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AFLOAT AND ASHORE
Our meeting partook of the character of our situation, being a mixture of melancholy and happiness. I rejoiced in our
success, while I regretted Marble, and even our late enemies,
while the Major and his daughter could not but remember all
the gloomy particulars of their late, and, indeed, of their present position.
“We seem to be kept, like Mahomet’s coffin, sir,” Emily observed, as she looked affectionately at her father, “suspended
between heaven and earth – the Indies and America – not
knowing on which we are to alight. The Pacific is our air, and
we are likely to breathe it, to our heart’s content.”
“True, love – your comparison is not an unhappy one. But,
Wallingford, what has become of Captain Marble in these stirring times? You have not left him, Sancho Panza like, to govern Barritaria, while you have come to recover his ship?”
I told my passengers of the manner in which our old friend
had disappeared, and inquired if anything had been seen of
the whale-boat, or the schooner, on the night of the tropical
tempest.
“Nothing” – answered the Major. “So far from expecting to
lay eyes on the ‘Beautiful Emily,’ again, we supposed you would
be off for Canton by the end of the fortnight that succeeded
our own departure. At least, that was poor Le Compte’s version
of the matter. I am certain however, that no sail was seen from
this ship, during the whole passage; nor, had we any storm like
that you have described. More beautiful weather, I never met
at sea.”
Upon this, I sent for the log-book, and ascertained, by day
and date, that the Crisis was not within fifty leagues of the
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JAMES FENIMORE COOPER
spot, where we encountered the thunder-squall. Of course the
ship we saw was a stranger; most probably a whaler. This destroyed any little hope that was left concerning Marble’s fate.
But it is time I should mention a galanterie of poor Le
Compte’s. He was well provided with shipwrights – better,
indeed, than with seamen – as was apparent by the readiness with which he had constructed the schooner. During the
passage from Marble Land, he had set these workmen about
building a poop on the Crisis’ quarter-deck, and I found the
work completed. There was a very pretty, airy cabin, with two
state-rooms communicating with light quarter-galleries, and
everything that is customary with such accommodations. Furniture had been made, with French dexterity and taste, and
the paint was just dry to receive it. Emily and her father were
to take possession of these new accommodations the very day
succeeding that in which the ship fell again into our hands.
This alteration was not such as I would have made, as a seaman; and I wonder Mons. Le Compte, who had the gauntlet to
run through the most formidable navy in the world, should
have ventured on it, since it sensibly affected the ship’s sailing
on a wind. But, now it was peace, I cared little about it, and
determined to let it remain, so long, at least, as Miss Merton
continued on board.
That very night, therefore, the Major occupied one of the
state-rooms, and his daughter the other. Imitating poor Le
Compte’s gallantry, I gave them a separate table, though I took
quite half my meals with them, by invitation. Emily did not
absolutely dress my wound, a flesh injury in the shoulder, that
office falling to her father’s share, who had seen a good deal of
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service, and was familiar with the general treatment of hurts
of this nature; but she could, and did, show many of those
gentle and seductive attentions, that the tenderness of her sex
can alone bestow, with full effect, on man. In a fortnight my
hurt was cured, though Emily had specifics to recommend, and
advice to bestow, until we were both ashamed to allude to the
subject any longer.
As for the passage, it was just such a one as might be expected to occur, in the trades of the Pacific. The ship was under studding-sails nearly the whole time, making, day in and
day out, from a hundred and twenty to two hundred miles in
the twenty-four hours. The mates kept the watches, and I had
little to do, but to sit and chat with the Major and his daughter,
in the cool, airy cabin, that Le Compte had provided for us;
listen to Emily’s piano, which had been transferred from the
prize, and subsequently saved from the wreck; or read aloud
out of some of the two or three hundred beautifully bound,
and sweetly-scented volumes that composed her library. In
that day, people read Pope, and Young, and Milton, and Shakspeare, and that sort of writers; a little relieved by Mrs. Radcliffe, and Miss Burney, and Monk Lewis, perhaps. As for Fielding and Smollet, they were well enough in their place, which
was not a young lady’s library, however. There were still more
useful books, and I believe I read everything in the ship, before the voyage ended. The leisure of a sea-life, in a tranquil,
well-ordered vessel, admits of much study; and books ought to
be a leading object in the fitting out that portion of a vessel’s
equipment which relates chiefly to the welfare of her officers
and crew.
