The Massachusetts spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1821-1823, 1821-08-01


humble tenant of the forecastle of ship.
For long time our tar was perplex-
ed with doubt what means he should use
to make prize of the lady Mary; at
length he resolved1o revisit the church
early on Sunday morning, before the
people assembled, and secrete himself
within. He did so. After the congre-
cation dispersed TO their homes, he vas
shut in, the doors were bolted, and the
windows were made fast. About mid
night he left his hiding place, and APP
preached the altar, and made his re-
s2ects in genuine seaman's phrase TO
the Holy Virgin for, notwithstanding
the bold and hazardous experiment he
was about to enter upon, he was dispos-
ed, he said, to be somewhat facetious.-
He told her he had generously come, at
the risk of his life, to release her from
captivity-to give her an opportunity of
seeing and travelling round the world /;
and though he came to her in secret,
solely out of kindness and sympathy, and
at the hazard of his life, yet should sue
cess justify the attempt, she no doubt
would one day reward HIM literally and
openly. He then embodied her Majesty
in his arms, and exerted all his strength
and ingenuity to bring her away; but
her gravity proving too great for man
of his size and metal, to his great disap-
pointment he was under the necessity of
walking off without the body, taking
with him only her head carefully wrap
ped up in his pocket handkerchief He
proceeded as far as the door, when 10
a greater difficulty here than the one
Just mentioned presented itself, and that
was, how TO get out of the Cathedral !;
for, as was observed before, every door
and window was made fast upon our tar.
He began to conclude all was nearly
over with him. He had come to eman-
cipate the Holy Virgin, and now found
himself a prisoner in her company.
All his anticipations of prospective
happiness in a moment vanished, or
were exchanged for dismal apprehen-
sions for his doom, in case he should
be caught in the Cathedral. His imag-
ination pictured before him the terrours
of Spanish Imprisonment in a foreign
land, and perhaps for life, and even
death itself; for he knew he would suf-
fer the latter, if caught, and the lar
ceny could be proved against him.
In this dreadful dilemma he cast his eyes
around to find some hole to creep out
at, but all was blank and black at this
moment. The terrour Of his mind, if
that were possible, received an addi-
tional colouring from the pitchy dark
ness which surrounded him. What to
do he did not know. For some time he
would labour in the greatest possible
silence at the door, for he was appre-
hensiye he would be overheard by the
city night watch and then he would
grope his way to and try window but
all in vain. Hope, that anchor of the
soul in the hour of trial, the last thing
which forsakes man here, seemed a.
bout to take her departure, while our
imprisoned tar wFung his hands in des-
pair, and in the anguish of his soul and
in the sincerity of his heart implored
Heaven for deIiverance- He was per-
fectly resigned to leave behind every
thing that allured him there: he would
even rejoice to regain his liberty and
save his life: upon such terms Only could
he escape. When at the height of his
extremity it occurred suddenly to him Git
seemed, said he, like reyelation from on
high) he had, when sitting in the
Church, seen small window near one
corner Of the Cathedral which opened
higher up than the others. This he
tried and found unfastened An invoI-
untary burst of joy escaped him just a
moment before the watch passed by that
way, which he ascertained by his crying
the hour of the night; and had he not
been almost deaf, might have disap-
pointed his last hopes, and in an instant
of time turned all things with him a.
gain into mourning. He descended
from the window, and stepped cautious
ly across the church to the door, for his
pocket-handkerchief and its contents,
and then returned to the window, sprang,
and ahghted in the middle of the street,
when he quietly and speedily made the
best of his way to the vessel. No ill
luck beiel him on the road. Arrived at
the ship, and about to go on board, the
watch upon the quarterback demanded
of him in an authoritative tone, Who