is for me to demand the token from thee, as a pledge of thy sincerity and constancy.'

"Name the boon!' said I.

"Thou hast already asked of me,' said she, ‘to name a task to be performed, as a test of thy purity of intention towards me. Dost thou wish to retract the offer?'

[blocks in formation]

6

"Swear not,' said she, unless thou wouldst have me to doubt thy truth. Thou dost promise obedience

then?'

66 6 I do.'

66 6

Listen to me, Julius. I am the youngest member of a certain female association, whose rules I have promised to observe. What those rules are I may not tell thee; but I would not, for a kingdom, be the first to break through the regulations that I have subscribed to -for, if I did, I should lose my own self-esteem, and perhaps meet with the scorn of my associates. I will not further discuss the question whether my adherence to them is wise or unwise: suffice it to say, I am a fastbound member, and so I must remain. The conversation between thee and me hath proceeded to that extent, that I deem it proper to say thus much to thee: I cannot, under my vow, accept thee as a suitor of mine, until thou hast well and truly proved thyself worthy of alliance with a whale-fisherman's daughter.'

"And how can I best prove it to you?' demanded I. "By going upon the long voyage, and killing thy whale' answered she.

"Why, Mary!-what folly is this!' exclaimed I, vexed at her words.

"Thou must do it!' said Mary, with energy, ‘and return to me a whale-fisherman-and a brave and skilful one to boot,-or the hand of Mary Folger shall never be thine. My heart is yet free; but there are those who have already undertaken to win it in the way now proposed to thee.'

"But, Mary,' said I, 'I have a reputable profession already—and is not that enough? To possess a knowledge of the healing art is held most honourable among all nations; and does my profession pass for nothing at Sherburne?'

"I will not argue the question with thee; thou mayst take back thy vaunted promise. I thought it would prove, upon the test, a vainglorious boast,— words, mere words,—when thou didst volunteer it. Nay, scowl not at me; thou hast forced a bashful maiden to confession, and hast caused her to throw by a portion of the natural delicacy of her sex. We now understand each other; and it is well that thou hast learned, at the outset, that thou canst neither flatter me out of my "mind's propriety" with a smile, nor scare me from my "mental pyramid”* with a frown.'

6

"Mary!' said I, surprised at this trait of firmness in her character, my promise shall be kept, and your command shall be performed to the very letter. I did not, it is true, relish your imputation of deceit; but I will go, and win a title to your favour by enacting prodigies upon the seas; and if I do not succeed over every rival-for I have rivals, it seems-and prove myself entitled to tell the " biggest fish-story" of them all, I will be content to resign my interest in the prize for which I contend.'

"So now you have heard all, Grimshaw," said Imbert; " and you will confess that I am in a fair way

* Fairfield.

to spend some three years abroad, at the command of a mistress whose knight-errants must poise the lance skilfully, or be disgraced. I could not, as a true knight, back out from any thing that Gardner is willing to undertake to show his devotion. None but the brave deserves the fair,' you know; and the bravest upon this occasion wins."

"And are you not, Julius Imbert, M.D., &c., with all your ready wit, a most egregious blockhead-an irreclaimable idiot, to listen for one moment to such folly? By the bones of Thomas à Becket, or of the sainted, puritanic John Gardner, aged 82, beneath our feet, you are either fool or hypocrite, and I suspect the latter. I know you of old-there is more in this than you have dared to tell. You would circumnavigate the globe to win that girl-and then abandon her, as you have the Indian maid !"

66

"Hush--not so loud!-lest even the gravestone of old Gardner should hear you. It has witnessed one of my follies already; let it not get wind of another, which the censorious world might call equally reprehensible. But be careful how you trench upon private property, my boy. My actions and my after-intentions are my own-they may not be descanted upon thus freely, even by my friend. Poor Manta!" continued Imbert, musing; was ever being so devoted-the love of Pocahontas was nothing to it! To confess the truth," said he, aloud, "I care not if I absent myself for a season, until the anticipated effects of my liaison at Eat-fire Spring shall cease to be the town-talk. It must all be blown shortly, and my departure is to me the less irksome on that account. I should prefer a shorter trip to the continent, however; but the pleasure of tantalizing my rival with my presence will, of itself, prove no small gratification—and so I'll e'en take to the sea. But, by heaven, you say truly!—I will win that girl, and in her own way; and though three years' servitude, consorting with greasy whale-killers the while, is an apprenticeship VOL. II.--I

a thought too long,--yet it is not without precedent in holy writ. Jacob's period of servitude to win Rachel, the daughter of Laban, you know, was twice seven years; but mine, to win the daughter of Peleg, will be a mere bagatelle in the contrast. There is a comfortable doctrine in the text: See Genesis, xxix. 20 and 30,' as the man in the pulpit has it. Yes!" continued he, speaking to himself, "I will win her--but dearly shall she pay for the biting sneer which goaded me on to this Quixotic expedition :

Though that her jesses were my dear heartstrings,
I'd whistle her off-and let her down the wind
To prey at fortune!' "

"And what ship," said Grimshaw, to whom the last remark of Imbert was inaudible—“ what ship will have the honour of bearing Cæsar and his fortunes?"

"The Leviathan," answered Imbert; "I have rated myself a landsman on board of her already."

"Were I captain of the Leviathan," said his companion," methinks I should have chosen one of the hardy Nantucketers in your stead."

"The captain was pretty much of your opinion, I believe," replied Imbert; "it was not without some difficulty that Captain Jon-a-thin, as they call him, consented to my going with him. A red coat and smalls, silk hose and fantail-beaver-macaroni, were not the best passports for shipping on board a whaler.”

"And how did you manage to creep into favour with the skipper?"

"Before my intention had time to cool, I made personal application to him yesterday. I found him on board the ship, superintending her outfit.

666

Captain,' said I, 'I have a notion of trying my fortunes upon the sea ;--can I have a berth with you?' "In what capacity?' demanded he, in some astonishment; 'we have no occasion for a surgeon; he would

« PreviousContinue »