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JAMES FENIMORE COOPER
Time passed pleasantly enough, with a young fellow who
had certainly some reason to be satisfied with his own success thus far in life, and who could relieve the tedium of ship’s
duty in such society. I cannot say I was in love, though I often
thought of Emily when she was not before my eyes, and actually dreamt of her three times, in the first fortnight after the
re-capture of the ship. What was a little remarkable, as I conceive, I often found myself drawing comparisons between her
and Lucy, though I hardly knew why, myself. The result was
very much after this sort; – Emily had vastly the advantage
in all that related to art, instruction, training – I am wrong,
Mr. Harding had given his daughter a store of precise, useful
knowledge, that Emily did not possess; and then I could not
but see that Lucy’s tact in moral feeling, was much of the highest order of the two. But, in purely conventional attainments,
in most that relates to the world, its usages, its finesse of feeling and manner, I could see that Emily was the superior. Had
I known more myself, I could have seen that both were provincial – for England, in 1801, was but a province, as to mere
manners, though on a larger scale than America is even now –
and that either would have been remarked for peculiarities,
in the more sophisticated circles of the continent of Europe. I
dare say, half my own countrymen would have preferred Lucy’s nature to the more artificial manner of Emily; but, it will
not do to say that even female deportment, however delicate
and feminine nature may have made it, cannot be improved
by certain general rules for the government of that which is
even purely conventional. On the whole, I wished that Lucy
had a little of Emily’s art, and Emily a good deal more of Lucy’s
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AFLOAT AND ASHORE
nature. I suppose the perfection in this sort of thing is to possess an art so admirable that it shall appear to be nature, in
all things immaterial, while it leaves the latter strictly in the
ascendant, in all that is material.
In person, I sometimes fancied Emily was the superior, and,
sometimes, when memory carried me back to certain scenes
that had occurred during my last visit to Clawbonny, that it
was Lucy. In complexion, and perhaps in eyes, the English girl
beat her rival; possibly, also, in the teeth; though Lucy’s were
very even and white; but, in the smile, in the outline of the face,
most especially in the mouth, and in the hands, feet, and person generally, I think nine judges in ten would have preferred
the American. One peculiar charm was common to both; and
it is a charm, though the strongest instance I ever saw of it in
my life, was in Italy, that may be said to belong, almost exclusively, to the Anglo-Saxon race: I mean that expression of the
countenance which so eminently betokens feminine purity
and feminine tenderness united; the look which artists love to
impart to the faces of angels. Each of the girls had much of this;
and I suppose it was principally owing to their heavenly blue
eyes. I doubt if any woman with black, or hazel eyes notwithstanding all the brilliancy of their beauty, ever possessed this
charm in the higher degree. It belonged to Grace even more
than to Lucy or Emily; though, of the two last, I think the English girl possessed it, in a slight degree, the most, so far as it was
connected with mere shading and colour; while the American
exhibited the most of it, in moments of feeling and emotion.
Perhaps, this last advantage was owing to Lucy’s submitting
most to nature, and to her impulses. It must be remembered,
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JAMES FENIMORE COOPER
however, that I had not seen Lucy, now, for near two years;
and two of the most important years of a young female’s life, as
respected her personal appearance.
As relates to character, I will not now speak as plainly as I
shall be called on to do, hereafter. A youth of twenty is not the
best judge of such things, and I shall leave events to tell their
own story, in this particular.
We had been at sea a fortnight, when happening to allude
to the pearl fishery, I bethought me of my own prizes. A ship
that carries a numerous crew, is a sort of omnium gatherum, of
human employments. For ordinarily manned craft, seamen are
necessary; but ships of war, privateers and letters-of-marque,
can afford, as poor Marble would express it, to generalize. We
had several tradesmen in the Crisis – mechanics, who found
the restraints of a ship necessary for their own good – and,
among others, we happened to have a goldsmith. This man
had offered to perforate my pearls, and to string them; an operation to which I consented. The fellow had performed his
task as well as could be desired, and supplying from his own
stores a pair of suitable clasps, had formed the whole into a
simple, but as beautiful a necklace, as I ever laid eyes on. He
had put the largest pearl of all directly in the centre, and then
arranged the remainder, by placing several of the smaller together separated by one of the second size, until the whole
formed a row that would much more than encircle my own
neck, and which, of course, would drop gracefully round that
of a female.
When I produced this beautiful ornament, one that a woman of rank might have coveted, Emily did not endeavour to
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AFLOAT AND ASHORE
conceal her admiration. Unaccustomed, herself, to the higher
associations of her own country, she had never seen a necklace of the same value, and she even fancied it fit for a queen.
Doubtless, queens usually possess much more precious pearls
than those of mine, and yet it was to be supposed they would
not disdain to wear even such as they. Major Merton examined
the necklace carefully, and I could see by his countenance, he
was surprised and pleased.
