The Neapolitan Commander, a romance of sea & land

Chapter I

Genoa, once the stronghold of a bold un tameable Democracy, insolent as brave, and licentious as free, at the period of our story still held its place as a great commercial city, though its proud and haughty republic no longer existed. Time was when Kingdoms were her subject Provinces, and the spoils of the East served as doweries for her daughters • but in the year 18—, her glory only existed in her monuments of extinguished greatness, be- VOL. i. b. traving weakness under the shadow of names once so mighty. Our story opens during the blockade of Genoa by sea and land — Massena, the most able and most amiable of Napoleon's Generals, held the City with an insignificant force, in defiance of Austria, by land ; whilst England's fleet, under Lord Keith, threatened the harbour and city, and blockaded the port.

Amongst the ships and vessels forming the blockade, were several Neapolitan gun and mortar boats, and two fine brigs. These latter carried eighteen guns each, and were remarkable for the beauty of their construction, their great speed, and the gallantry of their commanders. One of them, in particular, attracted universal attention ; the commander being a very young man, not more than four and twenty, who, though from his early youth in the Neapolitan service, was in relity a subject of his Britannic Majesty. Captain De Courcy, who commanded the Vesuvius, was known to be a most especial favorite of the King and Queen of Naples, and the protegee of their prime minister, Acton. The Stromboli, the other Neapolitan brig, was commanded by a Sicilian, named Septimo. The two commanders were bosom friends, having served several years together in the same ship.

Captain Septimo was,- however, some six years Captain De Courcy's senior. It was the month of May, and old Genoa still held out, though her defenders and her population were almost in a state of starvation. The two gun brigs had just returned from a cruise to Servona, that town having recently surrendered. The day after their rejoining the squadron, the Vesuvius, having received instructions, got under weigh, and to the surprise of manyin the fleet, who were watching her movements, stood with a fine leading breeze right into the noble harbour of Genoa. All conjectured that she was sent upon a somewhat hazardous exploit ; and it was soon known that she had been ordered, if possible, to discover the exact position of the famous and audacious galley, b. 2. " The Prima;" but, at the same time, cau tioned not to incur unnecessary risk in carrying out her instructions.

The Vesuvius, to the admiration of all, accomplished her task in a most gallant and singularly fortunate manner — under a heavy fire — whilst attacked at the same time by two galley's full of men, one of which she dismasted, the other she sunk — returning to her anchorage with only four men wounded. Having reported the result of his cruize, Captain De Courcy returned to his brig, which was anchored close beside the Stromboli. In the evening he went on board that vessel to sup with his friend Septimo. " I say, friend Hugh," said Captain Septimo to his guest, as they enjoyed their wine, " that last tack of yours was a somewhat mad act in the face of such a fire as you sustained. Any one but yourself would have been blown to pieces — and yet, strange to say, I hear you have not one man killed !"

"Not one, thank God !" returned De Courcy, " I certainly rather transgressed orders ; but without that last tack, I could not positively have ascertained the exact position of that magnificent galley the Admiral is so anxious to cut out ; but I now am satisfied, and so is he, that the thing is to be done, She's a perfect beauty — pulls fifty-two oars, has no end of swivels, besides two tremendous long brass guns, thirty-six pounders, so we shall have a glorious exploit to perform." "Just the thing to please you, Hugh," returned Captain Septimo, with a shrug of his shoulders, " you have all the chivalry of the olden time in you ; Per mea fe.de,, you do not bear the name of De Courcy, without in heriting the gallantry attached to it." " And yet, amico," returned our hero, "how do I know that I have any real right to that name."

" I have several times heard you hint at something of the kind," said the Sicilian, " and as often you have promised to relate the early passages of your young life, but unfortunately something has turned up to prevent you. Now we have three or four hours to ourselves; who knows what to-morrow may bring — and you know I am curious." " You are right, old friend," returned Hugh De Courcy, " so here goes for a short yarn of my juvenile days ; when it is spun out, you will be just as wise as myself. " I fancy I must have been four or five years old when my recollection of persons and things awoke in me ; nevertheless my memory is not very vivid respecting that period, and some scenes and events are rather obscure. One thing I remember remarkably well, and that is the house I then dwelt in — it was an immense, queer, grim old mansion — with in numerable rooms, halls, and chambers ; with out a particle of furniture in them, excepting in the one Dame Betty and I occupied — I never heard that the old woman had any other name.

