Chapter 19 - Page 2

was condemned to
this equivocal servitude, hundreds passing weary years of probation,
with the same dim ray of hope, for ever deferred, gleaming in the
distance. It was determined, however, not to put Ithuel on his trial
until the captain had conversed with the admiral on the subject, at
least; and Nelson, removed from the influence of the siren by whom he
was enthralled, was a man inclined to leniency, and of even chivalrous
notions of justice. To such contradictions is even a great mind subject,
when it loses sight of the polar star of its duties!

When the sentence on Raoul was pronounced, therefore, and the prisoner
was removed, the court adjourned; a boat being immediately despatched to
the Foudroyant with a copy of the proceedings, for the rear-admiral's
approbation. Then followed a discussion on much the most interesting
topic for them all: the probable position of, and the means of
capturing, the lugger. That le Feu-Follet was near, all were convinced;
but where she was to be found, it was hard to tell. Officers had been
sent on the heights of Capri, one of which towers more than a thousand
feet above the sea; but they returned from a bootless errand. Nothing
resembling the lugger was visible in the offing, among the islands, or
in the bays. A cutter had been sent to look round Campanella, and
another crossed the mouth of the bay, to take a look to the northward of
Ischia, in order to make certain that the treacherous craft had not gone
behind the mountains of that island for a refuge. In short, no expedient
likely to discover the fugitive was neglected. All failed, however; boat
after boat came back without success, and officer after officer returned
wearied and disappointed.

Much of the day was passed in this manner, for it was a calm, and moving
either of the ships was out of the question. In the full expectation of
discovering the lugger somewhere in striking distance, Cuffe had even
gone so far as to detail a party from each vessel, with a view to attack
her in boats again; feeling no doubt of success, now that he had the
disposable force of three vessels to send against his enemy. Winchester
was to have commanded, as a right purchased by his blood; nor was the
hope of succeeding in this way abandoned, until the last boat, that
which had been sent round Ischia, returned, reporting its total want
of success.

"I have heard it said," observed Cuffe, as he and his brother captains
stood conversing together on the quarter-deck of the Proserpine just
after this last report had been made--"I have heard it said, that this
Raoul Yvard has actually gone boldly into several of our ports, under
English or neutral colors, and lain there a day or two at a time
unsuspected, until