Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 07
General
Wilson's Tales of the Borders and of Scotland, Volume 07
Scottish Borders (Scotland) -- Fiction
"On the third day after we parted from the generous Portuguese, we
reached the mouth of the Tagus, when the pilot came on board. He had
almost left the vessel again, so great was his alarm and surprise at our
wretched appearance. We resembled a spectre ship. The Traussean was
refitted and ready to sail; but we resolved not to proceed farther in
her. We could as readily get a passage from Lisbon to Britain as from
Amsterdam; and what would have induced me to leave her more than what I
had suffered in her was the presence of the hated Satan. A feeling of
horror crept over me every time I saw him, after that fearful day during
which I was doomed to death. His malign eyes were never off me, as he
sat like a rattlesnake fascinating a poor squirrel or bird. I did not
fear him; it was loathing that made me recoil from him. I could have
encountered him in single combat with a feeling of satisfaction; but he
gave me or no one a just ground of quarrel, and it was not my nature to
fix one on him.
"Having settled with the captain of the Dutch vessel, and removed our
luggage to the hotel, we remained several weeks, during which Captain
H---- rapidly recovered. To amuse ourselves, we visited the English
resident in the town; but our chief resort was to the house of Mr.
B----, a Scottish merchant, who had a family of two sons and a
daughter--the young lady a most engaging girl, and very beautiful.
Captain H---- used to spend the most of his time in this family; and
gradually I could observe a change in his manner and conversation. He
became more gay and cheerful in his manner, at times; then, again, he
would resume all the melancholy he felt at our first acquaintance. I
was, for some time, at a loss to imagine what caused this change of
temper in him. One day, as we sat at breakfast, talking over old
adventures, he said--
"'Square, I have observed that you have been rather surprised at my
manner of late. In truth, I do not wonder at it. I am not less surprised
at it myself. That bewitching girl, Helen, has made a fool of me, I
believe. The truth is, I love her to distraction, and fear to
acknowledge it to myself; yet truth will out.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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