On the whole, I think it may be questioned, if any other
man enjoys as many physical advantages with the same means,
as the Americans. I speak more of his habits, than of his opportunities; but I am of opinion, after seeing a good deal of various
parts of the world, that the American of moderate fortune has
more physical indulgences than any other man. While this is
true, however, as a whole, there are certain points on which he
signally fails. He fails often, when it comes to the mere outward
exhibition; and it is probable there is not a single well-ordered
household – meaning for the purposes of comfort and representation united – in the whole country. The particular deficiency, if deficiency it be, applies in an almost exclusive degree
to the use of precious stones, jewelry, and those of the more
valuable metals in general. The ignorance of the value of precious stones is so great, that half the men, meaning those who
possess more or less of fortune, do not even know the names of
those of the commoner sorts. I doubt, if one educated American
in twenty could, even at this moment, tell a sapphire from an
amethyst, or a turquoise from a garnet; though the women are
rather more expert as lapidaries. Now, I was a true American
in this respect; and, while I knew I possessed a very beautiful
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JAMES FENIMORE COOPER
ornament, I had not the smallest idea of its value, as an article
of commerce. With the Major it was different. He had studied
such things, and he had a taste for them. The reader will judge
of my surprise, therefore, when I heard him say: –
“That necklace, in the hands of Rundle and Bridges, would
bring a thousand pounds, in London!”
“Father!” exclaimed Emily.
“I do think it. It is not so much the size of the pearls,
though these largest are not common even in that particular,
but it is their extreme beauty; their colour and transparency –
their water, as it is called.”
“I thought that a term applied only to diamonds” – observed Emily, with an interest I wished she had not manifested.
“It is also applied to pearls – there are pearls of what is
called the ‘white water,’ and they are of the sort most prized in
Europe. The ‘yellow water’ are more esteemed among nations
of darker skins; I suppose that is the secret. Yes, I think if you
send this necklace to London, Wallingford, you will get six or
eight hundred pounds for it.”
“I shall never sell it, sir – at least, not as long as I can avoid
it.”
I saw that Emily looked at me, with an earnestness for
which I could not account.
“Not sell it! – ” repealed her father – “Why, what in the
name of Neptune can you do with such an ornament?”
“Keep it. It is strictly my own. I brought it up, from the bottom of the sea, with my own hands; removed the pearls from
what the editors would call their ‘native homes’ myself, and I
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feel an interest in them, that I never could feel in any ornament that was purchased.”
“Still, this will prove rather an expensive taste. Pray, What
interest do you obtain for money, in your part of the world,
Wallingford?”
“Six per cent., in New York, sir, perhaps, on the better sort
of permanent securities.”
“And how much is sixty pounds sterling, when turned into
dollars?”
“We usually say five for one, though it is not quite that;
from two hundred and eighty to two hundred and ninety, all
things considered – though two hundred and sixty-six, nominally, or thereabouts.”
“Well, even two hundred and sixty-six dollars a year, is a
good deal for a young man like you to pay, for the pleasure of
saying he owns a pearl necklace that he cannot use.”
“But it cost me nothing, sir, and of course I can lose nothing by it.”
“I rather think you will lose what I tell you, if the ornament can be sold for that sum. When a man has property from
which he might derive an income, and does not, he is, in one
sense, and that the most important, a loser.”
“I have a sister, Major Merton; I may possibly give it to
her – or, should I marry, I would certainly give it to my wife.”
I could see a smile struggling about the mouth of the major, which I was then too young, and I may add, too American,
to understand. The incongruity of the wife of a man of two
thousand, or five and twenty hundred dollars a-year, wearing
two years’ income round her neck, or of being magnificent in
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JAMES FENIMORE COOPER
only one item of her dress, household, or manner of living,
never occurred to my mind. We can all laugh when we read of
Indian chiefs wearing uniform-coats, and cocked-hats, without any other articles of attire; but we cannot imagine inconsistencies in our own cases, that are almost as absurd in the
eyes of highly sophisticated and conventional usages. To me, at
that age, there was nothing in the least out of the way, in Mrs.
Miles Wallingford’s wearing the necklace, her husband being
unequivocally its owner. As for Emily, she did not smile, but
continued to hold the necklace in her own very white, plump
hand, the pearls making the hand look all the prettier, while
the hand assisted to increase the lustre of the pearls. I ventured to ask her to put the necklace on her neck. She blushed
slightly, but she complied.
“Upon my word, Emily,” exclaimed the gratified father,
“you become each other so well, that I am losing a prejudice,
and begin to believe even a poor man’s daughter may be justified in using such an ornament.”
The sight was certainly sufficient to justify anything of the
sort. The dazzling whiteness of Miss Merlon’s skin, the admirable outlines of her throat and bust, and the flush which
pleasure gave her cheeks, contributed largely to the beauty of
the picture. It would have been difficult to say, whether the
charms of the woman ornamented the pearls, or those of the
pearls ornamented the woman! I remember I thought, at the
time, my eyes had never dwelt on any object more pleasing,
than was Miss Merton during the novelty of that spectacle.
Nor did the pleasure cease, on the instant; for I begged her
to continue to wear the necklace during the remainder of the
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