The Rhode-Island Republican. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1809-1841, 1832-03-27

l am such terrible black fellow. But
you are leetle out, present Massa--I
meant, about to be confne in de work
house for stealing de Admiral's Muscovy
Ducks" and he laughed loud and long.
However, if you will promise you will
stand my friends, ! will put you in way
of getting ashore across de east of ia
maica;. and will go wild you too, for
"4hank yaf," rejoined Mr.. Splinter.
"but how do you mean to manage this ?
there is no Kingston trader here at pres
ent, and you don't mean to make start
Of il in an open boat, do you? 7"
"No, sir, don't; but in the first place
-as you are gentleman, will you try
and get me off when we get to Jamaica 2
Secondly, will you promise that you will
not seek to know more Of the vessel you
may 60 in, nor of her crew, than they
are willing to tell you provided you are
landed safe o.
"Why, Peter I scarcely think you
would deceive us, for you know l saved
your bacon in that awkward affair, when
through drunkennass you pumped the
Torch ashore, so"-
"Forget dat, sir---forget dat !---never
shall poor black pilot forget how you
saved him from being seized up when de
gratings boatwains mates and all, were
ready at de gangway-never shall poor
black rascal forget dat"
'Indeed, do not think you would
willingly betray us into trouble, Peter {;
and as guess you mean one of the free
traders, we will venture in her, rather
than kick about here any longer, and pay
a moderate sum for our passage"
"Den wait here five minute ;-and SO
saying he slipped down through the en-
brasure into canoe that lay beneath,
and in a trice we saw him jump on board
of long uondescript kind of craft that
lay moored within pistol shot Of the walls.
She was a large shallow vessel copper
ed to the bends, with great breadth Of
beam, with bright sides like an American,
SO painted as to give her clumsy mer-
camille sheer externally, but there were
many things that belied this to nautical
eye; her copper for instance was az
bright as FURNISHED gold on her very
sharp bows, and beautiful run and we
could see from the bastion where we
stood that her decks where flush and lev
ell. She had no cannon mounted that
were visible but we distinguished groves
on her well scrubbed decks, as from the
recent traversing Of cannonade sliders,
while the bolts and rings in her high and
solid buwarks shone clear and bright in
the ardent noontide. There was q tar
pawling stretched over quantity ofrub-
bish, old sails, old junk, and hencoops
rather ostentatiously piled up forward.
which we connected might conceal long
gun.
She was very taught rugged hernia
phrodite, or brig forward and schooner
aft. Her foremast and bowsprit were
immensely strong and heavy, and her
mainmast was SO long and tapering, that
the wonder was, how the few shrouds and
stays about it could support it I; it was the
handsomest stick we had ever seen.
Her upper spars were on the same scale,
tapering away through topmast, top gal.
liant mast, royal and sky sail mast. until
they fined away into slender wands.
The sails, that were loose to day, were
old, and patched, and evidently display
ed to cloak the character ofthe vessel, by
an ostentatious show their unserviceabl
condition, but her rigging was beautifully
fitted, every rope lying in the chace of
another, being carefully served with hide.
There were several large bushy wiskered
fellows lounging about the deck with their
hair gathered into dirty net-bags like
the fisherman of Barcelona many had
red silk sashes round their waists,
through which were stuck their long
knives, in shark-skin sheaths.-Their
numbers were not SO great as to excite
suspicion; but certain daring reckless
manner, would at once have distinguish
ed them. independently of any thing
else, from the quiet, hard worked, red
shrted merchant seaman.
"That chap is not much to he trusted, !"
said the Lieutenant "his bunting would
make few jackets for Joseph, ! take it,"
But we had little time to be critical be-
fore our friend Peter came padding back
with another blackamoor in the stern, of
as ungainly an exterior as well as could
be imagined. He was very large man,
whose weight even now and then, as they
breasted the short sea, cooked up tho
snout of the tree, with Peter Mangrove in
it, as if he had been q cork, leaving him
to flourish his paddle in the air, like the
weather-wheel of steamboat in sea
bay. The new conner was strong and
broad shouldered, with long muscular
arms, and chest like Hercules but his
legs and thighs were, for his bulk, re-