Every pane of glass in the mansion had been smashed to pieces, and day light came in through the roof in many places. Young as I was, I gloried in rambling through those deserted, furniture-less rooms, and frequently lost myself, and when old Betty at last found me, she always commenced shaking the life out of me, and then kissing it back. " The windows of this gloomy old mansion looked out over as wild and dreary a track of country, as can possibly be imagined* with scarcely a vestige of cultivation, excepting here and there stunted trees, all leaning the same way, shewing that the prevailing wind in that district was the south-west. Within a quarter of a mile of the building was the wild and almost always storm-tossed sea, — the broad Atlantic. It somehow was always blowing against the front of the old tumble-down house, and the gales did certainly make sundry strange and unearthly sounds and shrieks through tbe paneless win dows, the holes in the walls, and the roof, and along the corridors and galleries.

I used to gaze out for hours upon the troubled deep. I loved to see the strong, waves with their crested heads, chase each other, and with childish delight I used to clap my hands, when I beheld a tall ship drive past, with the wild billows chasing it. " One evening, when old Betty had smoked and drank herself into a sleepy, dreamy state, I stole away to have a ramble over the old house, for latterly she had watched me very sharply, and threatened me that some monster would carry me off. Faith, Septimo, I scarcely think I could have been carried to a much worse place ; my food was none of the best, and my clothes were only fit to make a scarecrow of. Well, I stole out of the room, and because the old woman told me never to go below the second floor, down I went to the bottom — and began exploring all kinds of nooks and corners when suddenly I was astonished by the sounds of laughter from men's voices, coming through the wall of a room I was then examining T to* ■*• stopped, a little frightened, and then I heard a man with stentorian voice singing a sonothe sound came from the other side of a thin plas tered wall.

I suppose I was rather a curious youngster, for I at once seized the remnant of a poker from an old grate, and began boring through the lath and plaster, so as to have a peep hole. I worked away with might and main, till the old mortar, rotten and crumbling, gave way, and in went the poker. But, by jove, my adventures were nearly ended then and there, for no sooner had the poker gone through, than I became early initiated into the use of gunpowder and mortar dust, for bang went a pistol at the hole, and a voice, swearing frightfully, roared out, ' Curse your impudence you spalpeen, whoever you are — take that for your — ' I lost the rest, for a mass of mortar and lath was dashed over my person, making me roar lustily; and, taking to my heels, I ran for my life, shouting ' Betty ! Betty 1 I'm kilt.' " This proves that I was no hero in my childhood.

I had just reached the stairs, with the old poker in my grasp, when a man, b. 5. flourishing a cutlass, rushed out of a dark pas age, — a dozen more following, shouting and halloing as if pursuing a fox — and seized me. I threw the poker in his face, and screaming for help to Betty — kicked like one possessed " ' By the Holy Poker,' exclaimed the huge fellow, holding me up to the rest. ' It's ould Betty's pet, that young scamp Hughey. You little whelp, what brought you here a boring holes into decent people's houses, eh ? — you young vagrant I've a mind to eat you,' and faith I thought he would, for he opened a mouth of most formidable dimensions ; but just then old Betty came hobbling down stairs. '" Here, old lady, take your pet and tie his legs.* " The old lady growled, caught hold of me, and shook me well, making the men laugh ; on taking me up in her arms, and saying some thing in Irish, she re-ascended the stairs.

" This old mansion, as I learnt afterwards, stood in the county of Kerry, and was a notori ous resort for smugglers. Time rolled on ; till I suppose I was about six years old, when one day the old woman suddenly entered a room in which she generally locked me up, to stop my rambling propensities. I looked up, and saw she was accompanied by a tall handsome man. " ' There,' said old Betty, pointing to me, ' That's him ; aint he as like as two peas, eh ?' " The stranger came close to me, and then paused, looking earnestly into my face, whilst I gazed at him with childish curiosity. " ' Yes, young as he is, he is like him, very like him,' and he said these few words so kindly, and with so pleasing an expression of counte nance that I was attracted towards him and looked up into his face, anxious that he should speak to me.

" ' Come to me, my dear little fellow,' con tinued the stranger, ' you do not look as if you were afraid of me — eh ?' " ' Oh ! No,' I replied, eagerly, for a voice of kindness was new to me. " He took me up on his knee, and kissed me, and then asked several trifling childish questions, and put in my hand some silver coins. ' Now, Hugh' said my new friend, ' how would you like to go across that great salt water you see from the window, and in a great ship ?' " I gazed up into his handsome face, and clapping my hands, said, ' Oh, yes, I should like to go, I am tired of the old house, and whispering in his ear, ' and tired of old Betty.' Therein I was ungrateful, for though she was old and sometimes cross, she was my preserver; but, as a child, I could not know that. " 'Well then, you shall come with me,' and again kissing me, he put me down, spoke to old Betty for some moments, and then departed.

