Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1871-04-27

could notice the intense ANNOYANCE.
almost terror, of the commandant' s
wife "a Cuban la;.v,) who was on the
poop. unable to escape beyond ear
shot, and | accordingly ordered the
ruttian TO 20 forward. Excited by
whlskey, he turned on me. and strew-
ell such flowers Of speech. in Bowery
dTyOt. on my head. that. lax as eur dis
cipline with the men was, | was bound
10 punish him. and | accordingly or
dered him 10 be confined Immediate
ly drawing his formidable knife the
rascal Gas the Yankees saw "wcnt for
me-. ! was standing on the after
hatch quite unarmed, having left INV
sword and pistols in the cuddy and.
! providentially, rs he hurled himself on
to me. his foot tripped on the comb
inSs Of the hatcnway. and he fell al
most at my feet, the murderous weap-
on aimed at nv breast just grazing my
thigh. lie was up again in an instant,
with arm upliited for second and
more fatal stab, when a crack like the
smash Of a carriage panel was heard,
and Private Felix OGorman dropped
with fractured skull on the deck be-
fore blow from handspike, wielded
by Mr.. Jonas Baxter, burglar and Gu
ban patriot. There was no mIstaklng
the mans nationality for moment,
even before he spoke. Such cor,lu-
roys (may | adopt the vcrnacular and
say kicksees = were never made out
Whltcchapel and when he said, in
drawing, quiet tone 50 common To his
kind, that he'd be blessed if he'd see
the captain bcsted BY a-~-Fcniau.
my memory flew back over the Allan
tic; was again in Regent street at |
+. N. On sunny afternoon in Nav,
and th>persuasive chant of Buy llt-
tie dawg, captain, once more rang ia
my ears. Scoundrcl though the man
might be, he was an Englishman. and
he had saved nv life; and my heart
positively warmed 70 him IS gave
his hand grip that made the big
knucAlCs crack. and sworc that III
stand by him 10 the end Of the war.
At my request, Colonel D'Olivarez
made the cxpatriated ''cracksman' a
sergeant-an accession Of rank with
which he was hugely pleased, entering
on the duties with all the glcc of a
child who acquires q toy drum, ami
rendering mine much less irksomc by
the wholesome awe he Inspired among
has luckless suborlinates. who feared
a. much as they hated him. DO not
think, however, that Mr. Baxter had
any intention Of following soldering
as a profession. lie held the calling
of arms in the most unqualified con-
tempt, and did not scruplc TO enlightcn
me as 70 his real intentions. Gin cx-
PLANTATION Of the apparently undue
familiarity with which my "dashing
rn,,r Sa@a n.5f sa5ffeannr on hat Wsafsd 9a rs should
10 nsc no more autuor ~ tu;tn was
necessary Tor the supprc-> on OF mutiny
while On board ship over mcn who werc
used 10 no sort Of control, and who
valued human life at its s1owest posi-
ble cost. There they were, probably
food for Yellow Jack or Spanish
bullets. and they knew ii and while
prepared, rufiians as some of them
were, 10 fulfill their part of the con
tract, and flight till hell froze, and
then fight on the ice" would have
mutinicd 10 a man had we worried them
too much on the yoyage.)
Mr.. Jonas Baxter. therefore. was
good enough TO express his approval
of my being an Englishman, AMI to
favor me with several episodes of his
extremely checkered career. some Of
which may possibly prove amusing to
my readers. In justice TO this child
of fortune. or i'll fortune, should, how
ever. mention that with his garb and
cockuey accent his likeness 10 tie
stereotyped burglar ceased. His face
was not that which has been rendered
familiar TO us in the pages of Piinch as
that of the gentleman who performs the
| office of 1.-THE nasty man" in garroting
circles. On the contrary, had Mr.
| Baxter been introduced into society
clad in garments built in Saville Row.
and been bidden TO hold his tongue,
no superficial observer could haye dis
tinguishcd him from the most bidss
frequenter of the Burlington Arcade
save By the massive squareness OF his
lower jaw, and the coarsnness OF his
firm, sinewy hands.
But let him speak for himself.
II saved your life, cap quoth he
"and glad am 10 have done it. | only
wish had had a pal like you in my
business.
Feeling that a compliment was inn
piled, but being uncertain as to the
branch of commerce hitherto pursued
by my preserver, made bold to ask
him to what he had hitherto devoted
his apparently indomitable energies.
well" he replied, with reluctance
for which | could not at once account,
IL open safes and-and houses. Come
with me-" he added, with real zeal,
land I'll show you as I'm no dutfer."
So saying, he dived tween-decks, my
self following. where he opened small
brassbound box, and disclosed to my
astonished gaze a Jimmy" small
saw of exquisite workmanship, a centre
bit, and a quantity Of other tools, the
names Of which it would puzzle me to
recollect. These" he SAID, "were the
traps of poor Jim D, who was
hanged eighteen year ago at the Old
Bailey. His widow, she were in Short
Gardens, and l gave her f20O for the
lot. D. the Cubans!" he added
In the bank at P are 5000, ,00C
dollars in gold. Let's fight till We get
there, and then let's turn up patriotism
and go straight for the bank"
but" | said, 1.-THE cause-sacred
cause of Cuba, Sergeant Baxter"
Oh said he, that's all played out.
| ii.
No assurance on my part that my
feelings were opposed to the unlawful
, annexation Of the Spaniards' gold coult
: persuade Mr.. Baxter to forego tn
| nlaasure of manpinp ont a nrOpramm