he was informed that he must hold himself ready for sailing immediately, as despatches for the Hague were expected down on the next morning. This would give but a short time to pay his addresses, and he therefore made all haste to the widow's presence, and was most graciously received. She almost flew into his arms, upbraided him for being so long away, for not having written to her, and showed such marks of strong attachment, that Vanslyperken was in ecstacies. When he told her that he expected to sail again immediately, she put her handkerchief up to her eyes, and appeared, to Vanslyperken at least, to shed a few bitter tears. As soon as she was a little more composed, Vanslyperken produced the packet with which he was entrusted, which she opened, and took out two letters, one for herself, and the other addressed to a certain person in a house in another street.

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This," said the widow, "you must deliver yourself-it is of consequence. I would deliver it, but if I do, I shall not be - able to look after my little arrangements for dinner, for you dine with me of course. Besides, you must be acquainted with this person one time or another, as it will be for OUR advantage.

"OUR advantage!" how delightful to Mr. Vanslyperken was that word! He jumped up immediately, and took his hat to execute the commission, the injunction of the widow to be soon back hastening his departure. Vanslyperken soon arrived at the door, knocked, and was admitted.

“Vat vash you vant, sare?" said a venerable-looking old Jew, who opened the door to him.

"Is your name Lazarus?" inquired the lieutenant.

"Dat vash my name.'

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I have a letter for you."

"A letter for me!-and from vare ?"

"Amsterdam."

"Shee! silence," said the Jew, leading the way into a small room, and shutting the door.

Vanslyperken delivered the letter, which the Jew did not open, but laid on the table. "It vas from my worthy friend in Billen Shaaten. He ist vell?"

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Quite well," replied Vanslyperken. "Ven do you sail again, Mynheer?"

"To-morrow morning."

"Dat is good. I have the letters all ready; dey come down yesterday-vill you vait and take them now?

"Yes," replied Vanslyperken, who anticipated another rouleau of gold on his arrival at Amsterdam.

An den I will give you your monish at de same time." More money, thought Vanslyperken, who replied then, "With all my heart," and took a chair.

The Jew left the room, and soon returned with a small yellow bag, which he put into Vanslyperken's hand, and a large

packet carefully sealed. "Dis vas of the hutmost importance," said the old man, giving him the packet. "You will find your monish all right, and now vas please just put your name here, for I vas responsible for all de account;' and the Jew laid down a receipt for Vanslyperken to sign. Vanslyperken read it over. It was an acknowledgment for the sum of fifty guineas, but not specifying for what service. He did not much like to sign it, but how could he refuse? Besides, as the Jew said, it was only to prove that the money was paid; nevertheless, he objected.

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Vy vill you not sign? I must not lose my monish, and I shall lose it if you do not sign. Vat you fear?-you not fear that we peach; ven peoples pay so high, they not pay for noting. We all sall hang togeder if de affair be found.'

Hang together! thought Vanslyperken, whose fears were roused, and he turned pale.

"You are vell paid for your shervices-you vas vell paid at doder side of de vater, and you are now von of us. You cannot go back, or your life vill be forfeit, I can assure you-you vill sign if you please-and you vill not leave dis house, until you do sign," continued the Jew. "You vill not take our monish, and den give de information, and hang us all. You vill sign, if you please, sare.'

There was a steadiness of countenance and a firmness in the tone of the old man, which told Vanslyperken that he was not to be trifled with, and assured him that he must have help at hand if requisite. If left to himself, the Jew would have been easily mastered by the lieutenant; but that such was not the case was soon proved, by the old man ringing a small silver bell on the table, and shortly afterwards there was a rustling and noise, as if of several persons, heard in the passage. Vanslyperken now perceived that he was entrapped, and he also felt that it was too late to retreat. Actuated by his fear of violence on the one hand, and his love of gold on the other, he consented to sign the voucher required. As soon as this was done, the old Jew was all civility. He took the paper, and locked it up in a large cabinet, and then observed,

"It is for your own shafety, sare lieutenant, dat we are obliged to do dis. You have noting to fear-we are too much in want of good friends like you to lose them, but we must be safe and shure; now you are von of us-you cannot tell but we can tell too-we profit togeder, and I vill hope dat we do run no risk to be hang togeder. Fader Abraham! we must not think of that, but of de good cause, and of de monish. I am a Jew, and I care not whether de Papist or de Protestant have de best of it--but I call it all de good cause, because every cause is good which brings de monish."

So thought Vanslyperken, who was in heart a Jew.

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And now, sare, you vill please to take great care of de

packet, and deliver it to our friend at Amsterdam, and of course come to me ven you return here."

you vill

Vanslyperken took his leave, with the packet in his pocket, not very well pleased; but as he put the packet in, he felt the yellow bag, and that to a certain degree consoled him. The old Jew escorted him to the door, with his little keen gray eye fixed upon him, and Vanslyperken quailed before it, and was glad when he was once more in the street. He hastened back to the widow's house, full of thought-he certainly had never intended to have so committed himself as he had done, or to have positively enrolled himself among the partisans of the exiled king; but the money had entrapped him-he had twice taken their wages, and he had now been obliged to give them security for his fidelity, by enabling them to prove his guilt whenever they pleased. All this made Mr. Vansly perken rather melancholy-but his meditations were put an end to by his arrival in the presence of the charming widow. She asked him what had passed, and he narrated it, but with a little variation, for he would not tell that he had signed through a fear of violence, but at the same time he observed that he did not much like signing a receipt.

