Captain William Kidd and Others of the BuccaneersAbbott, John S. C. (John Stevens Cabot)
History
Captain William Kidd and Others of the Buccaneers
Abbott, John S. C. (John Stevens Cabot)
Buccaneers; Kidd, William, -1701; Pirates
Soon after her departure her son died; and she, ere long, gave birth
to another child, who proved to be a girl. The mother remained away
four years. In the mean time she had very little communication with
her former relatives; and they had no knowledge of the death of her
son, or of the birth of her daughter. Her husband’s mother was still
living. She was in comfortable circumstances, though aged and infirm,
with impaired vision. The mother of the little girl thought that if
she could pass her child upon the aged mother of her husband, as his
son, whom she had seen and loved, the child would be liberally provided
for. But the changing of a girl into a boy seemed to be an insuperable
difficulty. She, however, dressed the child up as a boy, and presented
it to her mother-in-law as her husband’s son. No one suspected the
deception. The good old woman embraced it cordially, and was anxious
to adopt it as her own, promising amply to provide for it.
But the cunning mother declared that it would break her heart to
part with the child that she could not be separated from it. It was,
however, agreed that the child should reside with the mother, while the
supposed grandmother should allow a crown a week for its maintenance.
The child was thus brought up as a boy. The mother watched over her
with the utmost vigilance, instructing her to guard the secret of her
sex with the greatest possible care.
At length the grandmother died: the little property vanished, and the
mother and child were in a situation of much destitution. The child
was now thirteen years of age, bright, well formed, and good looking,
with a thoroughly boyish character. There was a French lady, in the
neighborhood, who took the child into her service, as page and footboy.
The feminine nature was soon entirely swallowed up in manly yearnings
and desires.
She was bold and strong, and developed a roving disposition and a
love for wild adventures. We are not informed of her masculine name.
Her feminine name was Mary. For convenience’ sake we will call her
Frank, during the period of her disguise. Frank enlisted on board a
man-of-war, and served in the capacity of a sailor, energetically and
successfully, for several months. No one was more nimble in running up
the shrouds, or in taking in reefs when the majestic fabric was tossed
like a bubble upon the gigantic waves.
Soon weary of this employment, Frank, apparently a graceful, well-built
boy of nineteen, enlisted in the army. Shouldering a musket, and
very rapidly becoming a proficient in military drill, she fell into
the line and accompanied a regiment of foot to Flanders. She was in
several severe battles. It is said that in time of action, no one
of the regiment conducted with more reckless bravery. She seemed to
lose all consciousness of danger, and, if we may so express it, in a
state of frenzy which rendered her calm by its very intensity, was as
regardless of shells, cannon-balls, and bullets, as though they had
been snowflakes.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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