" I asked the old woman numberless ques tions, but she did nothing but rock herself in her chair, and murmur, ' Ochhone, Ochhone,' Poor faithful old soul, she is at rest, very long ago. " During that night, I was carried away. I must have slept very soundly, or else they gave me a sleeping potion, for when I awoke I was on board a ship and very sick, caused by the vessel rolling heavily. After three or four days the vessel came to an anchor, and the stranger, whom the men on board called Captain Acton, came and carried me into a boat launched from the ship, which was rowed into a little creek, and we landed ; the boat returned to the vessel and Captain Acton and I walked into a town some little distance from the creek. The same night we entered a carriage and travelled for three days till we reached a great city.

My kind protector took me to a large house, and told me we were in Paris, and that the people he was going to leave me with, were good and kind, and would be fond of me, and that he himself would always take care of me, for the sake of my noble father. "The persons, under whose care I was placed, consisted of a widow lady and her two daughters, handsome kind girls, but I did not understand a word they said. After a time I began to pick up sundry words, and before a year was out, I spoke French tolerably well, and as soon as I began to understand the language I got on rapidly, so that by the time I was eight years old I could talk French as well as English, and one of the girls picked up English from me. 1 continually asked after Captain Acton, and they told me, he was an officer in the French marine.

I became very fond of the two young ladies, who were French Protestants from Languedoc and they took great pains in instructing me to pray as they did. " I was nine years old, when Captain Acton suddenly returned; he embraced me affection ately, and told me he was going to take me with him into Italy. I was pleased to go with him , though at the same time regretted leaving the kind friends to whom I had become at tached. As Maria de Teutonville kissed me, fondly, she said, in her low soft voice, ' Remember, Hugh, you are a Protestant. Your father and mother were Protestants, don't let them make you a Catholic' " I understood very little about the difference of creeds, but being fond of Maria, what she had taught me, made an impression, and so I said, shortly, ' No fear, I will always be what you have taught me to be ;' and so we parted, and we have never met since.

" We then, that is Captain Acton and myself, travelled to Marseilles, and sailed to Leghorn, and shortly after to a town called Sienna, and there he placed me in a kind of college to finish my education, were I remained five years. I was fourteen years old when my protector again came for me and took me to Naples. Captain Acton was just commencing his for tunate and extraordinary career ; as the especial favorite of the Queen of Naples. I was taken on boad his ship and was engaged in many of those daring exploits that made his name so renowned. After a time I was placed in the Neapolitan navy — and soon became fondly attached to the service. Before I sailed I asked Captain Acton if I had a father or mother living, or if he was a relation of mine. " 'No relation whatever,' said he, 'but I was the firm friend of your father, neither of your parents live.

I am now in a position to push your fortune in the Neapolitan service ; you have courage and talent, look forward with hope, and always consider me as a second father.' " Now, Septimo, I have nearly spun my yarn, you know how I have prospered, thanks to dame Fortune." " Eh ! per Bacco," interrupted the com mander of the Stromboli, " allow some credit to your daring courage in achieving exploits, few, if any, would venture upon attempting." " You are partial, amico," continued Hugh De Courcy, " however, on returning to Naples, at the age of two and twenty, I found my protector, Acton, at the summit of his extraor dinary career. At this time I suppose he was sixty-two years old at least, and had just married a young girl, indeed you might say a child, for to me she did not appear more than fifteen.

The whole power of the Government was centred in Acton. When I proceeded to his princely mansion, he received me with his usual kindness and affection, complimented me upon my achievements, and the great good fortune that had attended my career. " A very short time after my return to Naples I was nominated Captain of a ship of war. I was presented to the King and Queen, and most graciously received, his majesty con versing freely with me for some time. " Sir John Acton, at this time, resided in a magnificent palace, in the Reviere de Chiega. One evening, sitting with my patron in the balcony, which commanded an unrivalled view over sea and land, ' I have often wished, Sir John,' I commenced, 'to askyouafew questions. You have been a generous, kind protector to me ; still there is in all hearts a strong natural desire to know from whence they spring.

Tell me, dear sir, who were my parents, for you have often said they were known to you, in fact that you protected me, from the strong friendship that once existed between you and my father. "'Very true, Hugh,' said Sir John, sipping the light wine he was drinking. ' But the fact is, you had better remain in ignorance of your father's name. This is your adopted country, you are but two and twenty, and have commenced a most successful — a splendid career — we have troublous times coming; the French Revolution is marching forward with gigantic strides — before long it will overturn half the thrones in Europe. If you live, you will achieve fame, wealth, position, therefore forget, as I do, that you are an Irishman — ' " ' You !' I exclaimed, greatly surprised, ' you an Irishman !' " ' Ah, Hugh, you look surprised ; I know it is generally believed that I am a Frenchman, the son of a quack doctor, and born at Besancon but such is not the case.