"But that is necessary," replied she; "and besides, why not? I know you are on our side, and you will prove most valuable to us. Indeed, I believe it was your readiness to meet my wishes that made me so fond of you, for I am devotedly attached to the rightful king, and I never would marry any man who would not risk life and soul for him, as you have done now.

The expression "life and soul" made Vanslyperken shudder, and his flesh crept all over his body.

66 Besides," continued the widow, "it will be no small help to us, for the remuneration is very great."

"To Us!" thought Vanslyperken, who now thought it right to press his suit. He was listened to attentively, and at last he proposed an early day for the union. The widow blushed, and turned her head away, and at last replied, with a sweet smile, Well, Mr. Vanslyperken, I will neither tease you nor myself when you come back from your next trip, I consent to be yours."

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He

What was Vanslyperken's delight and exultation! threw himself on his knees, promised, and vowed, and thanked, kissed hands, and was in such ecstacies! He could hardly imagine that his good fortune was real. A beautiful widow with a handsome fortune-how could he ever have thought of throwing himself away upon such a bunch of deformity as the Frau Vandersloosh? Poor Mr. Vansly perken! Dinner put an end to his protestations. He fared sumptuously, and drank freely to please the widow. He drank death to the usurper, and restoration to the King James. What a delightful even

ing! The widow was so amiable, so gentle, so yielding, so, so, so-what with wine and love, and fifty guineas in his pocket, Mr. Vanslyperken was so overcome by his feelings, that at last he felt but so so. After a hundred times returning to kiss her dear, dear hand, and at last sealing the contract on her lips, Mr. Vanslyperken departed, full of wine and hope-two very good things to lay in a stock of.

But there was something doing on board during Mr. Vanslyperken's absence. Notwithstanding Mr. Vanslyperken having ordered Moggy out of the cutter, she had taken the opportu nity of his being away to go on board to her dear, darling Jemmy. Dick Short did not prevent her coming on board, and he was commanding officer, so Moggy once more had her husband in her arms; but the fond pair soon retired to a quiet corner, where they had a long and serious conversation; so long, and so important, it would appear, that they did not break off until Mr. Vanslyperken came on board just before dark. His quick eye soon perceived that there was a petticoat at the taffrail, where they retired that they might not be overheard, and he angrily inquired who it was? His wrath was not appeased when he heard that it was Salisbury's wife, and he ordered her immediately to be put on shore, and sent for Corporal Van Spitter in his cabin, to know why she was on board. The corporal replied, "That Mr. Short had let her in; that he had wished to speak on the subject, but that Mr. Short would not speak ;" and then entertained his superior with a long account of mutinous expressions on the lower deck, and threats of doing him (Mr. Vanslyperken) a mischief. This conversation was interrupted by a messenger coming on board with the despatches, and an order to sail at daylight, and return immediately, without waiting for any answers.

The reader may wish to know the subject of the long conversation between Jemmy Ducks and his wife. It involved the following question. Moggy had become very useful to Nancy Corbett, and Nancy, whose services were required at the cave, and could not well be dispensed with, had long been anxious to find some one, who, with the same general knowledge of parties, and the same discrimination, could be employed in her stead. In Moggy she had found the person required, but Moggy would not consent without her husband was of the same party, and here lay the difficulty. Nancy had had a reply, which was satisfactory, from Sir Robert Barclay, so far as this. He required one or two more men, and they must be trustworthy, and able to perform the duty in the boats. Jemmy was not very great at pulling, for his arms were too short as well as his legs, but he was a capital steersman. All this had been explained to Nancy, who at last consented to Jemmy being added to the crew of the smuggler, and Moggy had gone off to the cutter to persuade Jemmy to desert and to join the smugglers.

Now, as to joining the smugglers Jemmy had not the least objection: he was tired of the cutter, and being separated from his wife had been to him a source of great discontent; but, as Jemmy very truly observed, "If I desert from the vessel, and am ever seen again, I am certain to be known, and taken up; therefore I will not desert, I will wait till I am paid off, unless you can procure my discharge by means of your friends." Such had been the result of the colloquy, when interrupted by the arrival of Vanslyperken, and the case thus stood, when, on the next morning, at daylight, the cutter weighed, and steered her course for the Texel.

CHAPTER XXIV.

IN WHICH MR. VANSLYPERKEN HAS NOTHING BUT TROUBLE FROM THE BEGINNING TO THE END.

So soon as the cutter had sailed, Moggy hastened to the pretended widow to report the answer of her husband. Nancy considered that there was much sound judgment in what Jemmy had said, and immediately repaired to the house of the Jew, Lazarus, to whom she communicated her wishes. At that time there were many people high in office who secretly favoured King James, and the links of communication between such humble individuals as we are treating of, with those in power, although distant, were perfect.

In a few days, an order came down for the discharge of James Salisbury from the cutter Yungfrau, and the letter the same day was put into the hands of the delighted Moggy.

Mr. Vanslyperken made his short passage to the Zuyder Zee, and anchored as usual; and when he had anchored, he proceeded to go on shore. Previously, however, to his stepping into the boat, the ship's company came aft, with Jemmy at their head, to know whether they might have leave on shore, as they were not very well pleased at their liberty having been stopped at Portsmouth.

Mr. Vanslyperken very politely told them that he would see them all at the devil first, and then stepped into his boat; he at once proceeded to the house of the Jesuit, and this time, much to his satisfaction, without having been perceived, as he thought, by the widow Vandersloosh and Babette, who did not appear at the door. Having delivered his despatches, and received his customary fee, Mr. Vanslyperken mentioned the difficulty of his coming to the house, as he was watched by some people opposite, and inquired if he could have the letters sent under cover to himself by some trusty hand, mentioning