New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1861-01-17
NUMBER 272.
items in the domestic histc1s of the hall. brothers

EphTAtTn ana Ezra were IONS OIL Ble Sa1le tatHeF,
| but of different mothers. Ephraim, considerably
| the eldest, was remarkable, from his sturdy boy
hood, for his stern, indomitable will, his iron per-
| severance; and when he grew to manhood, MS
clear sagacity in business and thorough seaman
ship. Possessed Of such qualifications, his rise in
the world was thing Of course and at the time
am writing of, he was known to be a man Of large
substance-apart from The Fifth Wlieip-which
large substance he had iudciousIy invested in land
| He lad but one child, Luke-soie offspring Of a
| hastily contracted marriage with an amiable wo-
| man. for whom he had felt real affection; and
to whom, as well to himself, ii must have been
a great relief when her eyes closed upon this harsh
| world comparatively few as were her days when
| the final summons
Ezra vas the very opposite Of his brother, both
physically and morally Handsome, deicately,
not to say weakly framed, mid in disposition, des
nitoFy in his habits, he was but iilftted to make
figure, or fortune. in profession TO which his fa
| ther, himself seaman, injudicioHsly condemned
him. In all undertakings he was Ezra the I'm
| lucky. Nothing succeeded with him and so pro-
verbia locally, was his reputation for ELL luck"
that people could hardly credit the fact that his
father had willed him the whole Of his property,
cutting off Ephraim, as it is said, with shilling.
That astonishment was greatly increased, when,
some nine or ten months after his fathers decease,
| Ezra espoused the comely, well portioned Judith
M0rrs-a girl with spirit of lion, who had been
for several years contracted to Ephraim, by whom
she was loved with all the ardent, gloomy fervor
| o. his ardent, gloomy soul.
It would have been difficult to assign motive
| for Judith Morris change of choice---girliah ca
| price, perhaps; the handsome person and more
| genial temper of Ezra. His wealth it could not
| be for Ephraifn had even then won for himself
quite considerable fortune as that bequeathed
to Ezra.
To have been disfnherited in the younger broth
ers favor was sufficient to kindle hatred of
that brother in such nature as Ephraims and to
| be Tilted, cast off by q woman he ardently loved,
for the Ezra's sake, increased one can easily
believe, that hate a thousand fold; not the mere
straw on fire. of spasmodic incGnstant passion but
| hot s|aal the hurninr nf vipilP oueunh-
| less rage. The woman he had SO loved shared that
hate, as did her children, Noah and Judith During
the first transports of his rage and modification,
| Ephraim espoused the amiable and unhappy young
| woman before spoken of; with what result has
| been stated.
The undivided succession to his fathers property,
and his marriage with Judith Morris, were but tenn
porary breaks, as it were-briant, but passing
patches Of blue, in Ezra's ciOuded fortunes. He
was still, as in earlier years, Ezra the unlucky.
Spite OF his wife's courage energy and prudence
his substance gradually faded away and when the
Constant Maid sailed SOUTH she was the last plank
which intervened between him and the black gulf
of piuching, hopeless poverty.
This course Of things did not, of course, add to
the happiness of his married life. There was, it is
said at least have read so in novels-a race of
angel women, who make perenniel sunshine in the
slladest, bleakest places; are as blithe and con-
tent with scanty dinner of cold potatoes or dry
bread with the daintiest fare, and would as ieye
wear washed out cotton gowns as be clothed in
purple and fine linen. Now, Mrs. Ezra White did
not belong 10 tndt DflgnL Ddnl, LnOugl, dS the
world goes, an attached wife and devoted mother.
Mrs. Ezra White was decidedly fond of money
who, indeed, is not?-though, of course, not all to
an equally intense degree. Her son Noah, her
daughter Judith, loved money; so did their cousin
Luke. 1t was an ineradicable passion with each
OF the Whites; common to them all as scriptural
baptismal names. How that love of gold, com
bined with higher instincts, shaped their destnies
will be best illustrated by the sequel of the story.