The English say I am a low born adventurer, and that I once followed the profession of a barber, but that also is a lie. I am, however, by birth an Irish man ; my father fled from Ireland, and was like myself, a Roman Catholic. On reaching France he practised as a physician, to obtain a living, having devoted some years of his early life to the study of drugs and chemicals. When I was about twenty years of age I went over to Ireland, employed by the French Government as a kind of agent ; whilst there I became ac quainted with your father, who was then un married, of my own age, and inspired with the same feelings respecting the grievous wrongs our country groaned under. " 'Your father was an enthusiast after liberty, the only son of a nobleman, whose whole energies were exerted to crush the very breath of freedom, and to force his countrymen to bend unresistingly to the harsh laws then in existence against the Roman Catholics.

" ' Your father, I suppose from conviction, abjured the Protestant faith, and became a Catholic. Now, it is somewhat singular,' continued Sir John, looking earnestly at me, ' that you, reared entirely in a Catholic country, should profess the Protestant religion.' " ' You forget,' I put in, seeing him pause, ' that often, at a very early age, we imbibe religious opinions and impressions not easily shaken off. Now, Madame de Teutonville and her two daughters, with whom you placed me in Paris, were French Protestants from Languedoc — ' " ' The deuce they were,' said Sir John, ' I know Captain de Teutonville was not — ' " ' No,' I returned, ' I heard Madame say he was not, and that they made no public mani festation of their faith whilst in Paris, owing to the disturbances at that period. Madame and her daughters took pity upon my untaught childhood in respect to religion — they related to me the noble deeds of the early Vaudois, the Albigences, and other Protestants who suffered for their pure and simple faith.

These tales made a forcible impression on my mind, and I vowed I would nourish the principles they taught me. Then, singular enough, in the college in Sienna were two English boys of my own age — one the son of a distinguished nobleman, Lord Umfreville ; who was placed there by his father, to study the Italian Ian* guage in its greatest purity—while Lord Um freville himself proceeded on a voyage to the Black Sea, and to explore the Caucasus. With the Honorable Edward Umfreville I formed a sincere friendship, and during the two years we remained together he confirmed and strengthened my early impressions.' " ' Humph ! 'tis strange,' said Sir John, in a musing tone, ' your grandfather, was a fierce and zealous bigot for the Protestant faith. Your father renounced his birth-right to follow the creed of his choice, and now, the grandson returns to the faith of his grandfather of his own accord.

Per Bacco ! there's no ruling destinies.' " 'Rather,' I returned, 'of counteracting the will of the Almighty — ' " ' But,' continued Sir John, ' I was giving you a brief sketch of your family history with out mentioning names. Your grandfather's fierce resentment against your father not only caused him to disinherit him, but for fear that child of his should inherit title or property, he married, in his sixtieth year, a young lady of good family, executed some deeds, and left the whole of his estates in England and Ireland, to any male progeny he might have by his second wife. In case of no heir, the estates to devolve to his younger brother. I did not return to Ireland for ten years after this, when I learnt that your father had married, and that in that short space both your parents had died, and left an only child, unprotected.' " ' Your grandfather was still living, but resided entirely on his estate in England, and had a son and heir by his second wife.

I never ceased enquiring till I found you out. You know, and remember, no doubt, when I discovered you in an old family mansion, deserted and in ruins, in the county of Kerry, under the care of a strange old crone, but faithful and true hearted. The house was the abode of smug glers, and the country wild and thinly inhabited. I have told you all, Hugh, that I think it necessary you should know, for a further knowledge might only tend to embitter your mind and thoughts, and perhaps make you miserable — ' " ' Still,' I remarked, ' you might tell me my mother's name ; she must have died young, and alas, life could not have presented much enjoyment to her.' ■ " 'Yes,' returned Sir John, seriously, ' such was the case — your old nurse said, she was as fair and lovely a flower as ever bloomed and died — your mother was a De Courcy and of the best blood of Ireland.' " ' What,' I exclaimed, ' and did not her family stretch out their hands in pity, to her destitute and orphan child ?' "' No,' bitterly exclaimed Sir John, 'not to the child of the disinherited and apostate-^- Ha !' he added, ' we are going too far ; no more of this, Hugh, the heritage of your fathers has passed away for ever, think only of the fame and honour you may win here — 'he paced the chamber for some moments, and then said, ' I shall soon be a father, Hugh.

