Chapter 5

_Oliv._ "Did he write this?"
_Clo._ "Ay, Madam."

What You Will.

If we say that Alida de Barbérie did not cast a glance behind her, as the
party quitted the wharf, in order to see whether the boat that contained
the commander of the cruiser followed the example of the others, we shall
probably portray the maiden as one that was less subject to the influence
of coquetry than the truth would justify. To the great discontent of the
Alderman, whatever might have been the feelings of his niece, on the
occasion, the barge continued to approach the shore, in a manner which
showed that the young seaman betrayed no visible interest in the result of
the chase.

The heights of Staten Island, a century ago, were covered, much as they
are at present, with a growth of dwarf-trees. Foot-paths led among this
meagre vegetation, in divers directions; and as the hamlet at the
Quarantine-Ground was the point whence they all diverged, it required a
practised guide to thread their mazes, without a loss of both time and
distance. It would seem, however, that the worthy burgher was fully equal
to the office; for, moving with more than his usual agility, he soon led
his companions into the wood, and, by frequently altering his course, so
completely confounded their sense of the relative bearings of places, that
it is not probable one of them all could very readily have extricated
himself from the labyrinth.

"Clouds and shady bowers!" exclaimed Myndert, when he had achieved, to his
own satisfaction, this evasion of the pursuit he wished to avoid; "little
oaks and green pines are pleasant on a June morning. You shall have
mountain air and a sea-breeze Patroon, to quicken the appetite at the Lust
in Rust. If Alicia will speak, the girl can say that a mouthful of the
elixir is better for a rosy cheek, than all the concoctions and washes
that were ever invented to give a man a heart-ache."

"If the place be as much changed as the road that leads to it," returned
la belle Barbérie, glancing her dark eye, in vain, in the direction of the
bay they had quitted, "I should scarcely venture an opinion on a subject

of which I am obliged to confess utter ignorance."

"Ah, woman is nought but vanities! To see and to be seen, is the delight
of the sex. Though we are a thousand times more comfortable in this wood
than we should be in walking along the water-side, why, the sea-gulls and
snipes lose the benefit of our company! The salt water, and all who live
on it, are to be avoided by a wise man, Mr. Van Staats, except as they
both serve to cheapen freight and to render trade brisk. You'll thank me
for this care, niece of mine, when you reach