Living in the same neighborhood, and often see
: ing each other, it was the most natural thing in
the world that Luke should fall in love with Judith
and that Judith's mother should encourage the
wooing of the prospectively rich cousin. Ole
Ephraim had discovered the intimacy, angry for
] hidden its continuance and finally announced his
l.. naeXible resolve to dsinhert his son should ht
h dare to marry the daughter of Il woman by whom
G he had himself been outraged and betrayed. The
ill-concealed delight manifested by the vindictyt
It old in the brigs cabin will now be understood
d | Nothing, he knew, completely disenchants thu
If most ardent of lovers the catastrophe limited
# with sufficient cearness by Luke upon that oc
t casion
n coming up with her when she reaches the latitude
of the West India Islands, One of the chief disad
g yantages encountered by the sea rovers in thost
e early fbustering days was the want of a neal
d settlement, where they might dispose of then
, prizes. Cromwell was then in his swaddling
:, clothes, or, if he had outgrown them, had Ger.
D tany not wrested jamaica from Spain. In Vir
gnia, though nominaily appropriated and named
l by the Virgin Queen, there were not half a dozen
settlers: the Pilgrim Fathers did not leave Eng.
land till twenty years afterwards. tlibusters, OF
all nations, were consequently Obliged to send then
prizes to Europe for sale. Hence it was that they
watched anxousy for the treasure, ships of Spain
and after knocking about for two or three months
J to very little purpose, Luke White was fortunate
$ enough to ascertain where one might almost Ger;
tainly be met with, He had chased and boarded
the San JagO, a Spanish merchant bark The prize
= in itself was of no great value, but, guided by
certain passages in the Spanish skippers private
papers, White easily bpllied threatened, wheedled
that gentleman into imOlrtinu ValII-
5 able information. El Re, minor treasure-ship,
t had been caught whilst on her way to Europe,
escorted by trigate, in violent storm, by which
both vessels had been so damaged that they had
been compelled to run for the port-the, at that
> period, but poorly defended port of Havana.
There they had been for some time in course Of
reparaton-the trigate further up The hdTbor than
the treasure ship. Other particulars were given,
needless to detail, and White at once determined
upon his plan of action. If it succeeded, the
l Spanish captain, who was to accompany him,
, would have the San Jago and cargo restored to
him if it failed, through the treachery or negli-
! gence of the said captain, his brains would be
blown out sans ce''emonie: This important pre-
lminary settled the crew of the Spanish bark were
transferred to The Fifth Whelp, confined in irons
for security sake, and left in charge of just such
number of English seamen as suficed for the man
agement of the brig. The San Jago herself, with
White nine -enths of the crew. and the Spanish cap
5 tain, was then steered direct for Cuba.
} Arrived within about two miles of the port Of
Havana, the San Jago lay to, awaiting the visit of
the Suurd-poaI OF Inc port, double Danhed Gailey
propelled by thirty sweeps.
Not the slightest suspicion was entertained the
l San Jago, which was well known in Havana, hav.
ing sgnaled that she had been chased by an Eng
3 lish buccaneer. The galley came close alongside
l the bark, and as it was managed, between it and
the port The commanding officer, at the Spanish
skippers invitation, went on board the bark, was
seized as his foot touched the deck, and at the
same moment some thirty of Whites crew dropped
Y down upon the galley. The surprise was so com
4 pete that resistance was out of the question-im
) possible and the Spaniards-almost fancying one
t would suppose, that they were dreaming--were
quietly handed up the side and slowed away in the
A vessels hold.
The most audacotis part of this celebrated enter
prise was yet to be carried out, and in broad day
light. In the night; indeed, it could not have been
e attempted with any chance of success, n stou
: chain being invariably drawn at evening gun-frt
across the part of the harbor where El Re wa
anchored.
:. The galley sped back, steered by White himself
d attired in the uniform Of the Spanish officer, whic
he had taken the liberty of borrowing for the oc
d casion. The day was burning hot ; it was the hou
+ of the Cuban sesta, and light breeze was blow
y ing out of the harbor.
The return of the guard galley attracting no no
tice, at least no suspicious notice, she ru
l. swiftly alongside FL Re- upon whose deck pcrhap
= dozen sailors We're listessly sauntering. Til
I English seamen, led by White, clambered up tn
side, easily 0Yerp0wered the ast0nished Spaniards