The world, no doubt, calls me an old fool, and one fool makes many. You will see by and by how easy it is to earn the name of fool.' " Three days after this the King and Queen arrived, the Queen making costly presents, and the King creating the new-born child a colonel. " Now, Septimo, you know as much about my early life and my parents as I do myself, for I could never get a word more from Sir John on the subject. Shortly after the above conversation, I obtained the command of the Vesuvius, and here we are." " Ah ! so far you have satisfied my curiosity," said Septimo, " but not a single word have you said about the beautiful Princess of So rento, whom all Naples gives you for a bride." " Then all Naples," returned Hugh de Courcy, " is in the wrong : there's no truth in it." " Corpo de Bacco, Hugh, you do not mean to say that there's nothing in this rumour ?

Why I heard it positively asserted that the King, even, whose relative she is, had given his consent to the match. Well, for my part, if I had a beautiful Princess, with an immense property ready and willing to give me her fair hand, upon my honour, I confess it, I never would subject myself to the villanous smell of gunpowder again. How did you make the acquaintance of this fascinating Princess? I was at Gibraltar at the time. I heard some im perfect account of some act of gallantry on your part, and gratitude on the side of the Princess> and that's all I know about the matter, so as you have begun a confession, make a clean breast of it, and tell me all about the affair. Ah ! if even a little Countess would look at me, I should be in the seventh heaven, and I am not an ill-looking fellow either."

"Very far from it, amico," returned De Courcy, laughing. " Well, it's very surprising," sighed the Commander of the Stromboli, " here's a Princess, lovely, fascinating, only two and twenty, related to the Royal family, with im mense possessions, ready to jump into your vol. i. c. arms, and you will not open them ; by Jove there's something behind the scenes." " The Princess of Sorento is all you say," returned De Courcy, seriously, "and, moreover, most amiable, and her character, even in the dissolute Court of Naples, unimpeachable — but she is a widow." " Oh !" exclaimed Captain Septimo, signifi cantly, " A widow ! what then ! Santa Madonna, and so because she is a widow, you scorn the peerless hand held out to you, I have no patience with you, but I suppose, there is some difference in feeling between a man of twenty-four and one of thirty-eight, I like widows, I see no objection to them.

I suppose you consider the brain or the heart, or wherever those sensations, called love, lie, too full of romance and all that kind of stuff, to see things except through a magnifying glass. At your age you dream of first love, first impres sions, and virgin hearts ; all moonshine, and almost as fleeting ; however let me hear how your acquaintance with this much-talked-of and admired Princess began." " Most willingly, my dear Septimo," returned De Courcy, " it is a very brief narrative. You remember, we parted company at Malta ; you sailed for Gibraltar, whilst I stretched over to the coast of Sicily. One morning, with a very light wind, and the sea like a mirror, we dis covered the tops of two lofty Latine sails to windward of us, and before two hours had passed, made them out to be two heavily-armed galleys, towing a dismasted craft.

Baracco, my first lieutenant, said he was sure, from their rig and appearance, that they were Algerine or Tunisian rovers. " I crowded sail on the brig, and very shortly satisfied myself that Baracco was right. They were rovers I had chased three months previously, and lost in a dense fog of three days' duration. They were formidable vessels : the largest pulled fifty oars, carried eight heavy guns, and was said to have one hundred and fifty men on board ; the other was armed with c. six-pounders and numerous swivels, with one hundred men. I felt certain the two vessels before me were the same that I had chased. Our government was extremely anxious to capture or sink these two Corsairs, which were known to have carried off several persons from the Sicilian coast, and plundered many villages.

At this time the wind fell to a still calm, and there we lay, whilst the Rovers went steadily a-head with their tremendous sweeps. ' By Jove I will board them with our boats,' I said to Baracco, and in a few minutes four boats, full of our men, were in the water, all ready and eager for action, and, nothing daunted by the risk we should certainly incur, we were coming up, hand over hand with them, when they cast off the craft they were towing, which, to my great surprise, I recognized to be the pleasure yacht of the Prince de Trepani, a Sicilian nobleman of great wealth, but of ec centric political opinions, and not on very friendly terms with the court of Naples. I put half a dozen men a-board her, to rig a jury-mast, and then continued the chase ; but, by Jove, just as we got within range, up sprung a strong breeze from the westward, the lofty sails of the rovers filled, and then, with their stern chasers, they gave us a dose of grape, but luckily doing us no mischief.