Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1875-12-31


gard OF consequences, that right to sew
enty- four gun ship which he now yielded
so gracefully to this Yankee tradlng
schooner. He stipulated only that there
should be no communication between the
ship and shore.
For yourself. senior captain,'' I've said,
''accept my hospitality. This fort is yours
as long as you will grace it with your dis
| tinguished presence
And, with an old fashioned courtesy he
made the semblance of withdrawing from
the guard room.
Master Peleg Scudder smiled as ne
4 thought Of the half-dismantled fort, the
| two mouldy brass cannon, cast in Manila
century previous, and the shiftless garri-
son. A thought Of accepting the comman-
/ der's offer literally, conceived in the reck-
/ less spirit Of d man who never let slip an
/ brain; but a timely ref ction of the COM
| mere al unimportance Ct the transaction
! checked him He only took a capacious
duid of tobacc1, and the commander grave
! ly drew a settle before the fire. and i'll HON
or of his guest, united the black silk hand
kerchief that bound his grizzled brows.
What passed between Salvatierra and his
guest that night becomes me not, as grave
chronicier, Of the silent points Of history,
\ to relate. lave said that Master Peleg
! Scudder was fluent talker, and under the
influence Of divers strong waters, furnished
by his host, became still more loquacious.
And think of a man with twenty years
budget of gossip! The commander learned,
! fcr the first time, how Great Britain lost
her colonies; of the French revolution; OF
the great Napoleon, whose achievements,
perhaps, Peleg cclored more highly than
the commanders superior would have
liked. And when Peleg turned questioner,
| the commander was at his mercy. He
gradually made himself master of the Cos
SIP of the Mission and Preside, the ''small-
| beer'' chronicles of that pastoral age, the
conversation of the heather, the Preside
schools, and even asked the commander
how he had lost his eye! 1t is said that at
this point of the conversation Master Pc
leg produced from about his person divers
small trinkets, knick-shaws and new
| tangled trites, and even forced some OF
them upon his host. 1t is further alleged
that under the malign influence OF Peleg
a nd several glasses OF aguadient, the COM
N ,ander lost somewhat of his decOrum, and
he haved in a manner unseemingly for one
ira his position, reciting high-floWn Spanish
J,oe try, and even piping, i'll thin, high
-1oi &c, divers madrigals and heather can
xap,ats of an amcrous COMPLEMENTARY
in regard to .slittle one'' who was his
c.ygaaa,4 ,nder's ''sou1!'' These allegations,
5aerhaas unworthy the notice OF serious
elppanieler, should be received with great
caution, AVID are introduced here as slmple
hearsay. That the comm ander, however,
took IA handkerchief and attempted to
show his guest the mysteries of the sembl
.cacus, capering in an agile but indecoros
manner about the apartment, has been de-
MED Enough for the purpose of this mar
lcative, that at midnight Peleg assisted his
host to bed with many professions OF I'M
elying friendship, and then. as the gale had
aabated, took his leave of the Preside, and
Eaurried aboard the General Court. When
tire day broke The ship was gone.
T. know not if Peleg kept his word with
The host. 1t is said that the holy fathers
at the Mission that night heard loud
chanting in the plazi, as Of the heathens
singing psalms through their noses; that
for many days after an odor of salt cod fish
prevailed in the settlement; that a dozen
hard nutmegs, which were unfit for spice
Ior s. ed, were found in possession of the
wife of the baker, and several bushels of
Shoe pegs, which bore pleasing fesem-
blance to oats, but were quite inadequate
Ito the purposes of provender, were discoy-
te.ed in the stable of the blacksmith. But
1ls oss Of Yankee traders word, the strin-
gent discipline of the Spanish port regula-
til ,ns, and the proverbial indisposition of
may countrymen to impose upon the conf
del ice of simple people, he will at once
rel oct this part of the story.
AA roll of drums, ushering in the wear
179 aWoke the commander The sun was
shin ling brightly and the storm had ceased.
He sat up in bed, and through the force of
the habit rubbed his left eye. AS the re-
mel nbrance of the previous night came
bacl < to him, he jumped from his couch
and ran to the window. There was no
shiI, in the bay. A sudden thought seemed
/ to strike him, and he rubbed both his eyes.
| Not content with this, he consulted the
! metallic mirror which hung beside his cru
elk. There was no mistake; the comman.
DEF. had a visible second eye-a right one
as good. save for the purpose of vision, as
the left!
Whatever might have been the true Sc
crt,t Of this transformation but one opin
ion prevailed at San Carlos. 1t was one OF
those rare miracles vouchsafed a pious
Cath Ole community as an evidence to the
| heath en-, through the intercession of the
blesse San Carlos himself. That their be
loved commander. the temporal defender
! of the faith, should be the recipient of this
miracL. lous manifestation, WAS most fit an6
seemly. The commander himself was reti
cent he could not tell a falsehood-ht
dared moi tell the truth. After all, if tht
good folk of San Carlos believed that tht
power of his right eye was actually re-
stored, was it wise and discreet for him tx
undeceive them :? For the first time In hi
life the con lmander thought of policy-fo'
| the first tim e he quoted that text which hal
been the lsaa e of so many well meaning bu
easy chrishiia MS. of being ''ali things to al
men,. Infaliz Hermeneglido Salvatierra!